Qualitative Political Analysis Philosophies of science and social science

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Qualitative Political Analysis Philosophies of
science and social science

• Ben Worthy
• B.Worthy_at_bbk.ac.uk

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Overview

• Theory
• Ontology
• Epistemology
• Doing research

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Research Methods

• What have you used?

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Research Methods

• Studies of Freedom of Information
• Central and local government, Parliament,
  Universities
• Looked at
• Met objectives
• Impact on how bodies function

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Research Methods

• Mixed methods
• Interviews
• Media analysis
• Surveys
• Case law
• Use of FOI

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Theory

• Answer to most questions
• Name a theory
• Building block of ideas
• Can be a grand idea or a medium order or
  hypothesis (Bryman 2008).

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Underlying theory Explaining phenomena

• Social research (mostly) deals with these
  questions
• What is happening? Descriptive analysis
• Why is it happening? Causal analysis
• How can we make (better) things happen (better)?
  Normative analysis
• These can be answered using either quantitative
  (numbers) or qualitative (language) approaches.
• The difference is the way we think about the
  questions, the methods to get our answers, and
  interpreting our results.

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Building blocks of research
Ontology
Whats out there to know? How does it exist?
Epistemology
What how can we know about it?
Methodology
How do we acquire valid knowledge?
Methods
Which procedures can we use to acquire it?
Sources
Which data can we collect?
Grix, J., 2004 The Foundations of Research p. 66
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Ontology and epistemology

• How does the world exist? In our case, how does
  the social world exist?
• How do we come to know what exists?
• Which method(s) we use to try to evaluate our
  theory will depend upon how we perceive the
  world.
• The first bullet point is a question of ontology,
  the second, a question of epistemology and the
  third a question of methodology.

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Ontology "What exists?"

• What is existence?
• What does it mean to say something does not
  exist?
• What is an object?
• Can one give an account of what it means to say
  that an object exists?
• The great divide foundationalist vs.
  anti-foundationalist
• Table? University?

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Ontology

• Burr (2003) provides three different definitions
  of reality used in ontological debates
• Reality as truth versus falsehood
• Reality as materiality versus illusion
• Reality as essence versus construction

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A quick word about terms

• Bryman uses objectivism and constructionism
  as ontological terms
• Grix uses foundationalism and
  anti-foundationalism.
• Burr (2003) uses social constructionism to
  refer to a set of approaches to the study of
  human behaviour (epistemological use)

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Ontology

• Foundationalism or Bryman (2004) objectivism
• reality exists independent of our knowledge of
  it.
• true knowledge must rest upon a set of firm,
  unquestionableindisputable truths from which our
  beliefs may be logically deduced, so retaining
  the truth value of the foundational premises from
  which they follow, (Hughes and Sharrock 1997,
  p.4-5).
• social phenomena and their meaning have
  existence independent of actors, (Bryman, p.16).
• Breaks up into different groups Positivists vs.
  realists

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Ontology

• Antifoundationalism/Constructivism do not
  believe the world exists independent of our
  knowledge of it
• reality is socially constructed by human
  actors
• there are no central values that can be
  rationally and universally grounded.
• the researcher always presents a specific
  version of social reality, rather than one that
  can be regarded as definitive. Knowledge is
  viewed as indeterminate, (Bryman, p.17).
• Breaks up into different areas e.g. ethnography
  i.e. thick description vs. post-modernists

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Burr Social Constructionism

• Stems from Postmodernism-no underlying truth
• Critical stance towards taken fro granted (e.g.
  men/women vs. ear lobes)
• Historical and cultural specificity e.g.
  parenting in Dickens
• Knowledge is constructed from social processes
  and the two go together and change e.g. alcoholism

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Task

• What is a personality?

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Burr Social Constructionism

• Personality is (a) essential (b) stable
• But does it exits at all? Evidence? Only
  expressed through words (e.g. love)
• Is behaviour the same i.e. pub vs. great uncle?
• Actually most attributes shared with others e.g.
  friendly, shy etc

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Ontology

• Example 10 note

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Life and Death

• Dispute over life (abortion debate)
• Different clinical definitions of death.
• In the UK no statutory clinical definition of
  death
• Brain death (no activity) vs. vegetative state
• Organ donation
• Cryonics information theoretic death i.e.
  personality

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Ontology Why should we care?

1. The types of questions they ask
2. What epistemology they will adopt in trying to
   answer those questions and
3. The method they will use to investigate that
   answer.
4. How they interpret their results.

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Epistemology

• Epistemology what is (or should be) regarded
  as acceptable knowledge in a discipline, Bryman,
  p. 11.
• Positivism quantitative methodologies (use of
  surveys, experiments, statistical analysis)
• Realism- used quantitative methods but also
  certain hidden influences
• Interpretivism qualitative methodologies (use
  of focus groups, interviews, analysis of text and
  language)

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Positivist Popper

• Use of conjectures and refutations-able to
  falsify something
• Idea of objectivity and social sciences matching
  natural
• Open Society

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Realist Marx

• Idea of laws of history
• World was measurable and a single truth existed
  
• Historical materialism
• Some things are hidden from view or measurement
  e.g. false consciousness

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Interpretivist Foucault

• All had meaning in historical context
• Dominant discourse and social narrative
• Concepts used, abused and shifted over time
• e.g. madness abused to persecute as was justice
  and equality

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Positivism

• Hume outlined two types of knowledge, one based
  on facts the other on values.
• Empirical knowledge (facts) is knowledge of the
  observable world and based upon sensory
  perceptions.
• Normative knowledge is based on values and
  beliefs, informed by individual preferences.
  Because it is subjective, Hume asserted it can
  provide no basis for science (as we can say
  nothing certain about this type of knowledge).
• Can only be sure of facts based on experience
• Humans have a tendency to presume
  regularity/uniformity
• But can you ever know anything?

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Positivism (20th century)

• Only scientific knowledge is authentic knowledge
• Scientific knowledge only comes through the use
  of strict scientific method.
• World is measurable
• What distinguishes the scientific from the
  pseudo-scientific?
• Positivists argued all scientific statements
  could phrased in such a way that they could be
  shown to be wrong and tested (Popper).
• The null hypothesis

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Has Obama changed America?
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Interpretivism/Constructivism

• In contrast with natural phenomena, social
  phenomena are mutable, contain varied
  perspectives.
• Nietzsche, Kant (and others) pointed out the
  world is fundamentally disordered and it is the
  observer who imposes intelligibility upon it.
• About narratives, discourse and particular
  contexts
• Focus on meaning and understanding
• Double hermeneutic

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Democracy?

• Is Democracy always been a good thing?

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Democracy

• Democracy was associated with mob rule until
  the end of 18th century,
• Now it is seen as most desirable form of
  government in many countries
• Venezuela?
• North Korea? China?

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Interpretivism/Constructivism

• Interpretivism is the epistemological perspective
  which follows from an antifoundationalist
  perspective.
• social phenomena and their meanings are
  continually being accomplished by social actors,
  (Bryman, p. 17).
• The researcher is presenting a specific version
  of social reality and trying to understand how
  others react and understand social phenomena.
• Interpretivism in social science is most often
  associated with the use of qualitative
  methodology and qualitative methods.
• Habermas, Frankfurt School, Foucault ,
  ethnographers thick description

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How things are socially produced

• Kuhn The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
  (1970) scientists are not as open minded as
  claimed.
• Revolution occurs when dominant paradigm breaks
  down, results produce inconvenience facts

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Newtonian physics to quantum theory
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Time Arrow or Wheel?
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Has Obama changed America?
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Concluding thoughts?

• Deep divisions between two strands-irreconcilable
  and very different ideas
• Yet vital-shape questions, methods, way of
  understanding the world.
• Nuance within each

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Social Research

• Values
• Ontology
• Theory
• Practical considerations
• Epistemology
• (Bryman 2008)

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Doing research

• Choice of research (why? Interesting vs.
  practical)
• Research Questions (precision? Too big?)
• Choice of measurement (need depth)
• Formulate research design
• Data collection (long time)
• Analysis
• Interpret (link to theory!)
• Conclude

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Common Issues

• Too big a question
• Lack of theory
• Lack of objectivity
• Research question to method link
• Proving a positive
• Flexibility
• Conclusion?

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Somalias Best Bet?