A topic in research methodology
Epistemology is an area of philosophy concerned with the nature and sources of knowledge. As research is often seen as about developing/constructing new knowledge, epistemology is very relevant to all research.
"Most fundamentally, it is important to first recognise that epistemology itself as historically unfolded is a kind of psychology of science."
O'Doherty, Osbeck, Schraube & Yen, 2019
Epistemology and Research
"The two aspects of 'philosophy' considered to underpin research paradigms are beliefs (or 'commitments') about the nature of the world (what kind of things exist in the world, and what is their nature?), and so the nature of the phenomena studied in research; and beliefs about the nature and status of human knowledge, and so how we might come to hold knowledge. These concerns are known technically as 'ontology' and 'epistemology' respectively."
Taber, 2013: 47
Piaget (1970/1972: 17), for example, developed his work within what he considered "an epistemology that is naturalist without being positivist", and which posited a constructivist take on the nature of knowledge.
For many years science was commonly thought to come to knowledge by a process known as 'induction', although this has been considered a logically incomplete explanation.
Ontology informs epistemology
Before we can ask what kind of knowledge we can reasonably expect to generate about some research focus, we need to reflect on the kind of thing that focus is. We cannot expect to generate the same kind of knowledge (e.g., objective knowledge that all observers can agree on) for all types of research foci.
For example, consider the possible research foci in the figure below. These are different kinds of things, and we may not have the the same epistemological assumptions about them all. For example, we may assume we should be able to obtain objective, valid and reliable information about class sizes by well-designed research…but is that always going to be the case?
Everyday epistemology
We all practice epistemology every day!
The notion of epistemology may sound somewhat scary / abstract / irrelevant but actually it is essential to our everyday lives as it is the basis of the judgements we constantly have to make (as people, not just as scholars or researchers). Unconvinced? Download the 'Everyday epistemology' activity here.
Using epistemology to inform research design
Thinking about (ontology and) epistemology is not just an abstract activity, as we can ask questions that will help us decided how to set up a viable research project:
Sources cited:
- O'Doherty, K. C., Osbeck, L. M., Schraube, E. & Yen, J. (2019), Introduction: psychological studies of science and technology, in Psychological Studies of Science and Technology, Palgrave Macmillan, pp.1-28
- Piaget, J. (1970/1972). The Principles of Genetic Epistemology (W. Mays, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
- Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
