1 / 15

The Role of Theory

The Role of Theory. Jean Hillier GURU, Newcastle University AESOP PhD Workshop 2010. Introduction – which approach could I use? inductive/deductive/reproductive/adductive Illustrations – r etroductive d eductive Conclusions. Which Approach is Good for Me?.

ertel
Download Presentation

The Role of Theory

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The Role of Theory Jean Hillier GURU, Newcastle University AESOP PhD Workshop 2010

  2. Introduction – which approach could I use? inductive/deductive/reproductive/adductive • Illustrations – retroductive deductive • Conclusions

  3. Which Approach is Good for Me? Reasons for doing the research: • exploration  • description  • explanation  • prediction 

  4. Four Possible Approaches • inductive • deductive • retroductive  • abductive 

  5. Inductive Research Research comes before Theory unordered 'facts'  definition/classification/ measurement  ordered facts  inductive generalisation  theory construction

  6. Deductive Research Theory comes before Research Research ‘tests’ the Theory a priori model or theory   data collection   testing of theory   modification of theory

  7. Retroductive Research Theory comes before Research Does a structure/process operate in the way theory suggests? a priori model or theory  data collection/ case study  critical analysis of case study data  explanation of case study

  8. Abductive Research Research comes before Theory Starts from the social world of the ‘actant’ unordered data   subjective interpretation of data   thematic categorisation   theory construction

  9. A Retroductive Example:Actor/Actant-Network Theory Translation • incorporation – actors join and are woven into networks; • interessement – actors exert influence over others via persuasion that their position is best; • enrolment – actors lock others into their definitions; • mobilisation – the actor now speaks for the others Intermediaries: human, non-human http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/web/english/club/club_avui/territori_barca/fcbmuseu/continguts/planol_camp_nou.html

  10. A Deductive Example:Habermas' Communicative Action • interpersonal linguistic communication • mutual understanding • rational consensus 'rules' of discussion: • all actors are allowed to participate; • all actors are allowed to introduce ideas into discussion; • all actors are allowed to question others.

  11. The Ideal Speech Situation: all participants must speak • truthfully • comprehensibly • sincerely • legitimately Systematically Distorted Communication False consensus

  12. Conclusions (1) What strategy you use will depend on: • whether you want to apply existing theory or develop new theory. • whether you want to test a theory using empirical data? • whether you want to examine data or a case study using a theoretical frame?

  13. Conclusions (2) • Select your theory carefully • What do you want to analyse? • If social institutions – think about Healey etc • If power – think about ANT, Foucault, Habermas etc • If ideology – think about liberalism, utilitarianism, Marxism etc etc • If relationality – think about Healey, Deleuze etc If in doubt, ASK!!

  14. Remember: ‘what we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning’ (Heisenberg, cited in Capra, 1996: 40) • Methods PERFORM – they help to produce the realities they describe. • Different theoretical frames lead to different questions lead to different realities being interpreted.

  15. Key References Blakie N. 2000 Designing Social Research, Polity, Cambridge. [nb chapters 4 & 5] Punch K. 2000 Designing Effective Research Proposals, Sage, London. Punch K. 2005 Introduction to Social Research, Sage, London.

More Related