RSE Units 1-7

1.
1 INTRODUCTION, OUTCOME AND

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
In this unit you will explore what it means to become a researcher in education. This entails your personal and
professional journey. Part of this journey is to develop an understanding of the nature and purposes of research.
Outcome Assessment criteria
• Imagine yourself as an educational

Position yourself as a novice researcher and identify your research
educational researcher. interests and purposes.
• Describe dispositions and qualities of an

educational researcher.
• Identify the different aspects of the

research process.
Activity 1: Participate in Forum 05: First steps in the research process
This activity will assist you to position yourself as an educational researcher and to become aware of basic aspects
of research through your engagement with Linda Tuhiwai Smith, an indigenous research in New Zealand. In the
conclusion to her book on indigenous research methodologies, Decolonizing methodologies: research and
indigenous peoples (pp 196–199), Smith reflects on her personal journey as a researcher.
• Read Smith (1999) and look for information about the author on the internet that will assist you to
better understand her research purposes and interests.
• Post a response to any one of the questions in Forum 5.
Guiding questions:
1. What could motivate a person to become a researcher in education?

2. How does your role as researcher relate to your community?
3. How could the good of the community be promoted through research?
4. What did Smith find challenging in her research journey?
5. What is the good that Smith wants to promote in her research?
6. Do you think Smith found things she did not expect in her research journey?
7. What insights did you gain about the politics and ethics of research?
8. In what sense is the following quotation of C Wright Mills true for Smith?
Be a good craftsman: Avoid any rigid set of procedures. Above all, seek to develop and to
use the sociological imagination. Avoid the fetishism of method and technique. Urge the
rehabilitation of the unpretentious intellectual craftsman, and try to become such a
craftsman yourself. Let every man be his own methodologist; let every man be his own
theorist; let theory and method again become part of the practice of a craft. Stand for the
primacy of the individual scholar; stand opposed to the ascendancy of research teams of
technicians. Be one mind that is on its own confronting the problems of man and society
(Mills 2000:224).
9. How does the prior understanding of research influences Smith’s critique of dominant research
approaches?
1.2 THE JOURNEY

You will notice from Smith’s account that research is a personal journey motivated by a person’s interest in and
concern about issues relating to their own set of values and goals. Thus, in this personal journey, you become a
researcher in your own way by constructing your own research approach, by defining your own research
problems, by finding and engaging with the theories that work for you and by defining concepts in your own
way. The journey of research brings you in close interaction with people, theories and matters of concern.
While personal, the research journey also brings you in association with communities that strongly influence you:
One kind of community comprises the people you involve in the research, your research participants (more on
this in unit 5). Another is the community of researchers with whom you share a research interest or a research
paradigm (unit 3).
The term ‘becoming’ implies that you gradually grow into being a researcher. In this module, we will investigate
how this entails insight and continual reflection into
• your own position as a researcher, which includes social, ideological, gender, ‘race’ and class aspects
• the nature and purposes of education
• the nature of reality (what it means to be human, what childhood is, etc)
• the nature of knowledge (epistemology)
• the relationship with research participants
• the ethics of research
Research is a journey in many ways. It is a journey of self-discovery, a journey into the field of knowledge, a
journey into the contexts within which questions arise and a journey into paradigms and methods. Since there is
no detailed road map, the metaphor of the peregrinatio is helpful. A peregrinatio is a pilgrim who travels by foot
in a meandering way towards a destination. The destination is not as important as how the journey unfolds and
what the person becomes in the process, who they meet along the road or what obstacles are encountered. The
journey is spiritual, mental and physical. The journey by foot does not rush towards a destination, but pays close
attention to every step, negotiating pebbles, hills, curves in the road, rivers, animals, insects, heat, rain, wind,
etc.
Research is a journey without a fully predefined path or destination, although paths are made and destinations
reached. It is a journey into the complexity of the world, our lives and practices. The paradigms, approaches and
methods are like a raft that is not quite suitable for all the conditions of stormy waters and wind and is in
continual need of repair, adjustment and innovation. While the researcher adjusts and refines the route and
destination, they must refine, adapt and invent the methods and the theories, as needed. They will encounter
elements on the road such as problems, theories, participants, methods and objects.
Research is a complex and contested practice. It is complex because of the complexity of human society and any
human practice, such as education. The research process itself consists of a complexity of research paradigms,
approaches and methods. It is also complex because of the many views of, for example, what education is.
Research is also a contested terrain because all these elements are seen in different – and sometimes – opposing
ways.
1.3 COURAGEOUS QUESTIONING

The educator’s interest in research is driven by a desire to improve practice by gaining a better understanding of
an object (or phenomenon) in the world of education (such as learning, discipline or student performance). It
provides excitement, delight and satisfaction once something of value is found that could change and improve
practice.
Research is not only a set of activities, but a way of living, a certain disposition towards the world in general and
towards your own practices in particular. It requires a curious mind that looks for and welcomes new experiences
and ideas. The researcher is not satisfied with easy answers, since they strive to gain a deeper understanding of
the world in its complexity. Research requires a critical awareness of your own assumptions and biases and a
continual search for new theories that provide different perspectives on a phenomenon. To become a researcher,
therefore, changes who you are and how you see the world. It is a disposition of questioning, doubting,
experimenting and reflecting.
The journey is driven by curiosity about ourselves, our practices, traditions and institutions. It is driven by the
desire to understand and transform. Curiosity is triggered by a sense of wonder about the status of phenomena
and about imagining how they could be different. We want to understand how things came to be and how they
could be improved. Research is firstly about asking good questions that aim to identify underlying issues.
Such curiosity demands courage. While we know many things, it requires courage and persistence to know for
ourselves. It is worth quoting Immanuel Kant (2007:29) who, in 1784, described ‘enlightenment’ a follows:
Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make
use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause
lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from
another. Sapere aude!' "Have courage to use your own reason!"-that is the motto of enlightenment.
Note how knowing and courage are related. This is because this kind of knowing challenges established and
powerful forms of knowledge, traditions and practices. The courage to know leads to the kind of research that
does not merely confirm present relations of power and privilege, but is driven by the desire to intervene and
change the world for the better. It is the kind of research that does not follow paved ways, but paves its own way.
1.4 INTERVENTION
Research is always some kind of intervention. According to Hacking (1983), science does not aim to represent
reality, but rather to intervene and change reality. From their investigation into the sociology of economy, Callon
(2007) has shown that economics plays an important role in shaping the economy. It could therefore also be said
that educational research shapes the practices of education. Research is not the recording of information from a
distance, the neutral observation of practices or the disinterested pursuit of issues. Educational research shapes
the very reality it investigates.
The intervention takes place in two ways. The more obvious form of intervention is when educational researchers
aim to change educational practices. An educational researcher always identifies a problem within the field and
attempts to investigate the nature and causes of the problem to propose solutions. Even an attempt to understand
a phenomenon could have the effect of changing it. The second sense in which research intervenes, which is not
necessarily related to the first one, lies within the research process itself. The instruments (methods) the
researcher selects have an effect on the object of research and on the kind of data generated. For example,
questions in a questionnaire, face-to-face and in-depth interviews, or observations affect the views and behaviour
of participants. Research aims not only to change practices, but already changes the practices in the research
process itself. This will be addressed in unit 6 (Research criteria).
1.5 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CRITIQUE

The intervention is not in the first place about the ‘truth’, but rather, pragmatically, about the composition of a
common world guided by the question of how we can all live together. Research is always critical. It does not
accept as necessary or good the current situation and practices. It is critical of established traditions, common
opinions, well-established solutions and authorities. While research is often associated with concepts such as
‘critical thinking’ and ‘problem-solving’, the nature of these concepts must be understood. Critical thinking is firstly
about an awareness of and an investigation into the effects of power. While power (or energy) drives the
becoming of the world, it is ambivalent as a force of domination or emancipation. Researchers that aim to promote
social justice must be aware of the many ways in which power flows.
Power flows within research itself. Since the desire to gain knowledge is an important manifestation of power, it is
important for the researcher to be aware of the own will to power and how this may affect others. The will to
power refers to the power of the will and to the powerful effects of the will. Research could be a power for good, or
it could disadvantage and disempower people. The researcher, therefore, queries not only how power is exercised
within practices and institutions, but also how power is exercised through their own motives and interests. The
powerful knowledge of research could serve as a force of domination or emancipation. Researchers that wish to
promote social justice, therefore, have to be critically aware of the relationship between knowledge and power.
Researchers interested in social justice query ways in which knowledges are suppressed and they are interested in
including subjugated knowledges.
1.6 REALITY
According to constructivists, data do not speak for themselves, since they are always embedded in theories. While
this is true, reality escapes our theories. There is something more to reality that we fail to capture, see or hear.
Justice must also be done to reality, or to the objects of (or participants in) research. This happens when the
researcher is prepared to be surprised by the data. A project where the results are already predetermined is
simply the confirmation of paradigmatic expectations or prejudices; it is not innovative research. The researcher
can be surprised only when they have an open mind about what the data might reveal. Such surprise is also
possible when the relative independence of the object of investigation is acknowledged. Although the data are
influenced by theories, reality is too complex to be captured by any single paradigm or theory. There is always an
excess – reality is always more than what we expect or what our methods could capture. We therefore have to
listen carefully to the data. When a researcher finds something different and more than what they expected, it
brings uneasiness, laughter and delight. According to Stengers (1997), the object of research has to become a
subject that ‘speaks’ in ways that the researcher did not expect; it is different from simply confirming or refuting
the hypothesis.
1.7 THEORISING
There is a tendency to view research mainly as a practical matter consisting of the use of standardised methods
and instruments. This is a very limited and disempowering view of research, since it reduces the work of the
researcher to that of a technician, who does not have to think about the dynamic and complex nature of reality,
which does not match any particular research method. Research is not merely a technical matter, but a ‘thinking
with theory’ (Jackson & Mazzei 2018). It is worth considering this perspective:
I recommend that students read several books that provide an introduction to qualitative,
quantitative, and mixed-methods methodologies … But I don’t want them to get stuck in any of those
methodologies—in the norms of any of those. I don’t want them to take too many methodology
courses because then they begin to think it’s real. I do tell them they need to read a lot of “theory”
because they need to have different ways of thinking about whatever they’re interested in thinking
about. We’re thinking with some theory whether we can identify it or not, and it’s usually the
dominant, normalized discourse—neoliberalism, for example—which is racist, sexist, classist, and so
on. So before students begin thinking about methodology I want them to study epistemology and
ontology. From that reading, they’ll figure out how to inquire without falling back into some pre-
existing methodology that mostly ignores epistemology and ontology (Guttorm et al., 2015, p. 16).
Theory and practice are often seen as very different when theories are viewed as irrelevant and divorced from
practice, while practice is seen as devoid of theory.
The following insight of Taguchi is valuable:
Rather, practice is in fact continuously and already doing and practising educational theories, whether we
are aware of it or not. We are already speaking and performing theories and ideas into existence of
practice, along lines of thinking that are sometimes also contradictory or counter-productive. Practice can
be understood as a dense material-discursive mixture of events that are folded upon each other (Taguchi
2010:21 & 22).
Theories are instruments to help us to think about reality, knowledge and the good. This is not the kind of thinking
in search of foundations or security, but rather the search for new insights.
It is our view that reading and using theory is necessary to shake us out of the complacency of
seeing/hearing/thinking/feeling as we always have, or might have, or will have. Without taking seriously the
epistemological and ontological orientations that both ground and limit us, research can become little more than a
focus on method, rather than a troubling of both what counts as knowledge and reality and how such knowledge
and reality are produced (Jackson & Mazzei 2018:1244).
1.8 COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH PROCESS

The diagram below provides an overview of the research process and how these different components are
addressed in this module or in the other modules in the BEd Hons programme.
Table 1: Components of a research process
Component Defining the Developing Deciding on a research type Selecting Selecting Writing a
question, a paradigm (design) methods of methods of research
purpose, aims data data analysis report
and rationale generation and
interpretation
Elements Informed by the (Unit 3) (Unit 4) (Unit 5) (Unit 5)

academic field
(content
modules)
Informed by Ontology Experimental and Quasi-

contexts of experimental design
research (unit 2): Epistemology
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal
Personal Ethics research
Institutional Survey
Policy Case Study
Professional Correlation
Political Action research
Anthropocenic Ethnography
Indigenous Case Study
Historical research
Theoretical/conceptual/philosophical
research
Discourse analysis
Document analysis
Phenomenology
Narrative Research
Initial research Refine

questions research
questions
Two comments need to be made about this table:
• The research process is not linear, as suggested by the table. While the table provides a helpful
overview, it does not say anything about the false starts, the cycles, the retracing of steps, the
anticipations of a destination or the restarts that are often part of the journey. Your fidelity to the
research focus and object often requires changes to some or all the components of a research project.
You are likely to change or refine the central question, adjust the paradigm or change the research
type and the methods.
• None of these elements within these components are cast in stone. Each one of these is at a stage of
historical development. An investigation into the histories shows how they were developed and how
they came to be what they are today. It could also be expected that they will develop further, become
blended with others or disappear. An insight into these histories reveals that research is a dynamic
process, in which every researcher plays a creative part. As a researcher, you position yourself within
these histories and actively contribute towards the further development of these elements. Since
research is not only the application of methods, you will inevitably participate in developing methods
appropriate to your values, philosophies and interests. There is no fixed set of methods to use in
research, since methods are continually being tailored and invented to generate the kind of knowledge
that would provide answers to the research questions.
1.9 ACTIVITY 2: FORUM 06: EXPLORING

THEORIES
This activity is based on The Open University’s Engaging with educational research (2016).
This activity helps you to understand how theories are part of our everyday lives and of our professional practices
as educators, as indicated by St Pierre and Paakkari (2015) in the quotation below (see also section 1.7). It also
argues that theories are tools we use in research.
• Read section 1, The meaning of theory.
• Do activity 1: Thinking about theory
• Post a response in Forum 06 to the following question:
Identify one theory/idea you find relevant and explain how it influences your pedagogy.
1.10 CONCLUSION
This unit has emphasised the importance of the self-transformation that commences when you imagine and
position yourself as a researcher. Research is not simply the ability to use methods to solve a predefined problem,
since it demands a certain kind of becoming that is characterised by courageous questioning, intervening,
theorising and the pursuit of social justice.
2.1 INTRODUCTION, OUTCOME AND
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
This unit explores how research is affected by various contextual factors and how it contributes to the
shaping of the world.
• Analyse how personal, cultural,

Locate research within relevant economic, global and political contexts
contexts. influence research.
• Describe how research creates

contexts.
2.2 CONTEXT MATTERS

Research takes place in relation to various contexts. When we think of context, we have those factors in mind
that have an influence on our world, our lives in general, our educational practices and our research purposes,
questions, theories and methods. Contexts are often classified in terms of micro, meso and macro. The micro-
context refers to personal interactions, the classroom or the school; the macro-context refers to global factors;
and the meso-context, to factors in between, such as the state, the local economy and policies. The metaphor
informing this distinction is that of concentric circles, where the micro fits into the meso, which, in turn, fits into
the macro. While it is valuable to identify different kinds of contexts, such a spatial classification tends to define
the relationship between the outer and inner circles deterministically and does not help us to understand how
powers or ideas flow without regard to scale. To illustrate that the distinction between these contexts could not
always be drawn accurately, Foucault described how the macro-context of neoliberalism is being reproduced
and challenged at the micro-level of subjectivities. The South African macro- or meso-context could be described
as a constitutional democracy. However, this does not mean that the micro-context of the classroom is
democratic. It is important to be able to identify the multiple reciprocal effects between contexts.
Context is also not an objective entity that exists independent of our practices. Research (as is true of all other
human practices) is not located only within a particular context (institutional policy, social, economic, historical or
political), but participates in creating the context. If we see research as an intervention, then it changes the
context that it investigates. It is therefore important to realise that a context is not a static place within which we
find ourselves. When we contextualise research, we identify which contexts are relevant and establish how they
affect the research process.
In the rest of this unit, we will investigate how research interacts with different contexts and what the effects are
on research interests, purposes and questions. The contexts discussed here are only an illustration of the many
ways in which research could be contextualised.
Research is both personal, public and collective. Questions usually arise from our personal interaction with
contexts we find significant, such as the classroom, the school, the community, an interest group or an
encounter with people or groups. We have seen from the personal narrative of Smith in unit 1 how the personal
refers to immediate circumstances, experiences and values. It also refers to the narratives Smith tells about
herself, which texts influenced her and those with whom she associates. The personal journey often takes us
away from our immediate circumstances.
The world is shaped by the dominant role of the global capitalist economy, neoliberalism, neocolonialism and
other processes of globalisation. Capitalism refers to the dominant economic order, driven by the motive to
accumulate capital in the form of money and natural and informational resources. Knowledge is one of the
resources produced and consumed in the process of accumulation. In this process, knowledge becomes a
commodity like any other in the market where it is packaged and sold. The control over the production of
knowledge becomes concentrated in the hands of a few, while most people are knowledge consumers. The
concept of digital capitalism refers to the globalisation and speed of capital flows made possible by digital
technologies. Bio-informational capital refers to the use of biotechnologies as a source of capital accumulation
(Peters 2012). In order to counter the tendency to concentrate and monopolise knowledge generation, research
capacity has to be democratised by opening up the opportunities to become producers of knowledge.
Neoliberalism is closely related to global capitalism. It refers to the dominance of global corporations that
became much more powerful than many governments. While liberalism favours the separation of the state from
the market economy, neoliberalism sees the state in service of the market (Harvey 2005). The pervasiveness of
neoliberalism could be seen in the way modern society emphasises individualism, possessiveness,
competitiveness and consumption. Since the conditions of neoliberalism are reproduced in individual
subjectivity, it has an impact on how learners are seen, how teachers experience their work, how the curriculum
is selected, how assessments are done and how schools are managed. Many research problems are therefore
affected in some way by neoliberalism.
Globalisation refers to the shrinkage of the world caused by communication technologies such as the internet
and social media. Consequently, political, environmental and economic events spread globally. The global
migration of policies and practices is mediated by governments, corporations and institutions that wish to
become globally competitive. Global competition is a struggle for dominance by countries and corporations.
Since globalisation has a hegemonic effect, research questions, theories, methods and criteria are influenced by
such globalising factors. The urgency to participate in processes of globalisation must be accompanied by an
awareness of possible dangers. No community should be isolated from others and it can only be strengthened
through the multiplication of networks. Globalisation is also dangerous when the particularity of the local
disappears to become a mirror of the ‘global’.
Our present era is called the Anthropocene (the human era), which refers to the effect of humans on planet
earth. For the first time in history, changes on a global scale to the ecology of the earth are being brought about
by earth’s inhabitants and not by natural events. While these interventions have been making the world a more
habitable place (in terms of food security, communication and health), they also threaten sustainable life on
earth to such an extent that it is regarded as the worst crisis facing humanity and the planet – and it is of our own
making. This crisis demands radical rethinking of the relationship between humans and the earth. It is no longer
possible to treat the earth as an unlimited resource and as a dumping ground (or atmosphere) for toxic waste. If
we follow the claim by Gough and Gough (2017) that the curriculum, as a whole, should take the ecological
crisis as a point of departure, then it becomes an important context for educational research.
Research in (South) Africa must respond to the lasting effects of colonialism and the effects of neocolonialism.
While the postcolonial era refers to the era after colonialism, where countries are politically liberated from their
colonisers, coloniality refers to the ongoing process where the previously colonised are still subjected to the
domination of the previous colonisers. Although such countries are no longer occupied, they are still dominated
economically, epistemically and culturally. In the process, local knowledges are killed, which Santos (2014)
terms ‘epistemicide’. Decoloniality responds to this by investigating local and contextual knowledges that do not
copy questions and answers from elsewhere. (You will encounter this issue in relation to issues of indigenisation
and Africanisation in the Philosophy module). The quest for decoloniality has an important influence on the way
research questions are identified and formulated, the kind of knowledge that is being pursued and what counts
as valuable and valid results. Educational researchers are in a very good position to promote such local
knowledges.
The South African constitutional democracy was established in 1994. Although the principles of democracy are
entrenched in the Constitution, society is still in the transformative process of realising the values of equality,
human dignity, participation and accountability. An ongoing project of democratisation is needed, since our
society is still characterised by various kinds of conflicts related to class, gender, ‘race’[i], ethnicity and
nationality. Democratisation is also hampered by the fact that South Africa is one of the most unequal societies
in the world. Since the project of democratisation is in the hands of the youth, the way in which democracy is
conveyed to the next generation, as well as how it is conceptualised in educational research, is of the utmost
importance. In their survey of 2 518 Grade 11 students, Mattes et al (2012:13 & 14) concluded as follows:
Overall, we are left with the conclusion that the openness of the classroom to debate and respectful dissent
provides one key to the successful inculcation of demand for democracy. The ability of schools to impart a new
sense of active democratic citizenship, these results underscore, may well rest on their informal socio-political
environment more than the formal political knowledge they convey …. Specifically, those who think of citizens as
playing an active and critical role, and those who see themselves in a participatory role, should be more likely to
demand a form of government that values citizen input.
You will notice that these different contexts often have opposing and conflicting implications for our practices and
identities.
[i] ‘Race’ is placed in inverted commas since, according to one interpretation, there aren’t different human races.
The existence of ‘races’ is questioned on both sociological/ideological and genetic grounds. Sociologically, it has
been shown that race is a construction for the sake of colonial exploitation, whereas genetically it has been
shown that human diversity does not coincide with different ‘races’. The origin of racism lies in the attribution of
certain characteristics to identified groups, where those with a darker complexion are seen as inferior and less
human.
2.3 ACTIVITY 3: FORUM 07: CONTEXTUALISING

RESEARCH
This task enables you to investigate the contextual factors related to educational research. Use the texts
indicated in the table below to describe two educational research contexts.
Your discussion should include the following:
• main elements of the contextual factor
• how it influences educational practices
• how it influences research questions and purposes
Context References
Personal Smith (2012), pp 228–232
Democracy Noula (2018). Focus on how democracy is defined as a context

that informs education and educational research.
Neoliberalism Sims et al (2018)
Patrick (2013)
For background information, consult Kilburn manifesto (Hall,

Massey & Rustin 2013)
Anthropocene Brennan (2006)
Lloro-Bidart (2015); find it on e-reserves
You could also listen to a TED talk by Emma Marris.
Decoloniality and Seroto (2018)

indigenisation
When posting your response in Forum 07, use an academic writing style (indicating in-text referencing and
a reference list at the end of your post).
How to find material on e-reserves:
Go to the Unisa library website: http://library.unisa.ac.za
• Click on “Find e-reserves and recommended books”.

• Enter the course code: RSE4801 in the window provided.
• Click on submit.
• Click on “Electronic Reserves 2020”.
• Click on the appropriate title/author you would like to download.
• In the middle of the new page, click on “connect to this electronic resource”.
• Provide your student number and myUnisa password.
• Click on login.
• Read the instructions on the next page because different journals have different options for
downloading. Normally click on the PDF sign or full download. Note: do not click on “abstract” because
that only contains a very brief summary.
• Wait, it often takes time to download.
2.4 CONCLUSION
This unit has helped you to understand that research is not an isolated activity, since it is always related to various
contexts. It also helps us to understand that context is not a static environment in which research takes place.
When you contextualise your research, you explore how the research could be related to these various contexts.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The previous unit introduced some of the personal, social, institutional, global, political and economic contexts that
influence educational research. In this unit, we investigate the epistemic (What is knowledge?) and the ontic
(What is real?) contexts of research. We will use the concept of paradigm to refer to these contexts. The ethical
aspects of paradigms will be discussed in unit 7.
• Explain what is meant by the

Select and justify a research term paradigm.
paradigm.
• Explain how paradigms function in
educational research.
• Explain the relationship between

paradigms, theories and concepts in
research.
• Distinguish between paradigms,

research types and research methods.
• Analyse the history of and conflicts

between paradigms.
• Discuss the qualitative/quantitative

debate.
3.2 PARADIGM
While the concept paradigm is used in different ways in the research methodology literature, we will follow the
established view that it refers to basic ontological, epistemological and ethical assumptions that underlie a
research project.
A paradigm is a set of theories, beliefs, assumptions and concepts that informs a research project. It determines
the research design: what is regarded as a valid question, appropriate research types and methods. It
determines what kind of data will be generated and how they will be interpreted. It also determines what is
regarded as valid and valuable research. Although researchers are not always aware of their paradigmatic
assumptions, it is important for the integrity and validity of research to make this paradigm explicit and to
develop it coherently. It is also important for the integrity and validity of research to ensure that the research
type, methods and data generated are aligned with the paradigm. Lack of consistency happens, for example,
when a theory that claims that reality is objective (ontology) is used with a constructivist view of knowledge
(epistemology) (We will come back to this issue in unit 6, once you have gained more insight into paradigms).
Therefore, an objective ontology is better aligned with an objectivist view of knowledge, while a constructivist
view of knowledge is better aligned with a view of reality as a social construct.
A researcher does not simply choose a paradigm for a particular research project, since it entails a commitment
to a certain view of the world and of how the world could be made better. A researcher also adopts a paradigm
as a member of a community of scholars. Such a community of scholars shares a paradigm, which entails a
commitment to formulate sound problems and construct valid knowledge in a certain way. They are also likely to
use certain methods and research instruments.
The table below provides a summary of the main elements of the paradigms discussed in this module. While
they are demarcated clearly for pedagogical purposes, it is possible to develop a coherent position that does not
fit exactly into any of these paradigms.
Table 2: An overview of research paradigms
Role of Research
Paradigm Ontology Epistemology
researcher purposes
Realism
Objectivism: It is
Positivism and Objective reality possible to provide an
objective account of Distant from field of Describe, predict,
neo-positivism Reality is static reality research control
Reality is independent of Representationalist
the researcher
Researcher is
close to the field or
Reality is socially is in the field as a
participant
Constructivism constructed by the Relativistic Interhuman
Personal understanding;
(Interpretivism) researcher Pluralistic interaction ‘Verstehen’
between
Multiple realities researcher and
research
participants
Transform reality in
the pursuit of a
Historical realism: Objective account of defined conception
Reality is independent of reality, with Engaged with the of justice
Critical theories the researcher, but it historical/social change research
could and should be informed by critical participants
changed theories Emancipate
oppressed and
marginalised
Post- theories: Reality is dynamic and
Post-structuralism emergent
Knowledge is the effect Acknowledges that
Post-empiricism All entities have the same of heterogeneous the researcher is Transform reality in
ontological status assemblages part of what is relation to an
Posthumanism being researched emergent
Monistic ontology: conception of
Post- Absence of binaries
qualitative research (human/animal, Diffractive justice
epistemology Reflexivity
The focus is on the human/technology,
highlighted ones. human/non-living)
3.3 ACTIVITY 4: FORUM 08: RESEARCH

PARADIGMS
This activity is based on Scotland (2012). Keep the following comments in mind when reading the text:
• Scotland provides a valuable and readable summary of the first three paradigms listed in the table
above.
• Scotland’s discussion of the scientific paradigm relates to positivism and neo-positivism.

• Note that Scotland uses the concept post-positivism, while we use the concept neo-positivism in this
module.
• While quantitative methods have been closely associated with positivism, in this module we regard
methods of data generation (quantitative and qualitative) as relatively neutral devices that could be
used in different paradigms.
• Scotland’s critique of positivism should not be taken as a critique of the associated (quantitative)
methods.
Write brief notes on the following questions:
1. What is a paradigm and how does it play a role in research?
2. Discuss the main elements of each of the three paradigms discussed by Scotland (scientific/positivism,
interpretative, critical).
3. What are the limitations of each of the paradigms, according to Scotland?
4. In what sense are the paradigms incommensurable?
5. Explain which of the paradigms you would find more useful.
Post your responses in Forum 08.
3.4 PARADIGMATIC PERSPECTIVES

This section provides background on the concept paradigm by showing why it is used in this course in such a
fundamental way. We thus show why paradigm is used as a basic point of departure, rather than emphasising
quantitative and qualitative methods, as found in many methodology textbooks, such as Creswell (2014) and
Neuman (2014).
3.4.1 A historical perspective
An understanding of the history of research paradigms, types and methods is important to construct your own
paradigmatic position. This is a history of contests about fundamental issues related to what reality is (ontology),
what counts as valid knowledge (epistemology), what the good of research is (ethics), and what constitutes good
research. This section provides a very brief and somewhat simplistic overview of this history. For a more detailed
account of this fascinating history, consult Gagne (1989) and Burrel and Morgan (1979). Insight into this history
will help you to see that a researcher doesn’t simply choose a paradigm as you would pick an item from a shelf.
Each paradigm consists of fundamental commitments and beliefs about these fundamental issues. The first and
most dominant paradigm is positivism, which was introduced in the social sciences by August Comte in the 1830s.
The principle behind positivism is that human societies function according to natural laws and can be studied in
the same way as the natural sciences. The intention was to place the humanities and social sciences on a firm
basis and to avoid pseudosciences and the intrusion of ideological beliefs. The positivists and the logical positivists
used the natural sciences as the model for science and attempted to develop a unified science. Unified science
means that the same methods of data collection and verification apply to all sciences, and that all sciences aim to
predict and control. The methods of the natural sciences must be used in social science and humanities research
to be regarded as ‘scientific’. The ‘standard’ view of science has dominated the scene for many years and still
exerts a strong influence via neo-positivism.
This dominant view of science was shattered by the publication of Thomas Kuhn, Structure of scientific
revolutions (1970), first published in 1962. Kuhn introduced the concept of paradigm, which refers, on the one
hand, to a world view and, on the other, to more specific model questions and answers in a field. The concept
became central in the description of science and referred to fundamental assumptions and beliefs about valid
science. A paradigm is shared by a community of scientists and is seldom made explicit. ‘Normal science’, for
Kuhn, is when scientists work to solve problems defined by a paradigm. When scientists discover, over time, that
many problems cannot be solved within the existing paradigm, it leads to ‘revolutionary science’, when one
paradigm is replaced by another. The important contribution of Kuhn was in shattering the standard view of
science, which was based on the empiricist and logical nature of the scientific process. This was replaced by the
Kuhnian perspective, namely that there is no universal method of science, only methods relative to a paradigm.
The revolution brought about by Kuhn opened the door for post-positivist paradigms such as constructivism
(interpretivism) and the critical theories in the human and social sciences. Interpretivism adopts – from
phenomenology and hermeneutics – the importance of understanding (‘Verstehen’), which differs from the
methods of the natural sciences. Since humans and human societies are different from the objects of the natural
sciences, an interpretative paradigm is more appropriate. This focus on the distinctness of human nature led to
the emergence of qualitative research approaches in 1990s, which drew on the existing tradition of ethnography.
Critical theories arose in the aftermath of the 2nd World War as a reaction to the ways in which science was used to
promote ideas of racial superiority and in the development of the atom bomb. Critical theories in research are
ideologically explicit in their pursuit of social justice.
Research methodologies have been dominated by positivism and neo-positivism. The natural sciences, particularly
physics, are taken as the model of science, with experimental methods being the ‘gold standard’. The ideal of a
unified science based on the natural sciences model is taken to apply to the social sciences and the humanities.
The focus on ‘evidence-based research’, experimentation and statistical data analysis still dominates the social
sciences. Central elements of positivism persisted in the form of neo-positivism, but also in the persistence of
positivist terminologies and concepts such as data, verification, validation and objectivity. The ‘gold standard’ of
science continued to exert its influence, particularly in the USA, where there was an emphasis on ‘evidence-based’
policy development and the ‘no child left behind’ drive. The US government policies in the first decade of
2000 funded only positivist-type research, which resulted in associating positivism with political conservatism.
Since the dominance of positivism sidelined qualitative research approaches, the latter adopted – to some extent –
the positivist view of science to gain credibility. It was a time of serious conflict between so-called quantitative
(positivist) and qualitative (interpretivist) research approaches. Various recent developments opened the field for
more challenges to positivism in the form of the post- theories. The post-structuralist and postmodernist
movements of the 1980s gradually began to filter through. The historical and sociological studies of science and
technology challenged the human-centred claims to knowledge. This resulted in the emergence of posthumanist
and post-qualitative developments in various academic fields. The important contribution of the positivist tradition
lies in the demand for rigorous and empirically based research. These demands sometimes get lost in
interpretative and critical research paradigms, which are often accused of having ‘ideological’ or ‘rhetorical’
elements. What is absent in positivism, however, is the recognition of the role of theories in research under the
guise of neutrality and objectivity.
While the terrain is currently still characterised by conflicts between incompatible paradigms, the current emphasis
on fluidity enables researchers to work more creatively between these paradigms in an attempt to develop
coherent and consistent research approaches that respond to a world that cannot be captured by any particular
paradigm.
3.4.2 Quantitative versus qualitative debate
It is common in many textbooks on research methodology to describe educational research as quantitative or

qualitative and, more recently, in terms of ‘mixed methods’. Willis explains why this is not the most appropriate
way to understand what we are doing, asserting that the concept of paradigm is much more useful:
In the social sciences there are a number of general frameworks for doing research. The
terms qualitative and quantitative often are used to describe two of these frameworks. However,
these terms imply that the main difference between the different frameworks is the type of data
collected: numbers or something else such as interviews or observations. Actually, the differences
are much broader and deeper than type of data. They involve assumptions and beliefs on several
different levels, from philosophical positions about the nature of the world and how humans can
better understand the world they live in to assumptions about the proper relationships between social
science research and professional practice. Terms such as world view and paradigm better capture
the nature of the differences between different approaches to social science research, and this book
focuses on three of the most popular paradigms or world views today: positivism or postpositivism,
interpretivism, and critical theory (Willis 2007:22 & 23).
What is important to note is that the concepts qualitative and quantitative relate to methods and data, and not to
the fundamental assumptions and beliefs referred to by the concept paradigm. Once we have moved away from
the focus on methods and data towards a focus on fundamental assumptions and beliefs, we can investigate (in
unit 5) how both quantitative and qualitative methodologies can be used in different paradigms. While positivism
is closely associated with quantitative and empirical methods, the reverse is not true: quantitative and empirical
methods could also be used within the other paradigms. Once we have separated the close association between
statistical methods and positivism, we can start to see how such methods could form an important part of any
kind of research. The notion of ‘mixed methods’ is valuable, since it suggests that we could select from both
qualitative and quantitative methods in a research project. However, ‘mixed methods’ refer to methods and
research instruments, and not to more fundamental paradigmatic issues.
3.4.3 Plurality and incommensurability
The paradigms are incommensurable in the sense that their basic beliefs and assumptions are in conflict with one
another. This means that we cannot simultaneously believe that the world is both objective
(positivism) and subjective (interpretivism); that the objective world is static (positivism) and that it is historically
produced (critical theory) or emergent (posthumanism); that there is a necessary separation between researcher
and the world (positivism) and that the researcher is part of what is being researched (interpretivism and
posthumanism).
There is a trend in social and educational research towards ‘mixed methods’ or towards method plurality. This
means that, although there is incommensurability at the level of paradigms, it is possible to use a combination of
research types and methods within a particular paradigm. This demonstrates that the world of research is
becoming more fluid than what is suggested with the binaries of quantitative/qualitative. It is, however, important
to maintain paradigmatic coherence in terms of the basic beliefs and assumptions and to ensure that the research
types and methods are interpreted and used in such a way that they are not in conflict with these beliefs and
assumptions.
3.4.4 A note on terminology
Concepts have different meanings within different paradigms. The dominant position of positivism has resulted in
the hegemonic role of a single language of science used in the other paradigms. This language consists of
concepts such as data, analysis, verification, truth, triangulation, objectivity, validity and replicability. The
interpretive, critical and post- paradigms are still in the process of redefining these concepts, as will be noted in
the discussion of research criteria in unit 6. What is important to keep in mind is that the concepts do not have the
same meaning in the different paradigms. You should therefore be careful not to assume that objectivity within a
positivistic paradigm means the same as objectivity in an interpretative paradigm.
3.5 CRITICAL RESEARCH PARADIGMS

In the following two sections, we focus on the critical paradigms and the post- paradigms. The interpretative
paradigm is addressed in unit 4, where we deal with research types such as ethnography and case studies. A
discussion of positivism and neo-positivism is implicitly present in the quantitative types of research covered in
unit 4.
Activity 5: Forum 09: Critical research paradigms
Choose one of the critical research approaches below, read the relevant texts and respond to the questions. These
articles not only describe the relevant theory, but also show how it is used as a tool to analyse certain issues. It
would be valuable to look at both the explanation of the theory and the way it is being used.
In your response, address the following:
1. Provide a brief account of the relevant theory.
2. What is the question the researcher wants to investigate?
3. Explain how the theory helped the researcher to investigate the research questions.
Post your response, not exceeding 350 words, in Forum 09. You could start your evaluation with the phrase: “I
find the theory valuable because it helped me to …”, or “I don’t find the theory valuable because it was not helpful
to …”
Critical theory Texts

Critical race theory Use any one of the two articles by Ladson-Billings:
Ladson-Billings (1998)
Ladson-Billings (2013)
Feminism and queer research Murray and Kalayji (2018)
Gough (1999)
Decoloniality Seifert (2018)
Seroto (2018)
Christie and McKinney (2017)
Indigenous research Schroeder (2014)
Smith, chapter 10 (2012) (e-reserves)
Chilisa, chapter 4 (2012) (e-reserves)
3.6 THE POST- PARADIGMS

Under the term post-, a variety of related theories are classified:
• Post-structuralism (Foucault, Derrida)
• Posthumanism (Braidotti, Hayles)
• Post-qualitative research (St Pierre)
What these theories have in common is a critique of the human-centred assumptions in all the other research
paradigms. The post- theories should be understood against the background of the devastating consequences of
human actions on other humans (war, poverty and refugees), animals and the environment (Anthropocene).
These theories recognise that we are always embedded within particular discourses and practices from which we
cannot disentangle ourselves. The subject/object dichotomy underlying most other paradigms is challenged, since
the researcher is always part of what is being researched. These theories recognise that science is not an objective
account of an outside world, since it participates in the constitution of the world. Science is not separate from
human practices, since it contributes to the very constitution of these practices.
Hayles summarises the critique of positivism as follows:
If, as Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding, Evelyn Fox Keller, Carolyn Merchant, and other feminist
critics of science have argued, there is a relation among the desire for mastery, an objectivist
account of science, and the imperialist project of subduing nature, then the posthuman offers
resources for the construction of another kind of account (Hayles 1999:288).
Activity 6: Forum 10: Post-qualitative research
Read St Pierre (2014) and reflect on the following questions:
1. What are the main elements of post-qualitative research?
2. What are the obstacles in developing post-qualitative methodologies?
3. What research approach is being encouraged?
Post your opinion of post-qualitative research, not exceeding 400 words, in Forum 10.
3.7 CONCLUSION
In this unit we have seen that we never approach a research field without having prior ideas, beliefs and theories.
These theories inform what kinds of questions are asked and what kinds of answers would be acceptable. All
research is relative to a paradigm, a set of beliefs about the world, knowledge and about ethics. This is also the
case with positivism, whose claims of the distant, objective scientist often hide the underlying assumptions.
In unit 7 we will see how a requirement of sound and good research is to reflect on our own paradigm and on the
ways in which this paradigm shapes the research processes.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
While paradigms deal with basic beliefs and assumptions about reality, knowledge and ethics, this unit discusses
different types of research (or research approaches). While the research types are usually associated with
particular methods, we want to encourage method plurality, regardless of the research type. A distinction is
therefore made between the research type and the use of particular methods, although these are closely related at
times.
The concept research design is used in most of the literature to refer to the research type and the associated
methods, but not to the paradigm. Research design could, of course, also be used to refer to the design of the
research project as a whole, which includes all the components. This is the approach favoured in this module
because paradigm, research type and research methods cannot be viewed independently. In unit 7, we will
investigate how the soundness of a research project is dependent on the coherence between these elements.
Units 4 and 5 are closely related: unit 4 describes the basic research types and unit 5, the research methods. The
relationship between research types and research methods varies, since various methods can be employed within
a particular research type. It is also possible to use one research type in conjunction with another. For example, it
is possible to incorporate a quasi-experimental approach within an action research project. It all depends on the
research question and the kind of data you are seeking.
It is important for a researcher to know about different research types and methods and to treat them as tools.
Once they are seen as tools, a researcher can – much like a carpenter – select those tools that serve the purpose
of the research, such as the generation of the appropriate kind of information. Researchers should therefore be
free to choose any types or methods, either singly or in combination. It is also possible to use different tools in a
research project by combining different research types.
You should also keep our basic metaphor of the peregrinatio in mind to describe the research journey. This
journey could entail diversions and detours, while still keeping the original question and purpose in mind. It is also
likely that the original question and purpose may change as you go along.
• Distinguish between different

Select and develop a research design most research types.
suitable to a research project.
• Develop a research design by using
one or more of the types of
research.
• Describe the kind of data that

would be generated by a certain
research type.
4.2 ACTIVITY 7: FORUM 11: RESEARCH TYPES

AND RESEARCH PROBLEMS
Select any two of the research types below, study the related texts and answer the following questions:
1. Describe the main elements of each of the types of research.
2. Describe what distinguishes these two types from any two other research types.
3. Formulate a research problem that you would like to investigate and select a suitable research type.
4. How could data be defined and generated within this type of research?
5. Would you characterise the data generated as qualitative or quantitative?
Post your responses in Forum 11: Research types and research problems
Research type/design Texts
Experimental and quasi-experimental Use at least two of the following texts:

design
Chiang et al (2015), chapter 22
Horne (2018), pp 24–27
Brinker et al (2014)
Mash and Mash (2012)
Bhattacherjee (2012), pp 83–92
Survey research Chiang et al (2015), pp 27–29
Horne (2018)
Case study and quantitative methods Horne (2018), p 28
Correlation research Chiang et al (2015), chapter 21
Horne (2018)
Action research Rossouw (2009)
Pillay (2018)
Ethnography Nurani (2008)
Case study and qualitative methods Harrison et al (2017)
Historical research This will be dealt with in ICH4801 (International

and Comparative Education and History of
Education).
Theoretical/conceptual/philosophical This is dealt with in PSE4801 (Philosophy and

research sociology of education.
Discourse analysis Maposa (2015)
Rosenthal (2018), pp 205 ff
Phenomenology Sandi-Urena (2018)
Sohn et al (2017)
Narrative research Squire et al (2014)
4.3 CONCLUSION
Your journey as a researcher is enriched by examining the different research types. Insights into these types
expand your toolbox. Familiarity with the range of research types helps you to formulate questions differently,
understand a problem from different perspectives and generate different kinds of data. These diversities help you
to understand the world in all its complexity.
The distinction between research types and research methods, discussed in the following unit, cannot always be
drawn clearly. This is the case with document and discourse analysis, for example, and with narrative research
types, which are also seen as research methods. Some research types also favour particular methods, such in-
depth interviews in phenomenology.
5.1 INTRODUCTION, OUTCOMES AND
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
While unit 4 introduced you to different research types, here we consider the different methods by means of which
data are generated, analysed and interpreted in the process of constructing knowledge. We also deal with the
methods for selecting participants (i.e. sampling). Research methods are tools (apparatuses, instruments) that
could be used in different ways, depending on the paradigm, research type, research question, context and
purpose of the research.
Research methods are not only tools to be used, but also objects to think about in the light of paradigmatic
assumptions. Most important is the question of whether the tools allow the ‘object’ to speak, as suggested by
Stengers in unit 1. The ‘speaking object’ is not simply the words uttered, but includes an understanding of where
these words come from.
Outcomes Assessment criteria
• Describe and compare different

Identify different data generation methods and techniques of
and analysis methods and quantitative data generation and
techniques. analysis.
Describe different techniques of • Describe and compare different

participant selection (sampling). methods and techniques of qualitative
data generation and analysis.
• Describe other methods, such as

philosophical analysis.
• Evaluate the suitability of different

methods of participant selection.
5.2 METHODS AND PARADIGMS

Research methods are not neutral devices since they are related to research paradigms. The use of methods is
therefore accompanied by ontological, epistemological and ethical assumptions, and they generate data that
reflect these assumptions. Research is ‘blind’ when methods are used without an awareness of these theoretical
assumptions and of how data are already theoretically tainted.
Positivism separates method and paradigm by claiming that research consists mainly of the use of theory-neutral
methods and techniques. The positivists believe that the deductive theory-testing methods are based on solid
empirical foundations and produce true and secure knowledge. This belief in reliable methods, which originated
with Descartes’ Discourse on method, published in 1637, has become firmly entrenched in positivistic science. It is
the belief that truth is reached once the correct methods are used meticulously. However, this belief in methods
reduces research to a technical operation. Many traces of this belief are still present today, not only in neo-
positivism, but also in interpretative and critical approaches that aim to be ‘scientific’. This view is, however,
contradictory, since the assumption that truth can be researched through method remains unverifiable.
While rigour in research is necessary, methods on their own cannot guarantee valid and valuable research, since a
research design may rest on contestable assumptions, or it might be internally inconsistent. It is therefore
important for researchers to be critically aware of these underlying assumptions and theories. Research that does
not theorise remains ‘blind’ to these assumptions. Theorisation takes place when researchers reflect on and
articulate their paradigmatic beliefs and assumptions. While knowledge is dependent on the methods used, and
the use of methods contain paradigmatic assumptions, knowledge is relative to paradigms. Instead of blind
reliance on methods, strategies and instruments, research is a continual reflection on the kind of knowledge that is
being generated. The researcher looks simultaneously at the object of research, the apparatuses (methods and
instruments) being employed and the paradigmatic assumptions.
The words of C Wright Mills, written in 1959 in relation to sociological research, are still appropriate:
Be a good craftsman: Avoid any rigid set of procedures. Above all, seek to develop and to use the
sociological imagination. Avoid the fetishism of method and technique. Urge the rehabilitation of the
unpretentious intellectual craftsman, and try to become such a craftsman yourself. Let every man be
his own methodologist; let every man be his own theorist; let theory and method again become part
of the practice of a craft. Stand for the primacy of the individual scholar; stand opposed to the
ascendancy of research teams of technicians. Be one mind that is on its own confronting the
problems of man and society (Mills 2000:224).
According to Lather (2013:635),
“there is no methodological instrumentality to be unproblematically learned. In this methodology-to-

come, we begin to do it differently wherever we are in our projects”.
Research is characterised by uncertainty in the absence of the guaranteed truth of method. Instead of attempting
to resolve the uncertainty by following a step-by-step recipe, researchers should develop their critical judgement,
being informed by their own positionality, curiosity and openness to other perspectives and being guided by an
ethos that pursues the good.
5.3 METHOD PLURALITY

Research methods are valuable, but always limited. While sound knowledge could be generated by a method, the
knowledge remains relative to the method and the paradigm. Since reality is too complex and dynamic to be
captured by any one research method, it is advisable to use different methods (method plurality). It is important
to be aware of what falls within and outside the scope of each of the methods. Methods cannot be forced to
generate data that fall outside their reach. Every method will always exclude something.
Research methods, strategies and techniques make up the toolbox from which the researcher draws, according to
their needs and what they judge as being appropriate in each situation. The concept ‘tool’ could, however, be
misleading if you consider that these tools influence the kind of knowledge that is being generated. The metaphor
of the toolbox is limited in that research tools are often not ready-made and fixed, since they can be adapted to
the purpose of the research. Whereas a carpenter’s tools are designed for particular purposes, researchers adapt
and experiment with tools to generate useful knowledge. The following insight derived from post-qualitative
methods is not far removed from the principle of ‘mixed methods’ and applies to all research types:
“Post-qualitative inquiry refuses a knee-jerk reliance on method and, instead, encourages

experimentation and creation” (St Pierre 2018:9).
5.4 DATA GENERATION

In the following two activities, you will investigate methods of data generation and data analysis. Data are
generated in a purposeful way to answer the research question. The method of data generation should therefore
be aligned with the research question, the research paradigm and the research type. In this section we investigate
both quantitative and qualitative methods of data generation.
A note on terminology:
We use the term data generation instead of data collection, since data cannot be separated from the methods.
Data are not collected like pebbles on a beach. It is therefore more appropriate to use the concept data
generation.
Similarly, the concept method is used instead of instrument. Instrument suggests a ready-made tool with a clearly
predefined purpose, whereas method allows for the experimentation and adaptation to fit the purpose.
Activity 8: Forum 12: Research methods
This activity affords you the opportunity to gain knowledge of different research methods.
• Choose one quantitative and one qualitative method from the list below.
• Describe in detail how each of the methods must be used to generate data.
• What are the differences between quantitative and qualitative data?

Post your responses in Forum 12
Method/instrument Text
Quantitative data Horne (2018), pp 19 ff.

generation:
Chiang et al (2015), chapter 9
Interviews
Questionnaires
Conceptualisation and Horne (2018)

operationalisation in
quantitative research
In-depth and narrative Brinkman (2018) (on e-reserves)

interviews (qualitative
data) Edwards and Holland (2015)
Focus group interviews Horne (2018), p 22

(qualitative data)
Chiang et al (2015), p 147
Participant observation Kawulich (2005)
(qualitative data) Rosenthal (2018), pp 89 ff
5.5 DATA ANALYSIS

The data generated by means of the above methods are analysed and interpreted to construct the kind of
knowledge that would answer the research questions. Therefore, we cannot say that the data speak for
themselves. Through the dominance of positivism, the quantitative methods of data analysis have been imposed
on the other paradigms. The current debates within these paradigms about the applicability of such methods and
the development of alternatives introduces an element of fluidity into how data are analysed.
Activity 9: Forum 13: Data analysis
This activity helps you to explore the different ways in which data can be analysed. These analyses are
dependent on the type of data. The texts indicated in the table below discuss data analysis in quantitative,
qualitative and post-qualitative research approaches.
Respond to the following questions and post your responses in Forum 13:
Describe how data are generated within any two of the research paradigms, types or methods below.
What do you think are the main differences between qualitative and post-qualitative data analysis?
Your response to each question should not exceed 300 words.

Method References
Descriptive and inferential Chiang et al (2015), chapters 12 and 13

statistics (quantitative
data) Bhattacherjee (2012), pp 119–136
Quantitative data analysis Horne (2018)
Qualitative data analysis Thomas (2006)
Coding in qualitative Rosenthal (2018), chapter 7

research
Post-qualitative data St Pierre and Jackson (2014)

analysis
(Download from Researchgate)
Activity 10: Forum 14: Selecting research participants (population and sampling)
Use the resources below to write notes on the following:
1. the concepts of population and sampling
2. the purpose of sampling
3. the different types of sampling, illustrated with examples
4. Do you think the size of the sample is equally important in the generation of quantitative and
qualitative data?
Resources:
• Decarlo (2018), chapter 10
• Horne (2018), p 14
• Bhattacherjee (2012), pp 65–72
5.6 CONCLUSION
You will notice that certain research methods are closely associated with certain data analysis techniques, as well
as with techniques of sampling. The reason for this is mainly that methods tend to generate particular kinds of
data. We could therefore say that data are relative to the chosen methods. The implication of this is that research
is a complex practice and that research results must be understood in relation to the paradigm, approach and
methods. This brings to the fore the issue of truth in research, something we will address in the following unit.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
• In this unit we investigate the criteria for sound (good) research and, in unit 7, the criteria for the
good of research (ethics). Although we focus in this unit on the criteria for the sound use of
methods in research, this must be seen within the context of the whole research process, as
discussed in unit 1.
o Explain the role of research criteria

Identify criteria for the sound use of within qualitative and quantitative
research methods. research.
o Justify the use of research criteria
such as validity and reliability.
Sound research
6.2 CRITERIA AND PARADIGMS

Criteria for sound research are relative to the research paradigm. The implication is that the criteria applicable to
positivist research do not apply in the same way to interpretative, critical and post-qualitative research paradigms.
Although the same concepts might be used, they assume a different meaning.
You will have noticed that interpretative and critical paradigms are still in the process of developing internal
consistency in the sense of aligning the paradigm with methods and research criteria. Various examples could be
provided to show how interpretative and critical research use not only the same concepts (such as validity)
developed within quantitative research, but also attach the same meanings to them. It is therefore important to
work consistently with a research paradigm by thinking through how research criteria apply. Sound research
requires coherence between paradigm, research type and methods of data generation and data analysis.
In their overview of research paradigms Denzin and Lincoln (2018, p. 57) provide a summary of research criteria
within each of the paradigms. What is important is that a researcher must be able to explain carefully how sound
research is conducted within a particular paradigm and with the use of particular methods.
The following criteria for sound research draw on the views of Denzin and Lincoln:
Research paradigm/theory Criteria
Positivist and Postpositivist research Internal and external validity
Constructivist research Trustworthiness, credibility, transferability,
and confirmability
Feminist research Lived experience, dialogue, accountability,
caring, gender and embodiment
Critical research Emancipation, empowerment
Cultural studies Cultural practices, praxis, subjectivities
Queer theory Reflexivity, deconstruction
Note: if you are interested, you can download a free copy of the authors' book: SAGE handbook of qualitative
research (not good reading quality) or access it through the Unisa library.
Activity 11: Forum 15: Research criteria

The purpose of this activity is to provide you with the opportunity to articulate your understanding of sound
research.
1. Write notes to describe the criteria for sound research within one of the research paradigms, types or
methods below.
2. Do you think the same criteria should apply in the same way to all kinds of research?
Research paradigm or Texts

type
Validity (both internal Horne (2018), pp 30–34

and external), reliability,
operational validity in
quantitative approaches
and methods
Treharne and Riggs (2015) (18)

Qualitative research
Lincoln and Guba’s criteria
Critical research Lather (1986)
Please note that the understanding

of ‘postpositivism’ is different from
how it has been used in this
module. Her use of postpositivism
corresponds with the way post-
qualitative research and critical
research is used here.
6.3 CONCLUSION
In this unit we drew a distinction between sound research and the good of research. Sound research refers mainly
to the quality of research that is established with reference to criteria such as reliability. The good of research
refers to the ethics of research. The use of criteria for sound research responds to the need for research to be
rigorous, reliable, trustworthy, etc. While these criteria have different meanings within different research
paradigms, they point to the same demands.
Sound research
Criteria for sound research apply to all aspects of a research project. Consult table 1 to refresh your memory
about the aspects of a research project.
Table 1: Components of a research process

Selecting
Defining the Selecting
Componen question, methods of Writing
methods
t Developing Deciding on a research type data analysis a
purpose, of data
a paradigm (design) and researc
aims and generatio
interpretatio h report
rationale n
n
Informed by
the academic
Elements field (content (Unit 3) (Unit 4) (Unit 5) (Unit 5)
modules)
Experimental and Quasi-
Informed by experimental design
contexts of
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal
research (unit
research
2):
Survey
Personal
Case Study
Institutional Ontology
Correlation
Policy Epistemolog
y Action research
Professional
Ethics Ethnography
Political
Case Study
Anthropoceni
c Historical research
Indigenous Theoretical/conceptual/philosophica
l research
Discourse analysis
Document analysis
Phenomenology
Narrative Research
Initial
research Refine
questions research
questions
The table below shows how these criteria are discussed in this module and in your other BEd Hons modules:
Table 2: Research elements and criteria in the honours programme

Research element and criterion Module and code
• CSP4801: Curriculum Studies and
Psychology of Education
• ICH4801: International and Comparative
The formulation of the research problem Education and History of Education
• PSE4801: Philosophy and Sociology of
Education
• CSP4801: Curriculum Studies and

Psychology of Education
• ICH4801: International and Comparative

The engagement with concepts and theories related to Education and History of Education
the research problem
• PSE4801: Philosophy and Sociology of
Education
The use of and consistency between a research

RSE4801: Research in Education, units 2–5
paradigm, research type and research methods
The way in which the research is conducted HREDU82: Research Project in Education
Reporting the research HREDU82: Research Project in Education
Sound research is not necessarily ethical research. Research may be sound in relation to all the elements
above, while being ethically questionable. An extreme example of this is eugenics research, particularly as
conducted by Nazi scientists. Eugenics refers to the science of improving a population by controlled breeding to
increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Nazi scientists used this method in an attempt to
create a pure Aryan human race. Another example is the important cancer research that has been done using
the cells of Henrietta Lacks, despite these cells having been obtained in a highly unethical way (Skloot 2010).
The research was sound and the effects were intended for the well-being of many, but the research process was
not ethically acceptable. The difference between sound and ethical research is also apparent when we consider
the role of research in the devastation of the environment, the justification of racial inequalities or the promotion
of Western dominance. Western-based research has been associated with military, political and economic
dominance. It could, however, be argued that ethically questionable research is also unsound, since invalid and
questionable assumptions are made, such as the ideal of a ‘pure human race’ or a racially biased view of
intelligence.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Scotland (2012) (the text we used in unit 3) defines paradigms in terms of ontological and epistemological
assumptions. Here we need to add ethics as an equally important element of a paradigm – as discussed, for
example, by Lincoln, Lynham and Guba (2018). While unit 6 dealt with sound research, the issue we will
investigate here is the good of research in an ethical sense.
Before we do, however, another clarification is needed: Research ethics is sometimes limited to the way in which
research is conducted. This entails the following: how methods are used, whether consent is obtained and whether
anonymity is maintained, etc. Research ethics must, however, be seen in a broader context of the good of the
research. This refers not only to intentions and purposes or the researchers, but also to the effects or outcomes of
the research. Research is an ethical endeavour that aims to make life on earth better; therefore, sustainable and
educational research pursues the good of education. The examples of research that led to destruction, domination
and exploitation mentioned in the previous unit require that we consider the ethics of research in this unit.
Therefore, this unit investigates educational research as an ethical practice.
• Explain the ethics of education and of

Adhere to ethical principles educational research.
and practices when
conducting research. • Discuss the relationship between
educational research and the common
good.
• Identify the ethical demands related to

the integrity and agency of research
participants.
The ethics of education
The production of knowledge through research is a powerful force in the (trans)formation of the world inhabited by
both humans and non-humans. Therefore, questions should always be asked about the good of the research. Does
the world become a better/more habitable place for all through our research, or do we promote the interests of
only some at the cost of others?
We cannot be educational practitioners or researchers without reflecting on the nature and aims of education as an
ethical practice. Alisdair MacIntyre (1981:187) defines a practice as follows:
By a 'practice' I am going to mean any coherent and complex form of socially established cooperative
human activity through which goods internal to that form of activity are realized in the course of
trying to achieve those standards of excellence which are appropriate to, and partially definitive of,
that form of activity, with the result that human powers to achieve excellence, and human
conceptions of the ends and goods involved, are systematically extended.
Note that the above quotation defines ‘education’ by the goods produced in and through the practice. You will
notice from MacIntyre’s idea of a practice that the ‘good’ is a dynamic concept. It is not given once and for all.
What is regarded as the good is also not an arbitrary or subjective decision. The good is the outcome of practices
where it is defined, refined and reconstructed. The main purpose of educational practices and educational research
is to promote the ‘good’ internal to education.
In order to better understand these goods, MacIntyre (1981:190–191) distinguishes internal from external
goods.
We are now in a position to notice an important difference between what I have called internal and
what I have called external goods. It is characteristic of what I have called external goods that when
achieved they are always some individual's property and possession. Moreover characteristically they
are such that the more someone has of them, the less there is for other people. This is sometimes
necessarily the case, as with power and fame, and sometimes the case by reason of contingent
circumstance as with money. External goods are therefore characteristically objects of competition in
which there must be losers as well as winners. Internal goods are indeed the outcome of competition
to excel, but it is characteristic of them that their achievement is a good for the whole community
who participate in the practice.
Typically, external goods become visible when education is defined in terms of the efficient and productive
economy or of good citizenship. There is nothing necessarily wrong with such goods, but the danger is that
education might be valued only instrumentally in so far as it serves these goods. In contrast, internal goods are
those things that are achieved within the practice of education, such as the development of the person, the
expansion of cognitive and affective capacities and a better understanding of the world. For example, ubuntu could
be viewed as such an internal good, since it serves the good of the community. Educational research that pursues
the good of education is therefore not about efficiency as such, but about the kind of efficiency that promotes the
good of all.
Activity 12: Forum 16: Research ethics

1. How would you define the (internal) good of education?
2. Provide examples of how the good you defined can be promoted through educational research.
Post your response to both questions in Forum 16.
7.2 ETHICAL RESEARCH

While education is an ethical practice in pursuit of the good, educational research pursues the good of education.
The ethics of research is based on the question of whether the well-being of all is being pursued and promoted. It
therefore goes further than the principle of ‘no harm’ that is often emphasised in deliberations about research
ethics. Ethics can also not be restricted to the use of sound methods, since methodologically sound research has
often led to human and environmental devastation.
The ethical demand of educational research is that the good of education be promoted. We won’t reflect on what
this good might be, since that topic is covered in Philosophy of Education. Since various and conflicting views exist
about the good of education, ethical issues are always debatable. It is essential that these debates take place in
the public sphere of equal participation and that they be made explicit. Ethical positions must always be justified in
the public sphere. The ethical commitment to the good of education entails a sensitivity to the many ways in which
this good could be jeopardised. The main ethical question in educational research, therefore, is the pursuit of the
good of education.
Since educational research is often of a sensitive nature, universities have instituted ethical review boards. Here is
a link to Unisa’s commitment and procedures, with which you must familiarise yourself. (insert link; lecturer to
provide URL.)
Ethical considerations influence the following aspects of research:
• Aims and effects of research. A central question is whether research promotes social justice by
addressing inequalities of class, race, gender, etc. The distinction between the aims and the effects of
research is also important because negative effects could result from the best intentions. It is therefore
important that ethical questions be asked constantly during the whole research process, including a
consideration of the effects of the research results. You therefore need to ask the question: What are
the aims/objectives/purposes/effects of my research; and how does it promote the good of education?
• Methods, instruments and approaches. Since ethical reflection should accompany the whole
process of research, the understanding, selection and use of methods and instruments are important.
There are, for example, many unethical practices in terms of the use of instruments, such as interviews
and observations. One key aspect of ethics in the case of human participants (which applies to most
educational research) is informed consent. This is based on the principle that participants cannot be
coerced to participate. Coercion would involve not only a violation of human rights, but could also
distort the research results. However, informed consent is not always desirable, such as when a
researcher wants to observe playground interactions without the participants knowing it. In such a
case, clandestine observation is needed in order to avoid changed behaviours by learners who are
aware that they are being observed.
Activity 13: Forum 17: Ethical educational research
Write notes on your understanding of ethical educational research.
Resources:
Decarlo (2018)
Wiles (2013)
7.3 CONCLUSION
In this unit we explored what it means to do ethical research. This refers not only to the way in which the
researcher engages with participants, but, particularly, to the way in which participants are acknowledged as
fully human and knowledgeable. Researchers often engage in a project with the best of intentions, but without
acknowledging how they impose questions and solutions on the participants.
Research ethics is not ‘done’ at the beginning of a project; it requires continual reflection on the effect of the
research interventions, methods and findings on those who should benefit from the research.
Final word
This module provides a map of the research processes and terrains. However, although a map indicates some of
the signposts and roads that may be available, it is up to the researcher to find a destination and the footpaths
that lead there. The map does not provide the researcher with a highway

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1.

1 INTRODUCTION, OUTCOME AND

Outcome Assessment criteria

• Imagine yourself as an educational

• Describe dispositions and qualities of an

• Identify the different aspects of the

Activity 1: Participate in Forum 05: First steps in the research process

• Post a response to any one of the questions in Forum 5.

1. What could motivate a person to become a researcher in education?

3. How could the good of the community be promoted through research?

4. What did Smith find challenging in her research journey?

5. What is the good that Smith wants to promote in her research?

1.2 THE JOURNEY

• the nature and purposes of education

• the nature of knowledge (epistemology)

• the relationship with research participants

• the ethics of research

1.3 COURAGEOUS QUESTIONING

1.5 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CRITIQUE

The following insight of Taguchi is valuable:

1.8 COMPONENTS OF A RESEARCH PROCESS

Table 1: Components of a research process

Elements Informed by the (Unit 3) (Unit 4) (Unit 5) (Unit 5)

Informed by Ontology Experimental and Quasi-

Policy Case Study

Political Action research

Indigenous Case Study

Initial research Refine

Two comments need to be made about this table:

1.9 ACTIVITY 2: FORUM 06: EXPLORING

• Read section 1, The meaning of theory.

• Do activity 1: Thinking about theory

• Post a response in Forum 06 to the following question:

Outcome Assessment criteria

• Analyse how personal, cultural,

• Describe how research creates

2.2 CONTEXT MATTERS

2.3 ACTIVITY 3: FORUM 07: CONTEXTUALISING

Your discussion should include the following:

• main elements of the contextual factor

• how it influences educational practices

• how it influences research questions and purposes

Personal Smith (2012), pp 228–232

Democracy Noula (2018). Focus on how democracy is defined as a context

Neoliberalism Sims et al (2018)

For background information, consult Kilburn manifesto (Hall,

Anthropocene Brennan (2006)

Lloro-Bidart (2015); find it on e-reserves

You could also listen to a TED talk by Emma Marris.

Decoloniality and Seroto (2018)

How to find material on e-reserves:

Go to the Unisa library website: http://library.unisa.ac.za

• Click on “Find e-reserves and recommended books”.

• Click on “Electronic Reserves 2020”.

• Click on the appropriate title/author you would like to download.

• Provide your student number and myUnisa password.

• Wait, it often takes time to download.

Outcome Assessment criteria

• Explain what is meant by the

• Explain the relationship between

• Distinguish between paradigms,

• Analyse the history of and conflicts

• Discuss the qualitative/quantitative