Using Historical & Social Inquiry to Define Research
Historical and Social Inquiry are based on connected claims for making sense of a complex issue, which needs to be explained. Historical inquiry can be dependent on deductive reasoning systems used to develop theory. It is succinct enough to serve as a building block. It is constitutive, yet time invariant—it is reliable. Historical inquiry draws on the seminal works of many scholars of theory development including: John Dewey (1904), Argyris and Schon (1974), Blalock (1969), Dubin (1969), Gibbs (1972), Nagel (1961), and Stinchcombe (1968). It relates closely to other well-known social inquiries that have augmented and or criticized the issues and debates surrounding the question of what constitutes good theory development. For example, grounded theory—renowned in the fields of education and learning—is often used in to inform qualitative research inquiry, design, and analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Grounded theory has many sub-elements, for example, constant comparative analysis, which is a general approach to qualitative data analysis and ideas of transferability of findings to other contexts (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
Other models of organizational theories and criteria for evaluating theories offer understandings of theory development. Effectively applying these various perspectives extends an understanding of the complex nature of research and learning. Historically, scholars have borrowed philosophies, values, and principles from such fields as psychology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, education, and the pedagogy of learning, to create existing frameworks. Therefore, to be an effective scholar and to succeed at doctoral work, you must understand how to leverage hypothetic-deductive processes, which are used to form behavioral hypotheses.
Theory Development in Decision-Making. Cost Management. May/June, Pg. 37-45
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