Rationalistic and Naturalistic Inquiry
The The term term “inqu “inquiry iry,,” meanin meaning, g, “searc “search h for truth, truth,”” appe appears ars not infreq infreque uentl ntly y in writings by philosophers but not so often in the work of social science researchers (Te (Teichman ichman and and !ans !ans,, "###$ "###$%% &atan &atane e (' (')' )'*$ *$ cited cited two two type types s of inqu inquiri iries es in educatio educational nal and social social science science researc research+ h+ the rationa rationalist listic ic and natural naturalistic istic inquirie inquiries% s% Rationa Rationalist listic ic and natural naturalisti istic c inquirie inquiries s are based based on the sociolo sociologica gicall paradig paradigms ms of organiations - the epistemology of positi!ism and anti.positi!ism%
/ositi!ism /ositi!ism is a term with widely use in social science and philosophy% philosophy% In general, general, it can be defined as an approach which applies scientific method of natural science to study human acti!ity using ob0ecti!e enquiry and thereby presupposes the unity of the sciences sciences (1ollis, "##2) 2"+ 3elanty, '4) '4) "$% /ositi!ism /ositi!ism entails the !iew that scientific knowledge can be positi!ely !erifiable and foundation of knowledge is built on the disco!ery of general laws (3elanty, '4) ""$% 5oreo!er, 5arsh and 6mith ('") 4'#$ argue that /ositi!ism is ob!iously foundationalist, foundationalist, which is the idea belie!e that there is a real world out there and it is independent from agent7s knowledge of it% 8nti.positi!ism on other hand, emphasies that social reality is !iewed and interpreted by the indi!idual herself according to the ideological positions she possesses% Therefore, knowledge is personally e9perienced rather than acquired from or imposed from outside (&ohen, 5anion and 5orrison, '":$% 8ntipositi!ism (also known as interpreti!ism or negati!ism$ is the belief within social science that the social realm may not be sub0ect to the same methods of in!estigation as the natural world+ the social realm requires a different
epistemology in which academics work beyond empiricism and the scientific method (5acionis and ;erber, '"):'
%$ 8ccording to &atane (')'#$, Rationalistic inquiries are traditional, long. dominant established tradition in a systematic inquiry% In a rationalistic inquiry, each !ariable or facet of a problem is isolated and then used to e9plain a phenomenon or draw a conclusion% The conte9t (e%g% the student
%$In a research conducted by >ember, ?ai, 5urphy, 6iaw, @ong and Auen ("##$ suggests that in a rationalistic inquiry, each !ariable or facet of a problem is isolated and then used to e9plain a phenomenon or draw a conclusion% The conte9t (e%g% the student
In a naturalistic enquiry, on the other hand, the phenomena under in!estigation must be studied as a whole and cannot be teased out of conte9t%
8s 0u9taposed by &ohen, 5anion and 5orrison ('":$, /ositi!ism emphasies ob0ecti!ist approach to studying social phenomena gi!es importance to research methods focusing on quantitati!e analysis, sur!eys, e9periments and the like while anti. positi!ism which stresses on sub0ecti!ist approach to studying social phenomena attaches importance to a range of research techniques focusing on qualitati!e analysis, e%g% personal inter!iews, participant obser!ations, account of indi!iduals, personal constructs etc% The di!ision between positi!ism and non.positi!ism is so deep that the !ery term Bpositi!ismB has taken on a pe0orati!e meaning for non.positi!ist (Currell D 5organ "#E#
%$RFRN&6)
Currell, ;ibson D 5organ, ;areth% ("#E#$% Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis: Elements of the Sociology of Corporate Life. 1einemann, ?ondon) /earson ducation /ublishing% &atane, Guliet 8% ('$% Conducting Research: A Practical Application. Hueon &ity) G5& /ress% &ohen, ?ouis, 5anion, ?awrence and >eith 5orrison% ('":$% Research ethods in Education. (Eth ed%$% New Aork) Routledge /ublishing% 3elanty, ;erard% ('4$% Concepts in the Social Sciences. ('nd ed%$% 5aidenhead) =pen ni!ersity /ress%
1ollis, 5artin% ("##2$% !he Philosophy of Social Science: An "ntroduction. &ambridge) &ambridge ni!ersity /ress% >ember, 3a!id, ?ai, Tammy, 5urphy, 3a!id, 6iaw, Irene, @ong, Gulian and >%6% Auen% ("##$% #aturalistic E$aluation of %istance Learning Courses. 1ong >ong) 1ong >ong /olytechnic% 5acionis, Gohn G% and ?inda 5% ;erber% ('"$% Sociology. (Eth &anadian ed%$% Toronto) /earson ducation &anada% 5arsh, 3a!id and 5artin G% 6mith% ('"$% &!here is ore !han One 'ay to do Political Science: On %iifferent 'ays to Study Policy #etwor(s) /olitical 6tudies =wens, Robert ;% ("#*'$% ðodological Rigor in #aturalistic "n*uiry: Some "ssues and Answers) ducational 8dministration Huarterly, Jol% "*, No% '% Teichman, Genny, and >atherine &% !ans ("###$% Philosophy: A +eginner,s guide. ?ondon) Clackwell%
