Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2019

Sonja Strydom and Magda Fourie-Malherbe

The chapter addresses the challenges of research into educational technology in the context of higher education and of theory-building in this field afforded by singular research…

Abstract

The chapter addresses the challenges of research into educational technology in the context of higher education and of theory-building in this field afforded by singular research methods and philosophies. Using an exemplar case study, the authors argue for the adoption of pluralism to facilitate deep exploration of complex social phenomena. Pluralism is conceptualized by distinguishing between methodological, analytical, and philosophical pluralism. In addition, arguments for and against pluralism are advanced. The chapter concludes with step-by-step proposals for engaging pluralism in higher education research studies.

Details

Theory and Method in Higher Education Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-842-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 July 2012

John B. Davis

Samuels always saw the history of economics as intellectual history (Samuels, 1974). The history of economics could not be confined to a record of doctrines economists have…

Abstract

Samuels always saw the history of economics as intellectual history (Samuels, 1974). The history of economics could not be confined to a record of doctrines economists have advanced, particularly as found in a handful of key written texts, since these doctrines had to be understood in their historical context along with many other types of historical evidence and materials. That is, economic doctrines do not stand on their own, however plausible and well-argued they may appear to be, but have their meaning and credibility according to how well they along with many other historical materials speak to the issues of their time. While this seems an obvious and correct point to make about how to understand the history of economics, Samuels argued that it turns out to be more far-reaching than it initially appears when one considers the character of the world which economic doctrines must somehow explain together with the problem of representation.First, social reality is itself heterogeneous and ambiguous … [which] permits a complex and heterogeneous body of knowledge thereof. Second, our modes of intellectualizing and interpreting social reality are complex and heterogeneous: there are diverse epistemological credentials, diverse modes of thought, and diverse systems of rationality. (Samuels, 1974, p. 306)

Details

Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology: A Research Annual
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-824-3

Article
Publication date: 27 October 2021

Chipozya Kosta Tembo and Adeyemi Akintola

This paper presents a review of research methodologies used in addressing problems in the financial management of property and construction journals from 2005 to 2020.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents a review of research methodologies used in addressing problems in the financial management of property and construction journals from 2005 to 2020.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis of 258 research papers published in the Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction was carried out, enabling the exploration of research approaches, epistemology, strategies, data collection and data analysis methods used in addressing problems researched in the area of financial management of property and construction

Findings

The findings show that quantitative approaches and methods dominate, whereas qualitative and mixed methods were prominent in-depth understanding of a topics were needed. Interestingly, almost a third of the publications did not adopt quantitative approaches. In some journal issues, there was relatively high use of qualitative and multi-method approaches and up to 12% of the articles published over the past 16 years could be described as based on pragmatism.

Research limitations/implications

An important implication of this paper is that a conventionally number-based area of research does not preclude the use of qualitative and mixed approaches. The findings are only generalisable to the Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction.

Practical implications

Financial management researchers could benefit greatly by considering pluralistic approaches more in the design of their studies.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is an original synthesis of the articles published between 2005 and 2020. It provides new insight into the use of research methodologies by authors and how they have been combined to address their research problems. It further investigates an old issue or question about methodological choice-making using new evidence and original empirical work.

Details

Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction , vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-4387

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2000

Nigel Ford

Research into information retrieval (IR) cannot yet answer the basic question of how we can design IR systems to help people search for information with optimal levels of…

Abstract

Research into information retrieval (IR) cannot yet answer the basic question of how we can design IR systems to help people search for information with optimal levels of effectiveness. In relation to human‐system interaction, we have failed to develop any valid and at the same time robust user models capable of driving practical system development. If we strip away assumptions and over‐optimism relating to the generalisability of what are essentially sporadic and fragmented research efforts, the great “darkness to light” ratio characterising our knowledge of human aspects of IR becomes apparent. From a more critical and pessimistic (but by no means less realistic) perspective, we are getting nowhere fast. A range of strategies is proposed to improve the situation by supporting relatively “horizontal” as well as “vertical” knowledge integration. These consist of: greater use of pluralistic research approaches; enhanced access to research data; more multidisciplinary and multi‐perspective integrative reviews and conceptual mappings; and establishing a greater critical mass of published research findings sufficient to support the generation of a less sparse and fragmented evidence‐based knowledge map. The potential of electronic publishing and data access for helping achieve these goals is discussed.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 56 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

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Article
Publication date: 6 February 2017

Alina Delgado and Frank De Troyer

The purpose of this paper is to describe the principles of a conceptual model to help developers and housing users achieve their expectations regarding quality, affordability and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the principles of a conceptual model to help developers and housing users achieve their expectations regarding quality, affordability and reasonable profits. Based on the identification of housing user’s preferences extracted from the survey, data are incorporated into model simulations considering budget restrictions for developers as well as for housing users.

Design/methodology/approach

The models’ development was based on fieldwork in Guayaquil, Ecuador, using a method that includes housing users’ preferences. Developed through a “methodological pluralism”, this study identifies people-oriented variables and assumptions. Thus, a more integrated approach is proposed, crossing and covering the fields of different disciplines.

Findings

The study concludes with findings regarding the identification of the most preferred attributes of housing users and the proposal of an alternative method to incorporate quality into model simulations for estimating housing market prices. Through optimizations, it is found that the optimal number of housing units per housing types in urban projects, which translates into more reasonable profits for the developers and the provision of better and more affordable houses for the users.

Research limitations/implications

A more complete assessment of the principles described in this paper will require a larger timeframe and location of application.

Practical implications

The identification of the most preferred attributes of housing users and the inclusion in a conceptual simulation model would help private and public developers to provide better and more affordable houses for users as well as to attain reasonable profits. Further, housing national policy could also be influenced by model’s results.

Social implications

The consideration of housing user’s preferences will entail an improvement of quality of life for social housing projects.

Originality/value

The study’s main original and novel contribution is the development of an approach for the inclusion of housing preferences into model simulations by using quality points and housing demand curves.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1998

Maurice Yolles

The systems domain maintains methodologies for inquiring into problem situations in order to introduce intervention for some purpose or other. In general each derives from a…

Abstract

The systems domain maintains methodologies for inquiring into problem situations in order to introduce intervention for some purpose or other. In general each derives from a distinct paradigm that some suggest represents a condition of fragmentation. We offer a way of seeing systems methodologies holistically and cybernetically from a relationship between paradigms and weltanschauungen.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

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Article
Publication date: 23 November 2012

Danijela Bogdanovic, Michael Dowd, Eileen Wattam and Alison Adam

The purpose of this paper is to report on and evaluate focus groups and privacy diary/interview methods used in a qualitative study of on‐line privacy.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report on and evaluate focus groups and privacy diary/interview methods used in a qualitative study of on‐line privacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a discursive evaluation of two methods employed to study on‐line privacy, informed by and situated in interpretive and constructivist approaches to knowledge.

Findings

The paper argues for the value of qualitative research methods in study of on‐line privacy. It confronts the positivist paradigm that informs much of the work in the field by foregrounding the need for methodological plurality in the study of privacy as relational, situated, dynamic and contextual. It deals with the notion of “sensitivity” as well as introducing often neglected issue of logistical challenges in qualitative research.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the existing debates about the value of employment of qualitative research methods broadly, as well as in the study of on‐line privacy more specifically. It demonstrates a range of advantages and challenges in use of the two methods, providing recommendations of how to supplement them. It opens up the discussion of process of sensitizing of the participants and thus the “co‐construction” of knowledge.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 July 2011

Ross Gordon

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and role of the critical dimension social marketing and its place within marketing scholarly thought. It is posited that such…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature and role of the critical dimension social marketing and its place within marketing scholarly thought. It is posited that such activity can be defined as “critical social marketing” and a formal definition is offered.

Design/methodology/approach

The ability of critical social marketing to inform the research and evidence base, as well as upstream and downstream activity is discussed. Scholarly debate on the role of critical social marketing within the social marketing and critical marketing paradigms, both of which heavily inform the concept, are reviewed. The application of a critical social marketing framework to the study of the impact of tobacco and food marketing is examined.

Findings

The paper demonstrates the utility of a critical social marketing framework in real‐world environments. Important considerations on who critical social marketers are and where the concept is located within marketing thought are addressed. The paper concludes by arguing that critical social marketing is a valid and established sub‐set of marketing thought within its own right, and should henceforth be regarded as such.

Originality/value

Offering a definition of critical social marketing formalises its position within marketing thought. Discussing the tensions surrounding the critical dimension of social marketing within the social marketing and critical marketing paradigms demonstrates the difficulty in locating concepts within existing literature. A review of the application of critical social marketing demonstrates its validity. Positing that critical social marketing should be located as a sub‐set within social marketing contributes to the marketing discipline and the organisation of marketing ideas and concepts.

Details

Journal of Social Marketing, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6763

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 June 2018

Peter Boettke, Solomon Stein and Virgil Henry Storr

When Beyond Positivism was published 35 years ago, it presented a compelling case for methodological change in the economics profession. That case remains equally compelling in…

Abstract

When Beyond Positivism was published 35 years ago, it presented a compelling case for methodological change in the economics profession. That case remains equally compelling in the present day as, tragically, economics remains largely without the methodological pluralism at the heart of Beyond Positivism’s message. Among the costs of an environment of methodological myopia are widespread misinterpretations and the diversion of scholars from efforts at economic understanding to methodological wrangling, which we illustrate using the experience of Austrian economics in the 20th century. Beyond Positivism, we suggest, continues to provide the intellectual case for a pluralist discipline of economics, but one that requires complementary institutional reforms to come to fruition.

Details

Including a Symposium on Bruce Caldwell’s Beyond Positivism After 35 Years
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-126-7

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Article
Publication date: 16 September 2013

Zahirul Hoque, Mark A. Covaleski and Tharusha N. Gooneratne

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of the contributions of multiple theories to accounting and organizational research, which is often referred to as…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of the contributions of multiple theories to accounting and organizational research, which is often referred to as “theoretical triangulation” or “theoretical pluralism”, with a particular focus on the manner in which chosen research methods have informed these efforts at theoretical triangulation.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct an analysis of how to employ theoretical triangulations and methodological pluralism in accounting and organizational research. To this end, they use prior empirical evidence for illustrative purposes.

Findings

The authors argue that using theories with epistemological tensions that are captured by appropriate research methods enable one to explore different, sometimes even contradictory, layers of meanings of realities pertaining to management accounting information and processes in organizations and society.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the thinking about the interaction between theory development and research methods chosen by demonstrating how and under what circumstances multiple theories could be meaningfully integrated and executed to provide deeper understandings of accounting and organizational phenomena.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 26 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000