week 3

What is Research?

What is accepted as research by the majority, is data that can be proven and replicated. The epistemological apprach to research deals with its legitimacy and credibility; to the nature of knowledge and how it relates to truth, beliefs and justicication.

I agree with that research must lead to the understanding of truth, its beginings and origins as well as that of the problems it faces through the research.

Personally, I believe that reseach does not have to be positivistic or scientific to be real, to be have credibility. Most people believe that they need scientific proof, in order to trust a research. I believe that qualitative research is as valid as quantitative research.
What can be useful for some, mightnot be useful for others and vice versa.
While someclassmates argued that qualitative research has no validity or purpose, I disagree.
Qualitative research does not necessarily have to discover something new, It can have an outcome that suports
an idea already established.

In order to prove a point, one necessarily does not have to come up with new discoveries. One can support already stated data or ideas to prove a point. To some people this mught lead to thinking that the researcher can manipulate the research in order to prove a point. Positivistic researchers can criticize this type of research. Yet, scientific reseach is also manipulated. Environment, materials, chemicals are all prepared for a specific perfect state inorder to conduct the experiments or research. So in a way their criticism can be hipocritical.

As long as reserch is legitimate, the motivation is clear and teh intended audience is in perspective, I believe that research is valuable.As long as everyone understands the paradigms and where thet are positioned it is okay. People like to see more generalized results yet I believe that research does not always have to be generalized or replicable to be valid.

Week 2

My position with paradigm, subjectivity and the values I want to bring into my research.

Paradigm is a new word for me. Honestly I still do not understand what paradign terms of research truly is.
I know that it is finding likeminded people who share world views. I think it has to do with schools of thought and traditions. And also with conforming or accepting certain types of norms, beliefs and ways of thinking.

Yet, when I think about what type of paradigm I will conform to, I am at a crossroads. I have no idea of which school of thought I will follow or stick with.

I like Giroux and and the deconstructions, Freire and critical theory.

I like action research which seems to have a purpose for change,meaningful change, to change immediate problems.

I believe that interpetive reasearch and phenomenology look like something I would be interested in doing.

Critical pedagogy is also appealing to me. I believe in tryingto find the source and a solution for problems and for people who are underepresented. I think the critical approach is more honest and up front. It states that everyone has an agenda therefore the stituation is clear since the very begining.

I have never before done reaearch that could lead to change. It has always been more theoretical and phylosophical. I am looking forward to conducting research in which I can bring in my values of honesty, human rights, equality to female and monorities. I wish to cunduct research that is honest, true and that will help education in the future.

Week 1

My experience with reasearch is vague and it was a long time ago. I had no idea there were so many types of methodologies.
Since my background is in Literature, my experience with literature was basically finding what has been written about writers and poems and state my won opinion as well.

I knew that there was positivistic reseacrh. I did not know it was called that, plus I thought it was only used in Science.
To be honest, I have been scared of conducting any type of research in which I have to use math skills and create graphs, percentages etc. Perhaps that is the only thing that scares me about my dissertation.

I believe that reseach is any type of study that leads to new learning and to new information. I do not have any strict idea of what research should be. For me, is you search and find, it is research.

I'm hopingto find some type of research method that has to do with less math as the usual scientific research. I lean more towards the phylosophical type of writing.