Relationship Between Ontology Epistemology And Methodology Philosophy Essay

Relationship Between Ontology Epistemology And Methodology Philosophy EssayThere is no doubt that one can only grasp the sociological acquaintance when examining the process of thoughts that stand keister e very(prenominal) single search in societal science. In essence, the ontological and epistemic positions represent the home of the work of political scientists. On the surface, these positions be often non app atomic number 18nt but they can be demonstrated by the process of methodology. Therefore, it is, to a large degree, necessary to apprehend the connection between the foundations of research.The low gear part of this judge impart focus on the definition of the these primal concepts of research ontology, epistemology and methodology. Further more(prenominal), the essay will examine and evaluate the connection between the ontological and epistemological positions, such as Positivism and Interpretivism. Secondly, the essay will concentrate on the analysis of the rel ationship between these three stances in harm of accessible research. It will be argued that there is a close and logical relationship between the ontology and epistemology but to a fault methodology, however some other perspectives will be take into account as well.Ontology and epistemology play very significant role in philosophy but similarly in the work of political scientists beca pulmonary tuberculosis dickens terms are used in relation to the discussion of theoretical issues in their thesis. It can be argued that these theoretical positions are fundamental to their process of research and scientists inclination to subject as they shape the climax to theory and the methods that are employed by cordial scientist (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 184). It is vital to recognize that both ontology and epistemology are chiefly based on the researchers beliefs and person-to-person persuasion about the conception of world and shake off genuine methodological consequences (Hay, 2002 p. 61).The first term ontology can be used to relate to the scientific and philosophical theory of being. It in the beginning deals with the elementary structure of the world and what exactly does it signify to exist in that world. In other words, ontology is refer with the question is there a real world out there that is independent of our familiarity of it? (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 185).1 To organize out, there are two distinct ontological positions firstly, foundationalism postulates that the real world exists as a Mosaic which is consisted of versatile substances existing in the world, individually of human experience, knowledge and thought secondly, anti-foundationalism predicates that the real world does not occur on an individual basis of our knowledge, however it is socially constructed by human actors (Grix, 2004 p. 61). It must be noted that the ontological issues have substantial theoretical significance. To a certain extent, ontological exits are inextricably lin ked with the epistemological foundation of research.The second term epistemology represents the theory of knowledge and its epistemological assumption is focused on the occupy of the nature of the world and how we know what we know (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 185), so it is machinateed at knowledge-gathering process (Grix, 2004 p. 63). In baptistery of epistemology, there are also two major epistemological positions being associated to foundationalist and anti-foundationalist ontology firstly, positivist epistemology2 see to its the world as existing independently of knowledge of it (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 190), hence the objectivity is achievable due to the fact that the things are perceived by individuals in the identical manner secondly, interpretivist epistemology3 concerns with the disputability of target or value-free observation which is largely influenced by the personal perceptions and social constructions of the world. The key aspect of this argument is that the essence of the world is illuminated by various actors whose interpretations are construed by the observer, therefore this iterate hermeneutic4 results in limited objectivity (Grix, 2004 p. 81).5The term methodology arises from the ontological and epistemological position of the researcher, therefore it is more than evident that between ontology, epistemology and methodology is close interconnection. Methodology is mainly associated with the shape of the research, and the approach to entropy analysis. Furthermore, this term is generally employed to refer to the whole process of data compendium in the research. It is indispensable to realize that certain fictitious characters of epistemologies require the specific use of survey methods (Hay, 2002 p. 63).6____________________________________________________1 In terms of political realm, the ontological question can be formulate as what is the nature of the social and political reality to be investigated? (Hay, 2002 p. 61)2 Positivism resu lts from the empiricist tradition of natural science and emphasizes that there is relation between social science and natural science hence according to positivists view, the relationship between social phenomena may be formed, using theory to generate hypotheses which can be tested by direct observation (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 194). From this follows, that the real world exists and represents an objective entity, therefore it is likely to perceive the reality around us, independently of our knowledge of it. In positivism, quantitative research tools 7 are involved in come in to be able to generalize and replicate collected data. It is important to underline that the main aim of positivists is to explain a crabbed behavior rather than the meaning of this behavior (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 194).3 On the other hand, Interpretivism (or Relativism) is characterized by its defence reaction of objective real world. According to interpretivists, the real world does not exist as it is co nstructed through the interactions of individuals (Grix, 2004 p. 83). Additionally, it is hopeless to use a pure observation in show to perceive social phenomena, mainly because they are dependent on the personal interpretation. So it might be said that every observation affects what is detect thus objectivity cannot be maintained considering that researcher are not detached from the subject (Grix, 2004 p. 83). In interpretism, soft research methods8 are applied to create a more precise understanding of social behavior and clearly ignore aspects, such as the meaning and explanation of that behavior.4 The term double hermeneutic relates to the act of interpreting an actors perception and interpretation (Interpretation 1) of his or her situation in a particular context (Interpretation 2) effectively an interpretation of an interpretation (Grix, 2002 p. 81) therefore this double interpretation is less unbiased and objective than the initial interpretation.The Analysis of Relations hip between Ontology, Epistemology and MethodologyIt is essential to highlight that the relationship between the key terms ontology, epistemology and methodology is directional in the way that ontology logically precedes epistemology which logically precedes methodology (Hay, 2002 p. 63). Furthermore, these concepts should be stripe apart considering that they are inextricably linked (Grix, 2004 p. 60).According to Marsh and Furlong, ontology and epistemology represent a skin not a sweater therefore it is clearly impossible to put on and take off these research foundations whenever the research chooses (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 184). This reflects the methodological consequences of different positions and indicates that researchers demand various positions in order account for their selected method. Nevertheless, the ontological positions are very significant in terms of interrelationship between epistemology and methodology, thus it could be said that certain ontological positions r esult in epistemological positions. It is worth noting that the foundationalists beliefs (ontology) represent a premise for positivist or a realist traditions (epistemology) of research whereas the anti-foundationalists views result in an interpretivist position. This implies that there is strong link between all components of research, therefore it is vital to approach these major blocks of research collectively.According to Mason, the role of epistemology lies in the fact that it leads to creation of knowledge and explanations about the ontological components of social world (Grix, 2004 p. 64). Moreover, it is substantial to realize that there might be more than one particular epistemology, thus at the same time they will not be equivalent or coincident with their own ontological position. However, it is clear that various epistemological positions require to employ a divers methodology, therefore it can be argued that there is dependency between epistemology and methodology.7 To a certain extent, this way that different ontological and epistemological positions can result in completely diverse views of the same type of social phenomena.Another relevant point is that Spencer raises a very apt question how can we have a theory about what knowledge is, without some presupposition about the nature of the knowledge? (Marsh Furlong, 2010 p. 188) Therefore, in Spencers opinion, ontology is former to epistemology so that knowledge can be logically generated from their close relationship. While these two concepts are narrowly related, they have to be kept separate in order to start the research from a persons view of the world (Grix, 2004 p. 66).8ConclusionIn conclusion, it is extremely crucial to recognize that these three theoretical positions play a pivotal role in a set of conceptions concerning the research theory. Due to the high level of generality, ontology is a type of concept that is rarely utilized. However, epistemology and methodology are used more f requently. Most importantly, otology, epistemology and methodology are interlinking and dependent on each other and together denotes the most important contrasts between various ways of knowing. Finally, Marsh and Furlong maintain a position that there is an evident interdependence between epistemology and methodology, also Hay sees a directional dependence in relation to ontology, epistemology and methodology. However Smith advocates that it is not possible to create a hierarchy between these terms because all of them are narrowly interrelated together.____________________________________________________5 In a sense, epistemology can be employed in the connection with positivist epistemology which means that the knowledge claims basically are grounded on the universal principles of the natural science. The most crucial point is, therefore, that the ontological assumptions do about the nature of the reality and world, in some way, have far-reaching consequences for the chosen epist emological position.6 In case of a positivist epistemology, the research methods are in form of surveys and questionnaires in order to be analyzed quantitatively. Whereas, a interpretists epistemology uses methods, such as participant observations and unsystematic interviews to gain quantitative analysis and data.7 In Brymans view, there is nothing inherent in the properties of the different methodologies which prevents their use by researchers who are run from different epistemological positions (Read Marsh, 2002 p. 232-3).8 On the other hand, it is crucial to highlight that some scholars, such as Smith, consider ontology and epistemology as two interconnected realms. According Smiths view, neither ontology nor epistemology is prior to the other, but instead he sees the two of them as mutually and inextricably interrelated (March Furlong, 2010 p. 188). From this statement follows that it is not possible to undermine the importance of ontology at the expense of epistemology or the other way around, therefore ontology cannot be considered as prior to epistemology. appurtenanceAppendix 1 The Definition of qualitative and Quantitative Data in Social Research7 When qualitative data is adopted in social science as a way for conducting an experiment or analysis, its aim is principally to create a complete and detailed description for a particular fact. Qualitative data is presented in form of words and images. In this case, the knowledge claim can be support by individuals who develop subjective and direct concern with the meaning of involved experience in order to understand the complexity of views. Therefore, it is important for researcher to become subjectively engaged in the subject matter (Grix, 2004 p. 117-8).8 The quantitative data has a very straightforward purpose, to classify features, count them, construct statistical model in an attempt to explain what is observed. For that reason, quantitative data involves numbers and statistics. This type of data ref lects a need to explore causes that affect certain results, thus the assumption is also based on positive observation and measurement of objective reality in the world. The researcher, in this instance, tends to be objective in terms of the concerns (Grix, 2004 p. 122).However, as it follows from the description of qualitative and quantitative data, the major difference between these two types of data lies in their distinct functions. It is quite essential to realize the fact that qualitative data is related to research that inclines to use an inductive approach to develop theory therefore the researchers gather the data from the study of a particular sample of people and maintain an understanding of social behavior as it arises from this data. On the contrary, quantitative data is involved in research that is directed to deductive approach, using predominantly hypothesis and examining it in order to prove true for the general sample (McBride Schostak, 2011).