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This presentation outlines the relationship between epistemology and methodology in qualitative research. Epistemology, the study of the nature of knowledge and justification of beliefs, influences methodology and method. Epistemology is axiological, meaning it has ethical weight and is surrounded by values. Choosing an epistemological position is the first step and will directly influence the methodology and methods. Methodology justifies the methods and connects research to theory and discipline. Selecting a methodology will provide a primary source of justification for the project's relationship to theory.
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This presentation aims to outline in a simple manner the relationship between epistemology and methodology. The importance of axiology as part of the epistemology is introduced. Understanding is provided on how epistemology and methodology combine as a framework.
Methodology: justifies the methods A theory and analysis of how research should proceed Analysis of the assumptions, principles and procedures in a particular approach to an inquiry A description, explanation and the justification of the methods used Methodology connects research to theory and discipline Each variant of each methodology has risen from particular academic disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, philosophy, cultural studies and psychology Methodologies can proscribe or encourage the use of existing or formal and substantive theories at two stages
Epistemological justification depends on the internal consistency of the arguments put forward to support a knowledge claim based on the fit between the evidence, social theory and existing knowledge Needs to include critical reflection on the social roles and values of the research team, the social processes of generating evidence and the role of substantive social theory in conceptualising the evidence and how it fits with background theory Methodological justification concerns the rationale given for the characteristic techniques used in the production of empirical evidence within a particular research tradition Established methodological theories provide some conventical ways of handling some issues, but they are limited in the scope they can offer for critical reflection on the role of social theory in the production of evidence and are limited in the extent to which they can provide for new or unusual forms of research technique Methodological theory cannot be used to justify the research methods, more so when the internal consistently of the epistemological argument is obscured and/or there is a failure to locate knowledge claims within a wider system of beliefs Therefore when constructing an epistemological justification for a claim that the findings of qualitative inquiry have contributed to knowledge, it is not sufficient to state, “This study used grounded theory to generate its findings” or “This study employed phenomenological methods.
Avis, M. (2003). Do we need methodological theory to do qualitative research? Qualitative Health Research, 13(7), 995-1004. Carter, S. M., & Little, M. (2007). Justifying knowledge, justifying method, taking action: Epistemologies, methodologies, and methods in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 17(10), 1316-1328.