Response to discussion question 5

Respond to your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

•  
• Ask a probing question.
  
• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
  
• Offer and support an opinion.
  
• Validate an idea with your own experience.
  
• Make a suggestion.
  
• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Creswall (2009) associated the “postpositive” worldview with quantitative research because it aims to identify and assess the causes that lead to certain outcomes much like an experiment (p. 6-7).  Creswall also pointed out that postpositive studies are based on careful observation and measurement of laws and theories.  He argued that postpositivists’ accepted scientific method begins with identifying a theory, collecting data to either refute or support that theory and making the necessary revisions (p.7).

Creswall (2009) associated the “constructivist” worldview with qualitative research because it is based on complex perspectives and assumptions of the world held by individuals (p. 8).  Creswall also identified that instead of seeking to narrow these perspectives and assumptions, a constructivist researcher seeks to understand the varied and multiple meanings.  He argued that constructivist research questions are broad and open-ended allowing respondents to be subjective which the researcher seeks to interpret (p.8).

Lastly, according to Rossman and Wilson (as cited in Creswall, 2009), the “pragmatic” worldview is associated with mixed research methods because it uses all available approaches to address and understand a research problem (p. 10).  According to Creswall (2009), intended consequences determine what and how a pragmatist researcher will assess a given research problem (p. 11).  Additionally, Creswall pointed out that this freedom to choose which method to approach allows pragmatic researchers the liberty to adopt various methods, worldviews, and forms of data collection, assumptions, and analysis (p. 11).

Personal View of Research Methods

In my capacity as a researcher, I have always sought to prove or disprove a theory. I have always conformed to traditional research methods of analyzing empirical data to make assumptions about a given social problem.  However, as I pursue my doctoral degree, I have come to appreciate the freedom a more pragmatic mixed method approach brings to a researcher.  The mixed method approach allows the researcher to be creative in producing results to change existing worldviews.

References

Creswell, J. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.