Madden, A.D. orcid.org/0000-0003-2305-7790 (2021) A review of basic research tools without the confusing philosophy. Higher Education Research & Development, 41 (5). pp. 1633-1647. ISSN 0729-4360
Abstract
One consequence of novice researchers studying methodology textbooks is confusion: philosophical terminology is complicated and sometimes poorly defined. Another consequence is that inexperienced researchers divide themselves into epistemological cliques, which can inhibit inter-disciplinary discussions. This is a particular problem in subjects, such as Information Science, that bridge disciplines. This article attempts to address these issues by seeking ground common to researchers, regardless of their philosophical standpoint. It identifies several ‘tools of the mind’ which are expanded on and discussed. By becoming familiar with these tools, inexperienced researchers can gain practical insights that create context for philosophical terms they later encounter. ‘Tools of the mind’ discussed are captured in the following questions:
1. What should I research?
2. How do I go about researching it?
3. What assumptions have earlier researchers made?
4. What assumptions can I make without being challenged?
5. How can I indicate what it is that I am studying to researchers who wish to build on my work?
6. What can usefully be compared to the phenomenon I am researching?
7. When circumstances change, what new research opportunities arise?
8. How do I tell my research story so that it will be reliably transmitted?
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. |
Keywords: | Tools of the mind; interdisciplinary; research methods; research philosophy; information science |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 May 2021 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 28 Jun 2024 14:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/07294360.2021.1920895 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174435 |
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