Research Paradigm exploration-Part I

Knowledge claim refer to the starting point for researcher a project or study with certain assumptions how will they explore and what they will explore during the inquiry.
This term- knowledge claim also known as paradigm(Lincoln & Guba,2000; Mertens,1998); philosophically assumptions,epistemologies and ontologies(Crotty,1998); otherwise broadly conceived research methodolgies(Neuman,2000)

We all bring (often implicit?) assumptions and path dependencies to our research....

Philosophically.......

What knowledge is/What is knowledge – ontology
How we know it – epistemology
What values go into it – axiology
How we write about it – rhetoric
The process of studying it – methodology

(Sexton 2002,Creswell,1994)

Four schools of thought about knowledge claim(Creswell,1994):
1-Postpositivisim; Determination, Reduction, Empirical observation and measurement, Theory verification
2-Constructivism; Understanding, Multiple participant meanings, Social and historical construction, Theory generation
3-Advocacy/Participatory; Political, Empowerment issue-oriented, Collaborative, Change-oriented
4-Pragmatism; Consequences of actions, Problem-centered, Pluralistic, Real-world practice oriented

Dimensions of research philosophy: Bringing it all together! (Sexton, 2002)



source: Part of Powerpoint presentation about “How to succeed in doing a PhD: personal experiences”-A PhD is a journey of discovery & fun >>>>>>> for SPARC 2008 by Professor Ghassan Aouad; University of Salford

note: This is my big task and I have to explain to my dear sv for our next meeting what research paradigm that I have to choose for my research and then can proceed with my research instrumen and so on and my interim expected on May 2009; it means at least on early April I've to submit the report....Ya Allah please increase easiness of my phd path..amin..ya rabbal alamin....

Later on..more about research paradigm for future entry....

Very important to me and for those have 'a long journey' like me...

Using information sources

Using information sources in a systematic and structured manner will save you a good deal of time. Developing a search strategy is vital as it provides you with an overall structure for your search and provides a record of your search history. This is an extremely useful record to have as you find yourself needing to refine or change the focus of your searching as your research develops. It can also improve the relevancy of results obtained as you have thought about keywords and synonyms and how these relate to each other.

The following are suggested steps in retrieving information:
i. Defining the information need and stating it as a question
ii. Breaking the need into its component parts
iii. Identifying synonyms and prioritising keywords
iv. Searching specific sources
v. Evaluating the information
vi. Evaluating the search process
(adapted from Constructing a Search Strategy, Duffel, 1995).

taken from
more details for every suggested steps...

http://www.library.cqu.edu.au/tutorials/litreviewpages/search.htm#searchprocess