Metatheory

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Metatheory

• Examining Assumptions That Underlie Our Theories

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Examining Theoretical Assumptions

• Assumptions "taken for granted truths
• Usually unstated, often not evaluated
• Key identify, evaluate assumptions
• Three key sets of assumptions
• Ontology Nature of reality
• Epistemology Basis of knowledge
• Axiology Role of values

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Ontology Assumptions about Nature of Reality

• Many different sets of assumptions
• Reality is what we know through our senses
• Reality is unknowable, our senses fool us
• Reality is constructed in our minds
• Reality exists whether we perceive it or not
• Each leads to a different view of world
• Each produces different sets of questions

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Epistemology Assumptions About How We Know What
We Know

• What counts as knowledge?
• Facts? Tested propositions
• Beliefs? Opinions?
• What are appropriate methods?
• Observations? Measurement? Logic?
• Intuition? Dreams? Inspiration?

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Axiology Assumptions About Role of Values

• Research should be objective (value free)
• Research is inherently subjective
• Thats a good thing
• Thats a bad thing

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Testing Theories

• Remember falsifiability?
• Means theory can be tested
• Only when tested can we assess its value
• We use questions and/or predictions
• Research questions Focused questions to build
  theory or that emerge from theory
• Develop explanations/predictions build theory
• Hypotheses educated predictions about phenomena
  based on theory
• More powerful than RQs in testing theories

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Quantitative Research

• Involves statistics to assess how prevalent?
• Convenience sample provides an indication
• True random sample can generalize results
• Experiments
• Control other possible influences Select
  independent variables (researcher controls)
• Select dependent variables (outcomes of the
  IVs)
• Precision is a strength - excellent for testing
  Hs!
• Artificiality a weakness what about real world?

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Quantitative Research

• Surveys ask people to answer questions
• Useful for assessing people's perceptions and
  attitudes
• Good for RQs as well as testing Hs
• Accuracy of responses potential weakness
• Content analyses
• Useful for studying messages (TV, magazines,
  etc.)
• Usually focus on frequency, prevalence of content
• Useful for narrow range of questions

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Qualitative Research

• Interpretive focus on understanding phenomena
• Less interested in how many than what is it
  question
• Less interested in generalizing results
• Many different methods!
• Textual analysis define "text" broadly
• speeches, journalism, interview transcripts
• teens' room decorations, school desk doodlings,
  MTV videos
• Ethnography like anthropologists studying our
  society
• Study human activities where and when they occur
  -- in context
• Seek to understand from participants' viewpoint
• deep description of observations, informants, and
  interpretations

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Qualitative Research

• Interpretive focus on understanding phenomena
• More interested in what is it? than how many?
• Less interested in generalizing results
• Textual analysis define "text" broadly
• speeches, journalism, interview transcripts
• teens' room decorations, school desk doodlings,
  MTV videos
• Ethnography like anthropologists studying our
  society
• Study human activities where and when they occur
  -- in context
• Seek to understand from participants' viewpoint
• deep description of observations, informants, and
  interpretations
• Focus groups/individual interviews
• In-depth exploration of topic
• Can be combined with content analyses