AT20303: METEDOLOGI

PENYELIDIKAN
z
KMO12 THEORY IN
RESEARCH
z
What is a Theory?

 Ideas and knowledge of science

 Research is based on theory.
 Theory is the initial inspiration for
research study.
 Research helps answer the
question “Was my theory
correct?”
 z
Theory as a lens

 Existing theory(s) which seek to explain

how aspects of social reality ‘work’
(models). E.g.
 Models of learning

 Behaviourist (Skinner); Constructivist (Piaget); Social constructivist

(Vygotsky); Deep learning (Anderson)

 Models of professional/expertise development

 Situated learning; Communities of practice (Lave; Wenger)

 Models of second language acquisition

 Krashen’s SLA theory; Oxford’s S2R;

z
Theory as new knowledge

 Adaptation, revision or confirmation of

existing theory
 Generation of new theory

 Relates to conceptual framework

z
What are the Elements of a
Theory?

 Concepts: Abstractly describe and name an

object, idea, or phenomenon, thus providing it with
a separate identity or meaning
 Conceptual definition: More comprehensive than
a dictionary definition; includes associated
meanings a word may have
 Relational statement: Clarifies the type of
relationship that exists between or among concepts
 Map or model: Graphically shows the
interrelationships of the concepts and relational
statements
z
Three ways of thinking about theory

 That which underpins research design

 Theory as paradigm
 That which may inform our
understanding of the phenomenon
under investigation
 Theory as a ‘lens’
 That which may emerge from our
study
 Theory as new knowledge
z
Theory as paradigm

 Philosophical assumptions about what

constitutes social reality (ontology)
 What we accept as valid evidence of
that reality (epistemology)
 The means by which we investigate
that context (methodology)
 The means by which we gather
evidence (methods)
 4 key ‘paradigm’ questions
z
1. What do we believe exists? (Ontology)
– Fundamental beliefs that someone holds about the
nature of the social world and its relationship to individual
social actors.
• Social reality exists independent of the observer
• Social reality is constructed by people in particular
social, cultural and historical contexts

2. What constitutes reliable & valid knowledge? (Epistemology)

• Causal relationships between observable phenomena
• Interpretations of meaning
 z
4 key ‘paradigm questions (contd.)
 How we produce reliable and valid knowledge?
(Methodology)
 What ‘Strategies of inquiry’ (Creswell) are appropriate to
our ontological/epistemological position
 (descriptive/confirmatory <-> explanatory/exploratory)
(‘Flat world’ theory <-> Exploring other cultures)
 How can we collect data to test our theories or describe
social phenomena? (Methods)
 What data collection approaches/tools are appropriate to
the the methodology
z
What is the Difference between a
Framework and a Theory?

 A framework is a brief explanation of a

theory or portions of a theory to be
tested in a study.
 A theory is abstract rather than
concrete.
 It focuses on the general.
 The framework may be implicit.
z
z
What are Frameworks?

 Frameworks explain the theory.

 Frameworks give relationships of
variables.
 This results in the hypothesis, which is
testable.
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
What are Some Problems with
Frameworks?

 Inappropriate framework
 Disconnected framework
 Multiple frameworks
 Unidentified framework
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
What about Conceptual Models?

 These are more abstract than theories.

 They explain phenomena of interest
and reflect a philosophical stance.
 They cannot be tested via research.
 They may guide further qualitative
studies.
 Operational definitions are often found
in these models.
z
What sources are used for
Conceptual Definitions?

 Existing theoretical works

 Must be used if proposition from
theory being tested
 Always desirable when available
 Should be directly quoted (if
possible) and cited
 Published concept analyses
z
Sources of Conceptual Definitions

 Previous studies using the concept

 Publications describing instrument
development
 General literature
 Performing a concept analysis
z
What are Middle-Range Theories?

 Less abstract and narrower in scope than

conceptual models
 Emerge from review of studies to build
evidence-based practice related to a clinical
problem
 More clinical and problem-focus
z
Models of social research
1. Qualitative study

 An inquiry which seeks to understand

social phenomena through the exploration
and interpretation of the meanings people
attach to, and make sense of, their
experiences of the social world “
 Associated with the Interpretive paradigm

 Key principle: Subjectivity/interpretation

 Theory developed: during and/or after (‘a posteriori’) the

study (theory generation)
 Process: Inductive
z
Models of social research
2. Quantitative study

 An inquiry based on testing a theory

composed of variables, measured with
numbers and analysed with statistical
procedures, in order to determine whether the
predictive generalisations of the theory hold
true
 Associated with: Post/positivist paradigm

 Key principle: Objectivity

 Theory stated: before (‘a priori’) the study (theory verification)

 Process: Deductive
z
Models of social research
3. Mixed-method study

• Qualitative and quantitative strategies used

in a single study
Concurrent:
Quantitative and qualitative strategies
employed in parallel
Sequential:
Qualitative informs quantitative (or vice
versa)
Brannen
Denscombe
Denzin
Johnson & Onwuegbuzie
Teddlie & Tashakkori
z
Conceptual framework

• A written or visual presentation

that:
– “explains either graphically, or in
narrative form, the main things to be
studied – the key factors, concepts
or variables - and the presumed
relationship among them”
(Miles and Huberman, 1994, P18)
z
Conceptual framework

 Quantitative research

 Typically developed after literature review

 Provides the structure/content for the whole

study based on literature and personal
experience
 Revisited at the conclusion of the study

 Qualitative research

 Initial framework after literature review

 Further developed as participants’ views and

issues are gathered and analysed.