Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Reading, writing; revising, understanding; rewriting …
Working with Chapter 3 revisions: As I go back and forth checking my old notes, comparing them to my new notes and readings, I realize that in my previous draft I had summarized but had not really understood many of my points. It is interesting how the mind works!
First, I've been clarifying my epistemology -- the theory of knowledge or simply put how we learn, or in Crotty's (1998) words "how we know what we know" (p. 3)
Crotty (1998) divides epistemology into three main groups: on one extreme objectivism, in the middle constructionism, and on the other extreme subjectivism. On one extreme, think of Plato (1976) and the allegory of the cave, on the other extreme think about random interpretations, where meaning is imposed on the object. Constructionism is about finding meaning in interaction, in relationship, one with the other, subject and object; it is about shared meaning. As you might guess and Crotty stated, there is a lot more to each of these epistemologies and the way they are interpreted.
Secondly, I am working with the theoretical perspective -- the assumptions that guide our methodology, the context in which the process is grounded
The research project I am developing falls within the epistemology of constructionism, the one according to Crotty "qualitative researchers tend to invoke" (p. 9). In terms of the theoretical perspective, the research project will fall within the postmodern perspective, one that Gergen adopts in his writings.
rewriting ... smoothing out edges
Adding information where it is needed to clearly make a point, adding examples, moving a phrase or a sentence to another location where it makes more sense, taking out ideas, whole sentences that no longer fit, changing a word for another that is more accurate, that is what rewriting is about. Sometimes it feels like a sculptor, one who carves, models, casts its piece with special care. Little by little it takes form.
References:
Crotty, M. (1998). The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. London: SAGE Publications.
Plato. (1976). Meno. [Translated by G. M. A. Grube]. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.
First, I've been clarifying my epistemology -- the theory of knowledge or simply put how we learn, or in Crotty's (1998) words "how we know what we know" (p. 3)
Crotty (1998) divides epistemology into three main groups: on one extreme objectivism, in the middle constructionism, and on the other extreme subjectivism. On one extreme, think of Plato (1976) and the allegory of the cave, on the other extreme think about random interpretations, where meaning is imposed on the object. Constructionism is about finding meaning in interaction, in relationship, one with the other, subject and object; it is about shared meaning. As you might guess and Crotty stated, there is a lot more to each of these epistemologies and the way they are interpreted.
Secondly, I am working with the theoretical perspective -- the assumptions that guide our methodology, the context in which the process is grounded
The research project I am developing falls within the epistemology of constructionism, the one according to Crotty "qualitative researchers tend to invoke" (p. 9). In terms of the theoretical perspective, the research project will fall within the postmodern perspective, one that Gergen adopts in his writings.
rewriting ... smoothing out edges
Adding information where it is needed to clearly make a point, adding examples, moving a phrase or a sentence to another location where it makes more sense, taking out ideas, whole sentences that no longer fit, changing a word for another that is more accurate, that is what rewriting is about. Sometimes it feels like a sculptor, one who carves, models, casts its piece with special care. Little by little it takes form.
References:
Crotty, M. (1998). The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. London: SAGE Publications.
Plato. (1976). Meno. [Translated by G. M. A. Grube]. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.
