scholarly journals Epistemological Values and Limitations of Ethnography as an Interpretive Research Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 83-90
Author(s):  
Youba Raj Luintel
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Theoretical Frame ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences

The research method in humanities and social sciences shares a certain theoretical frame and research design with the interpretive approach. The “interpretive approach” of ethnographic research brings humanities and social sciences together in the realms of naturalistic inquiry as well as knowledge production. This article discusses how ethnographers would tend to address these epistemological fronts in scholarship and research design in humanities and social sciences. It also raises some of the pragmatics and methodological utilities of the ethnographic approach, followed by a short description of ethical and practical issues involved in the research process. Both the humanities and social science research adopt the interpretive approach to explore the subject of investigation in the specific theoretical frame and from multiple perspectives. The article concludes that the strengths that it offers, particularly concerning unravelling complexities of people’s daily lives in their “meaning perspectives,” are unique and appealing even though ethnography never remains immune to some of the limitations of qualitative research.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-Sets: Agenda for a Research Approach and a Data Analysis Technique

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Q. Schneider ◽  
Claudius Wagemann
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Journal Issue ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Methodological Tool ◽  
Research Questions

Abstract“Qualitative Comparative Analysis” (QCA) is an increasingly applied methodological tool in comparative social sciences. It is well suited for the analysis of causally complex claims framed in terms of necessity and sufficiency. This article presents the epistemology of QCA and discusses its applicability to social science research questions. It also illustrates some of the features that have recently been added to this set of methodological tools. This article is best read in close conjunction with Schneider and Wagemann’s “Standards of Good QCA Practice,” the next paper in this journal issue.

What is Forced Labour? A Practical Guide for Humanities and Social Science Research

2018 ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Jean Allain
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
Definition Of

This practical guide provides a baseline understanding of the concept of forced labour to assist researchers in the humanities and social sciences ensure their representations of the phenomenon are rigorous and credible. While recognising the limitations of the 1930 ILO Convention definition of forced labour, this Chapter provides helpful guidance in understanding what does – and what does not – constitute forced labour. Summarised in 10 Practical Points for Understanding Forced Labour, this Chapter helps researchers build a baseline understanding of forced labour by providing a dozen helpful markers to ensure that those within the humanities and social sciences are speaking the same language when they represent the phenomenon of forced labour.

Studying Japan

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The World ◽  
Japanese Studies

Studying Japan is the first comprehensive guide on qualitative methods, research designs and fieldwork in social science research on Japan. More than 70 Japan scholars from around the world provide an easy-to-read overview on qualitative methods used in research on Japan’s society, politics, culture and history. The book covers the entire research process from the outset to the completion of a thesis, a paper, or a book. The authors provide basic introductions to individual methods, discuss their experiences when applying these methods and highlight current trends in research on Japan. The book serves as a foundation for a course on qualitative research methods and is, but can also be used as a reference for all researchers in Japanese Studies, the Social Sciences and Area Studies. It is an essential reading for students and researchers with an interest in Japan! With contributions by: Chapter: Celeste L. Arrington, David Chiavacci, Andreas Eder-Ramsauer, James Farrer, Roger Goodman, Carola Hommerich, Nora Kottmann, Gracia Liu-Farrer, Levi McLaughlin, Chris McMorran, Caitlin Meagher, Kaori Okano, Theresia B. Peucker, Cornelia Reiher, Katja Schmidtpott, Christian Tagsold, Katrin Ullmann, Gabriele Vogt, Cosima Wagner, Akiko Yoshida and Urs Matthias Zachmann. Essays: Shinichi Aizawa, Noor Albazerbashi, Daniel P. Aldrich, Allison Alexy, Verena Blechinger-Talcott, Christoph Brumann, Genaro Castro-Vázquez, David Chiavacci, Jamie Coates, Emma E. Cook, Laura Dales, James Farrer, Flavia Fulco, Isaac Gagné, Nana Okura Gagné, Sonja Ganseforth, Sheldon Garon, Julia Gerster, Christopher Gerteis, Markus Heckel, Steffen Heinrich, Joy Hendry, Swee-Lin Ho, Barbara Holthus, Katharina Hülsmann, Jun Imai, Hanno Jentzsch, Aya H. Kimura, Emi Kinoshita, Susanne Klien, Gracia Liu-Farrer, Patricia L. Maclachlan, Wolfram Manzenreiter, Kenneth M. McElwain, Lynne Y. Nakano, Scott North, Robin O’Day, Robert J. Pekkanen, Saadia M. Pekkanen, Isabelle Prochaska-Meyer, Nancy Rosenberger, Richard J. Samuels, Annette Schad-Seifert, Katja Schmidtpott, Tino Schölz, Kai Schulze, Kay Shimizu, Karen Shire, David H. Slater, Celia Spoden, Brigitte Steger, Nicolas Sternsdorff-Cisterna, Christian Tagsold, Akiko Takeyama, Daisuke Watanabe, Daniel White, Anna Wiemann and Tomiko Yamaguchi. Foreword: Ilse Lenz and Franz Waldenberger.

scholarly journals Canadian Institutes in the Humanities and Social Sciences

1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Audrey Forster ◽  
John McKinnirey
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Research Institutes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Humanities And Social Sciences

This paper discusses the effectiveness and ultimate value of the growing number of research institutes in the humanities and social sciences. It looks at the different types in existence and their geographic distribution. It considers the motivation for and obstacles to establishing research institutes, points to the difficulties involved in their funding and operation and outlines arguments put forward by their proponents. Illustrated with examples are different objectives and functions of various kinds of institutes, their organizational structure and their relationship to the universities. The Max-Planck Institutes in Germany and Institutes of the Social Science Research Council in Britain are described. The paper concludes with a sketch of three fundamental types of institute, each with its own rationale: the academic Utopia, the small-scale institute for research in the humanities and the problem-solving or mission-oriented institute.

scholarly journals The Social Dynamics of Social Science Research: Between Poetry and the Conveyer Belt

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Abbey ◽  
Tania Zittoun
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Direct Perception ◽  
Monitoring Process ◽  
Semiotic Representations ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

This paper considers the semiotic organization of the research process in the social sciences. It offers a detailed analysis of the semiotic organization of a much used technique in the social sciences: the one-on-one non-directive interview. We consider how different signs might constrain the researcher’s thoughts and actions within the ongoing processes of interview dialogue. We are especially interested in different semiotic representations that may constrain the researcher’s understanding of his or her direct perception of phenomena: the researcher as a “poet” or as a “machine.” It is suggested that these notions may differentially constrain the researcher’s monitoring of the interaction with a participant, and that decisions in this monitoring process can have important implications for the ability of the interviewee to more fully express what it is he or she tries to communicate, and for the process of generating new knowledge. In conclusion, we suggest “poetic” and “mechanistic” approaches to the direct perception of phenomena, though distinct, may nonetheless be understood to complement one another.

scholarly journals A Practical Resource for the Social Sciences: A Book Review of Bruce Friedman’s The Research Toolkit - Problem Solving Processes for the Social Sciences

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Faubert
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The Social ◽  
Student Reading ◽  
Social Science Researcher

Bruce D. Friedman provides an invaluable resource for social science researchers and practitioners to add to their “toolkit.” This book provides practical and straightforward guidance for understanding and conducting qualitative and quantitative research. As a social science researcher, sessional instructor, and doctoral student, reading this book answered important questions I had regarding the research process and implications of social science research. This review will discuss the primary tenets of the book as well as the relevance of this toolkit for student-researchers.

Interpretive Social Science

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bevir ◽  
Jason Blakely
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interpretive Approach ◽  
Research Concept

This book offers a comprehensive case for an “interpretive” or hermeneutic approach to the social sciences. Interpretive approaches are a major growth area in the social sciences because they offer a full-blown alternative to the behavioralism, institutionalism, rational choice, and other quasi-scientific approaches that dominate the study of human behavior. In addition to presenting a systematic case for interpretivism and a critique of scientism, this book also proposes a unique “anti-naturalist” notion of an interpretive approach. This anti-naturalist framework encompasses the insights of philosophers ranging from Michel Foucault and Hans-Georg Gadamer to Charles Taylor and Ludwig Wittgenstein, while also resolving dilemmas that have plagued rival philosophical defenses of interpretivism. In addition, this book draws on the latest social science research to give working social scientists a detailed account of a distinctly interpretive approach to methods, empirical research, concept formation, ethics, democracy, and public policy. An anti-naturalist approach to interpretive social science offers nothing short of a sweeping paradigm shift in the study of human beings and society.

A Tale of Two Cultures

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Goertz ◽  
James Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scientific Worldview ◽  
Different Cultures

Some in the social sciences argue that the same logic applies to both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This book demonstrates that these two paradigms constitute different cultures, each internally coherent yet marked by contrasting norms, practices, and toolkits. The book identifies and discusses major differences between these two traditions that touch nearly every aspect of social science research, including design, goals, causal effects and models, concepts and measurement, data analysis, and case selection. Although focused on the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, the book also seeks to promote toleration, exchange, and learning by enabling scholars to think beyond their own culture and see an alternative scientific worldview. The book is written in an easily accessible style and features a host of real-world examples to illustrate methodological points.

Context in Action and How to Study It

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Care Patient ◽  
Organizational Life ◽  
Integration Of Care ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
Care Outcomes ◽  
Definition Of

The concept of context is a cornerstone of a large part of social science research, particularly in organization and management studies, yet it has received little theoretical and methodological attention in lieu of its relevance. This book offers a definition of context as a theoretical construct, a discussion of the methodological implications of this, and a framework for how to reflect upon and operationalize the role of context in the different stages of a research process, from formulating research questions to analyzing and writing about results. The chapters presented here integrate lessons derived from various research experiences across the complex and dynamic field of health care. Contributors share their experiences with theorizing about and empirically studying significant organizational phenomena such as implementation of policy, organizational change, integration of care, patient involvement, human-technology interactions in practice, and the interplay between work environment and care outcomes in eldercare. These contributions exemplify how a nuanced approach to context might unfold in different fields, through different designs, methods, and analytical lenses. Relevant to researchers and practitioners, within both healthcare, organization and management studies, and the social sciences more broadly, this book leaves the reader with a practical framework from which to carry out contextual research and analysis and a gain deeper understanding of the significance of context in organizational life.

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