Interpretivism and Postivism
Phenomenography is part of the philosophical difference between interpretivism and positivism. Positivism proposes that reality is objective and subject to a set of laws that can be revealed through research. For the positivist, ‘the world is made up of observable facts’ (Glesne, 2006, pp. 4-5). Phenomenography challenges this belief in an ultimate truth. Rather, reality is viewed as process of interpretation, and it is through experience and interpretation that an individual derives meaning. Phenomenography supports a research tradition that seeks to minimise the impact and influence that the researcher has over that which is being observed. Rather, the researcher gains their insights through the process of categorisation …show more content…
31). It is also a relational approach to research because the object and the subject of the research are connected in the research; phenomenography seeks to understand that relationship. The phenomenographic approach adopts a second order view, as the researcher seeks to describe how people view and interpret the world. It is the world of the subject that forms the focus of the research, and the researcher must be careful not to impose their perspective onto the relationship that is being studied. The second order perspective studies relationships through the internal view of the world and how phenomenon is perceived. The research question will be formulated using ‘what’ and ‘how’ rather than ‘why’ questions (Yates, Partridge and Bruce, 2012). The study of the differences and variation amongst participants is important under the phenomenographic approach. It is the content of interpretation, rather than the process of interpretation, that is more …show more content…
The diminishing of the importance of context in the approach to phenomenographical research can be problematic, especially when the situation is important for understanding the nature of a relationship. The lack of clarity and definitiveness of the approach has been criticised in literature (Ashworth, and Lucas, 2000). Phenomenography is considered to be an ad hoc approach (Richardson, 1999). Sjostrom and Dahlgren (2002) challenge the validity and reliability of research findings using the phenomenographic techniques. The empirical data and its categorisation under the phenomenographical approach is dependent upon the researcher’s interpretation of the data and questions are raised as to whether different researchers might categorise the data in a different manner. Phenomenography has been challenged as a valid research method (Marton and Booth, 1997). The primary source of the criticism is derived from the differences between those favouring an interpretive approach and those advocating a positivist
Phenomenography is part of the philosophical difference between interpretivism and positivism. Positivism proposes that reality is objective and subject to a set of laws that can be revealed through research. For the positivist, ‘the world is made up of observable facts’ (Glesne, 2006, pp. 4-5). Phenomenography challenges this belief in an ultimate truth. Rather, reality is viewed as process of interpretation, and it is through experience and interpretation that an individual derives meaning. Phenomenography supports a research tradition that seeks to minimise the impact and influence that the researcher has over that which is being observed. Rather, the researcher gains their insights through the process of categorisation …show more content…
31). It is also a relational approach to research because the object and the subject of the research are connected in the research; phenomenography seeks to understand that relationship. The phenomenographic approach adopts a second order view, as the researcher seeks to describe how people view and interpret the world. It is the world of the subject that forms the focus of the research, and the researcher must be careful not to impose their perspective onto the relationship that is being studied. The second order perspective studies relationships through the internal view of the world and how phenomenon is perceived. The research question will be formulated using ‘what’ and ‘how’ rather than ‘why’ questions (Yates, Partridge and Bruce, 2012). The study of the differences and variation amongst participants is important under the phenomenographic approach. It is the content of interpretation, rather than the process of interpretation, that is more …show more content…
The diminishing of the importance of context in the approach to phenomenographical research can be problematic, especially when the situation is important for understanding the nature of a relationship. The lack of clarity and definitiveness of the approach has been criticised in literature (Ashworth, and Lucas, 2000). Phenomenography is considered to be an ad hoc approach (Richardson, 1999). Sjostrom and Dahlgren (2002) challenge the validity and reliability of research findings using the phenomenographic techniques. The empirical data and its categorisation under the phenomenographical approach is dependent upon the researcher’s interpretation of the data and questions are raised as to whether different researchers might categorise the data in a different manner. Phenomenography has been challenged as a valid research method (Marton and Booth, 1997). The primary source of the criticism is derived from the differences between those favouring an interpretive approach and those advocating a positivist