Download Triangulation in a New Light

TRIANGULATION IN A NEW LIGHT
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Philosophy and Erny
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Epistemology
• Positivists / post-positivists
– There is an objective reality…
– …whatever our ability to apprehend it
objectively.
– The best way to explore this reality is
scientifically.
– That means using the scientific method and
applying the principle of falsifiability.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring positivism
• Hypothesis testing - The researcher
sets up a null hypothesis, such as “the
independent variable does not affect
the dependent variable.”
• Erny struggles with the thinking…
– how do we know which variable is
dependent and which is independent?
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring positivism
• “the researcher is not looking to ‘confirm’ any
relationships specified prior to the analysis, but
instead allows the method and the data to
define the nature of the relationships.” Straub,
Detmar, David Gefen, and Marie-Claude Boudreau (2004
• …using a set of statistical / mathematical
algorithms to “define the nature of the
relationships” seems very questionable. And the
use of the word “affect” seems unclear. Why
didn’t they say “cause”? Isn’t that what the
phrase “dependent variable” actually means?
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring interpretivism
• Proof , causality, and proof of causality are
very complex and highly problematic.
• “Interpretive researchers start out with the
assumption that access to reality (given or
socially constructed) is only through social
constructions such as language, consciousness
and shared meanings.” Myers, M. D. "Qualitative Research in
Information Systems,"
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring interpretivism
• language and consciousness as “social
constructions”????
• Chomsky linguists claim language is
based on deep grammar, in part
biologically determined. That doesn’t
sound like a “social construct” to me.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring interpretivism
• Would you accept that the social
context, or environment might have a
significant effect on language, and
through language, to cognition and
consciousness?
• Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic
relativity.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring interpretivism
• Language affect cognition.
• … interpretivists interested in meaning,
sense-making, and how people construct
their realities in the social context.
• That seems reasonable to me.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Exploring critical theory
• Critical researchers include an
historical imperative as a key element
of the socially-constructed reality.
• This community seeks to use the IS
research agenda for “emancipatory”
purposes, to advance social justice. Myers, M.
op cit
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Quantoids / Qualoids and Erny
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Research Methods – Qualnoids
• Qualitative approaches
– Grounded theory
– Case study
– Action research
– Ethnography.
Myers, op cit
• Grounded theory - connecting
theory based on gathered and
analyzed data.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Research Methods – Qualnoids
• “there should be a continuous
interplay between data
collection and analysis.” Myers, op cit
• Erny struggles… This can’t be
unique to qualitative research…
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Research Methods – Qualnoids
• Grounded theory is about developing
propositions not hypotheses. Naresh R. Pandit.
1996. Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). Aldine and Whetten,
D. A. (1989).
• “grounded theory” is a nice way of
saying “we are making it up as we go
along…”. And the positivists make it up
before they start.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Research Methods – Qualnoids
• My definition of “proposition” - an
assertion yet to be demonstrated.
• My definition of “hypothesis” is an
assertion to be tested, and here’s how
to test it.
• A distinction without a difference.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Research Methods – Quantoids
• Numbers to represent quantities…
• …not as names.
• Numbers give us precision and a host of
objective analytical tools…
• …making the assumption precision is
possible and appropriate.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Philosophy and Erny
PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Types of Thinking
• Deductive thinking
• Inductive thinking
• Abductive thinking
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Rigor
Impact
Relevance
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Empirical evidence
• Strategic Management Journal 2004
• Relationship of academic rigour and
practioner relevance in management
research articles.
• Quantitative research, with appropriate
statistical power testing hypotheses
relating academic quality and practical
relevance.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Hypotheses
• Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship
between judgments of academic quality and
practical relevance.
• Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship
between practitioners’ judgments of practical
relevance and their judgments of
interestingness and justification.
• Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship
between academicians’ judgment of academic
quality and practitioners’ judgments of
interestingness and justification.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
What is a Model?
• A method for simplifying a complex
reality through a process of:
– Highlighting some factors
– Hiding some factors
– For a purpose..
• Not about “true” but “useful”.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Other Barriers to Relevance
• Opaque writing.
• Timeliness.
• Technology laggards.
• Recommendation: forget about
relevance, and go for the publications.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC
Final Thoughts?
Remember Phillet’s Laws:
1. It is what it is.
2. Whatever it is, there is no sense
pretending that it is something
else.
3. Whatever it is, there is no
possibility we understand it
completely.
© Sunny Marche, Ph.D., CMC