Qualitative Method Issues - Research Paper Example

Qualitative Method of Research Qualitative Research is a method of using a combination of philosophical and methodical patterns in understanding the behaviour of data. This in turn helps a researcher gauze the effect of the same on the research. Qualitative methods are basically of two kinds –positivism and interpretivism. Positivism and Interpretivism are two aspects of research design and philosophy. Research design and philosophy go hand in hand due to fact that research design helps the researcher in garnering and putting forth a perspective through functions like data collection and source identification for the same. The following is an analysis of the similarities and differences between epistemology and ontology on the basis of positivism and interpretivism. To begin with, it is important to understand the concepts of positivism and interpretivism as the basis of epistemology and ontology. While positivism deals with the ideation of a plan and research concept, interpretivism is a function of perception in the philosophical context. They have been further defined and described in terms of epistemology and ontology as follows. Epistemology: Being related to philosophy, epistemology, through the definition of theories and concepts, depends on the presentation and perception of knowledge. Thus, as far as understanding knowledge is concerned, this field follows a subjective point of view and shares similarities with ontology. With the use of tools for interpretation, the use of epistemology depends on a body of ready to use knowledge rather than new knowledge creation, which gives it an interpretive outlook, making it different from ontology. (Duberley et al, 2000) In order to use various generalisations that have to do with facts, and beliefs, this field makes use of a philosophical perspective with a leaning towards reasoning and logic where findings of analysis need to be justified through statistical means. (Johnson et al, 2000) For example, the use of a LAWSEQ Questionnaire to study the self esteem level of students is the use of epistemology. Ontology: Being more objective in nature than epistemology is the first difference between the two. As ontology depends more on gathering first hand data, it adheres to the positivism approach as far as the use of philosophy and structuring of knowledge is concerned. It comes up with greater depth of research than epistemology due to the fact that it studies the hypothesis from the perspective of new data thus giving it a positivist approach and greater scope. The parameters that arise in this course are also different which give the generalisations a more accurate and deeper ring. (Duberley et al, 2000) (Johnson et al, 2000) For example, the use of literature in order to prove a hypothesis and garner data is based in ontology. Example The usability process in case of decision aids can be studied through the framework of market mechanisms and business models. (Palmer et al, 2003). In this context, the area of E-Commerce has been defined in the usability of decision aids as an arena that is based on the skills required for appropriate business and resource allocation strategies. This will further help in the development of online shopping behavior through empirical investigations into the issue. In this regard, this investigation will demonstrate the chief motivators through the evaluation based on the following two elements: Thinking aloud methods: The thinking aloud evaluation will be based on the theoretical approach of finding out what a group of users thought and said as they worked according to a certain user interface depending on the design and design process of the interface. This was then applied to the online shopping aids for a variety of businesses in terms of the positioning of the vital user information on the screen so as to study the appropriateness of the placement and the decision aids in general. In this regard, the thinking aloud model is a direct statement of what is required and what is not. (Cho et al, 2000) It has also helped in finding out the exact responses in terms of expressions and tonal quality of voice when describing the actual aids and how they contribute to the actual information system on which the website for the retailer is based. The thinking aloud model provides an insight into the philosophical and psychological elements of the user interface. (Nemetz, 2002) These elements are scanned for similarities on the basis of which decision aids and chosen and made use of to suit particular lifestyles and cultures. (Smith, 2004) Evaluation methods: these methods are based on the evaluation of various user interface models through a focus on the software and product life cycle. In this regard, the evaluation models are concerned with the use of various statistical tools that study the approaches of the model of the usability process. The evaluation method focuses on the analysis of the primary data that will be gathered through questionnaires and surveys for studying the effects of decision aids. (Nemetz, 2002) These will then be studied on various scales of statistical means and other matrixes that adhere to the online shopping decision aids. The major motivating factors that were found in the thinking aloud method will be tested for validity and reliability in the evaluation method through a focus on finding the causes for the existing motivational factors. In this case, the paper by Carl Adams and Qu Ying Su, titled Will B2C E-commerce Developed in One Cultural Environment be Suitable for Another Culture: A Cross-Cultural Study between amazon.co.uk (UK) and dangdang.com (China), demonstrates the actual nuances and tools on the basis of which such models may be based for further evaluation. In this regard, as asserted in the above chapters, the significance of online decision aids lies in their ability to convince a user to choose a product defying cultural and geographical barriers. (Su et al, 2004) In this context, based on the two methodologies discussed above, the evaluation will be an investigative one based primarily on the study and analysis of data in terms of qualitative research that will help derive information that will fit wide ranging business portals. Positivism Vs Interpretivism Epistemology and ontology are basically research designs that help in the collection, interpretation and analysis of facts for further presentation. It gives a structure to the vast knowledge base that one deals with during research and is thus philosophical in nature. Positivism and Interpretivism are the philosophical tools that are used in this regard. (Duberley et al, 2000) While ontology uses the objective way out, epistemology tends to incline towards the subjective thus making it more philosophical in nature. Ontology on the other hand that deals with and presents knowledge on the basis of hardcore facts and analysis from scratch. With a more objective outlook, ontology depends on the positivist approach in depicting facts while epistemology depends on using an already existing field of knowledge for analysis. (Lango, 1972) Research areas are better defined with the use of epistemology or the interpretivist point of view due to the fact that it depends on well researched work from the past where the data is simply customised for varied uses by various researchers. The writing and research method are an outcome of the various philosophical perspectives that individual researchers tend to follow. This gives it an interpretivist outlook as it is more subjective in nature. Epistemology manages to make best use of various philosophical perspectives within its research definition and design owing to its interpretivist approach as far as knowledge structuring and philosophy are concerned. (Davies et al, 2003) This makes it different from ontology in the sense that it manages to deliver a more subjective point of view that is based on knowledge already garnered by various scholars. (Duberley et al, 2000) Ontology on its part, depends more on the positivist approach that sidelines philosophy and tends towards the use of factual data that has been gathered for the very purpose of the research, which limits its applicability and overall perspective. (Duberley et al, 2000) Conclusion Finally, to conclude, one may see that the way data is structured and presented depends on the perspective of the researcher or philosopher and his or her final aim. In this regard, the perspective of positivism and interpretivism are used to demonstrate how the data or knowledge has been handled which makes them similar. In case of similarities, one may note that both ontology and epistemology are based on varied principles of interpretivism and positivism due to the fact that they both deal with philosophical tools in handling and structuring data for a particular purpose. (Duberley et al, 2000) The basic similarities between positivism and interpretivism lie in the fact that they both adhere to research design and philosophy in the sense that they both rely on the function of perception in order to take research further. Another point that makes them similar is the identification of relevant sources of information – primary and secondary. They both also adhere to mixed research like qualitative and quantitative research. The basic differences between positivism and interpretisvism depend on the individual researchers and how they imbibe philosophical tools in their knowledge management during research. This depends on the parts of research where positivism or interpretivism is used so as to reach a particular end. In this regard, it may be said that the fields of ontology and epistemology differ basically in their scope as far as research is concerned. (Duberley et al, 2000) References Lango, John W (1972) Whitehead’s Ontology. SUNY Press. Davies, John; Fensel, Dieter; Harmelen; Frank V (2003) Towards the Semantic Web: Ontology Driven Knowledge Management. Wiley Publishers. Johnson, Phil; Duberley, Joanne (2000). Understanding Management Research - An Introduction to Epistemology. Sage. Cho, B; Kim, D J; Raghav, Rao H (2000) Effects of Consumer Lifestyles on purchasing behavior on the Internet: A conceptual framework and empirical validation. The Digital ACM. Pp 688 – 695 Chen, L D (2000) Enticing Online Customers: A technology acceptance perspective research in progress. ACM. Pp 125 (124 – 128) Lohse, G L; Spiller, P (1998). Electronic Shopping. 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