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Interpretive Research - based on the assumption that social reality is not…
Interpretive Research - based on the assumption that social reality is not singular or objective, but is rather shaped by human experiences and social contexts (ontology), and is therefore best studied within its socio-historic context by reconciling the subjective interpretations of its various participants (epistemology).
Qualitative Research (empirical) - relies mostly on non-numeric data, such as interviews and observations and is coded using techniques like content analysis. Interpretive research relies heavily on qualitative data.
Quantitative Research (data-oriented) - employs numeric data such as scores and metrics; may add more precision and clearer understanding of the phenomenon of interest in interpretive research.
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Positivist Research
1). employs random sampling (or a variation of this technique), where cases are chosen randomly from a population
2). the researcher is considered to be external to and independent of the research context and is not presumed to bias the data collection and analytic procedures
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4). research project cannot be modified or changed once the data collection has started without redoing the entire project from the start.
Benefits
1). well-suited for exploring hidden reasons behind complex, interrelated, or multifaceted social processes.
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3). appropriate for studying context-specific, unique, or idiosyncratic events or processes
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Challenges
4). the inferences do not lend themselves well to replicability and generalizability; 5). may fail to answer the research questions of interest or predict future behaviors.
1). tends to be more and resource intensive than positivist research in data collection and analytic efforts.
2). requires well-trained researchers who are capable of seeing and interpreting complex social phenomenon from the participant's perspective and reconciling the diverse perspectives of participants without injecting their personal biases or preconceptions into their inferences.
3). all participants or data sources may not be equally credible, unbiased, or knowledgeable about the phenomenon of interest, or may have undisclosed political agendas, which may lead to misleading or false impressions.
Characteristics
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Researcher as instrument: Researchers are often embedded within the social context that they are studying and are considered part of the data collection.
Interpretive Analysis: Observations must be interpreted through the eyes of the participants embedded in the social context.
Use of expressive language: Documenting the verbal and non-verbal language of participants and the analysis of such language are integral components of interpretive analysis.
Temporal Nature: Interpretive research is often not concerned with searching for specific answers, but with understanding or "making sense of" a dynamic social process as it unfolds over time.
Hermeneutic Circle: Interpretive interpretation is an iterative process of moving back and forth from pieces of observations (text) to the entirety of the social phenomenon (context) to reconcile their apparent discord and to construct a theory that is consistent with the diverse subjective viewpoints & experiences of the embedded participants.
Data Collection
Interviews - face-to-face, telephone, or focus groups; most frequently used technique.
Observation - researcher is a neutral and passive external observer & is not involved in the phenomenon of interest.
Participant Observation - researcher is an active participant in the phenomenon & her inputs or mere presence influence the phenomenon.
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