CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
5.2 Research Philosophy
The term research philosophy relates to the development and the nature of knowledge (Saunders et al., 2012). There are numerous reasons why an understanding of philosophical issues is important. Firstly, it can help to refine and to identify the research methods, which
88 Assumption of Philosophy Ontology 1-Objectivism 2-Subjectivism
Interpretivism
Types of PhilosophyPositivism
Epistemology
1-Law-like generalisations 2-Details of specifics Research ApproachDeduction
Induction
Research MethodQualitative
Quantitative
The Criteria of selecting research methodology *The research question (what is the causal effect) *The role of observer (Independent) *Test theory Seeking to collect and analyse numerical data in order to test causal relationshipsFigure 5.1 Research Methodology
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are used in a particular study and to illuminate the overall research strategy which is employed. This includes the type of gathered data and its source, and how it helps to answer the research questions. Secondly, knowledge of the research philosophy supports and assists the evaluation of different methodologies and methods and to employ suitable methods for a study. Thirdly, it may inform the selection or alteration of the research (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). Therefore, ignoring the research philosophy can affect the quality of the research and it may become unsuitable (Neuman, 2010). Although there are many research philosophies, this research focuses on just two types, namely positivism and anti-positivism. Before discussing these philosophies, the present study firstly presents the assumptions that build research philosophy, namely ontology and epistemology. Table 5-1 summarises the main points for these assumptions.
5.2.1 The Assumptions of Research Philosophy
• Ontology (what exists or what the nature of knowledge is)
The word ontology is made up of two Greek words: “onto” (being); and “logos” (science, study or theory) (Johnson and Duberley, 2000). Blaikie (2007) illustrates the definition of ontology as “the science or study of being”. Ontology deals with the nature of knowledge and the structure of world, reality, truth or being (Bryman, 2008). Ontology answers the question: “To what extent can an external reality exist” (Howell, 2013). It is concerned with the discovery of the theory behind the truth and how to understand existence. In the social sciences, ontology embraces claims and assumptions which make up social reality (Blaikie, 2007).
Saunders et al. (2012) discuss two aspects of ontology. The first aspect is objectivism which assumes that social and natural reality exists but they are outside of human thoughts, beliefs
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and conceptions. The role of research relates to achieving reliability (Johnson and Duberley, 2000; Saunders et al., 2012; Howell, 2013). Therefore, the relationship between research and social phenomena separates. Objectivism assumes that there is only one truth or fact (Burrell and Morgan, 1979). The second aspect is subjectivism (idealism). Saunders et al. (2012) states that subjectivism is viewed as “social phenomena are created from the perceptions and consequent actions of social actors”. Basically, truth is built on the views of a particular person or persons. Truth has different versions depending on the context and, therefore, there is no absolute truth which is part of human conception.
• Epistemology (How research builds or develops knowledge)
The word epistemology is divided into two Greek words: “episteme” knowledge; and “logos” theory (Johnson and Duberley, 2000). Epistemology is the theory behind knowledge or how to discover knowledge about the world. It aims to develop knowledge and theories which are built on gaining knowledge of the world. Consequently, epistemology is concerned with organising and explaining knowledge related to theories (Schmitt, 1994). It includes a set of assumptions or claims which have justified beliefs about a social phenomenon (Blaikie, 2007). Epistemology is concerned with how knowledge is generated or “knowing how you can know” (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2006). It begins with claims and research seeks knowledge which justifies these claims (Saunders et al., 2012).
For example, Lancaster (2005) suggests that “an epistemological approach to a theory of leadership might be based on exploring what we can observe about effective leadership in the real world. By developing our knowledge of effective leadership in this way, we might observe that effective leadership seems to be associated with the possession of certain traits or characteristics on the part of the leader. This knowledge can then be used to form theories
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of leadership based on the possession of certain traits and their relationship to effective leadership.”
Table 5-1: The Assumptions of Research Philosophy
Question (dimension) Continue
What is the nature of reality?
external socially constructed objective subjective
What is considered acceptable knowledge?
observable phenomena subjective meaning law-like generalisations details of specifics What is the role of values? value free value bound Source: Saunder et al., 2012.
5.2.2 Types of Research Philosophy Positivism
The positivist position is employed mainly in natural science which is concerned with a single truth or reality. Positivism can be applied to social studies if the research follows a scientific method or scientific principles (Webb, 1992). Positivism supposes that objects can be investigated as hard facts and the relationships related to these facts in order to become scientific rules. Therefore, social issues can be studied in much the same way as natural issues (Smith, 1998). The positivists believe that the study of consumers and marketing phenomena should be a scientific study. Marketing research establishes causal relations (laws) which support research which tries to understand, explain and predict marketing phenomena (Huberman and Miles, 2002).
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Positivism believes that science assesses independent facts quantitatively and the social world exists externally and objectively (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Tsoukas, 1989). Consequently, knowledge is valid only if it comes from observations and experiences which are the key means to understanding human behaviour. Facts are measured empirically through using quantitative methods, such as surveys and experiments and statistical analysis (Hatch and Cunliffe, 2006; Easterby-Smith et al., 2008; Saunders et al., 2012). According to the positivists, a phenomenon should be isolated and observations should be repeatable.
Johnson and Duberley (2000) and Easterby-Smith et al., (2008) discuss that there are some suggestions which facilitate the determination of positivism’s key characteristics in management research.
• Aim: the research should aim to analyse the causal relationships that explain human behaviour.
• Research Method: the rational science method is the only source of knowledge in the natural sciences. Hence, in the social sciences, it should be adopted through implying that some considerations are either valid generalizations or to evaluate the research and its internal validity, external validity and reliability. This means that the researcher should employ a quantitative method.
• Causality: social sciences aim to determine the causal relationships that justify regularities of human behaviour.
• Value-freedom: the choice, of what to study, and how to study it, should be determined by objective criteria rather than by human beliefs and interests.
• Operationalisation: variables should be determined operationally through choosing suitable items that are consistent with the concepts of research variables.
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• Independence: the role of the observer is an organiser who objectively observes the phenomena. So, the research should separate this from what is observed during research.
• Reductionism: the research problem should be reduced into the simplest possible components to obtain a better understanding.
• Generalisation: The researcher can generalise the study findings if the sample size is sufficient.
• Hypothesis and deductions: Science suggests a hypothesis that explains the theory and then it deducts what kind of observations will or will not confirm the hypothesis.
Based on the positivist perspective, Johnson and Duberley (2000) mention that management research aims “to generate laws which govern the ways in which organisations operate. The generation of these causal relationships or laws will enable management to become more scientific and managers to become better able to predict and control their environments. The focus is on the observable and the approach to the analysis of organisations assumes that their reality is objectively given, functionally necessary and politically neutral. Determinism prevails, with human behaviour often reduced to the product of external forces of the environment. Thus, social interactions are to be studied in the same way as physical elements - as a network of causal relations linking aspects of behaviour to context and stimuli in the external environment thus conditioning people to behave in a certain way.”
Anti-positivism (Interpretivism)
Anti-positivism or interpretivism is important in understanding better the differences between people rather than objects (Saunders et al., 2009). Interpretive perspectives view reality as being socially constructed (Howell, 2013). Research can explain reality only through a
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subjective interpretation which focuses on the details of a situation, a reality behind these details and the motivations of action (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000). Research which adopts an anti-positivistic perspective is not concerned with the issue of generalisability (Bryman and Bell, 2003).
Burrell and Morgan (1997) report that “for the anti-positivist, the social world is essentially relativistic and can only be understood from the point of view of the individuals who are directly involved in activities which are to be studied. Anti-positivists reject the standpoint observer, which characterises positive epistemology, as a valid vantage point for understanding human activities. They maintain that one understand by occupying the frame of reference of the participant in action. One has to understand from inside rather than outside. From this point of view social science is seen as being essentially a subjective rather than an objective enterprise. Anti-positivists tend to reject the notion that science can generate objective knowledge of any kind.” This is highly contextual and, hence, is not widely generalisable (Saunders et al., 2012). It focuses on understanding what people are thinking and feeling and how they communicate. In gathering data, this philosophy is associated with qualitative methods (Easterby-Smith et al., 2008). Finally, Table 5.2 summarises the characteristics of the two philosophies discuss above.
Table 5.2 Characteristics of Positivism and Interpretivism Philosophy
Basis of comparison Positivism Philosophy Interpretivism Philosophy Basic beliefs World external and objective World socially constructed and
subjective
The observer Observer must be independent Observer is part of what is observed
Human interests Should be irrelevant Science driven by human interests Researchers focus Focus on facts Focus on meanings
Explanations Look for causality and fundamental laws
Try to understand what is happening
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they can be measured
Uses multiple methods to establish different views of phenomena
Research progress through.
Formulate hypotheses and, then, test them
Develop ideas through induction from data
Unit of analysis Reduce phenomena to simplest elements
Look at whole of each situation Generalization Statistical probability Theoretical generalization Data collection
techniques most often used
Highly structured, large samples, measurement, quantitative, but can use qualitative
Small samples, in-depth investigations, qualitative Source: Easterby-Smith et al. (2008), and Saunders et al. (2012).
Research Philosophy Adopted for This Study:
This study is considered to be applied research as it aims to answer the research question which is: what the cause and effect relationships between IC and innovation? Some hypotheses are formulated. Therefore, this study accepts the objectivism reality of an ontological perspective. It also accepts the epistemological position as the research hypotheses focus on causality and low-like generalisations through sufficient sample size and using statistical analysis. This means that the research is independent of the subject under examination. Its role is only related to achieving reliability. It is decided that positivism is the most suitable philosophy for this study.