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Instructional Design

Epistemological Development

English Study Program

April 2013

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Ways of knowing

• So, we have a set of research questions… how do we know the answers to the questions?

• Epistemology: the division of philosophy that investigates the nature and origin of knowledge.

• Six common forms of human knowledge acquisition and formation

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Low level epistemological methods

•Tenacity

•Intuition

•Authority

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Ways of knowing: Tenacity

• Tenacity– “The way it has always been.”– We accept the answer (knowledge) because

it has survived over time.– Little rigor possible in analysis of the

knowledge– Examples of knowledge via tenacity:

• cultural customs, norms, traditions

• foods eaten on particular holidays

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Way of knowing: Intuition

• Intuition– “It feels right.”– Extra-sensory source, gut feelings, so on– Again, less rigor in the analysis of the

knowledge, because it is not readily analyzable

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Ways of knowing: Authority

• Authority– answers, knowledge gained from a trusted

source– burden of analysis is mostly on the credibility

of the source

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Ways of knowing: Science

• Science: the development of knowledge through a combination of rationalism and empiricism. – Mind (logic) + Senses (observation)– Rational empirical method: another name for science

• Rationalism– Development of knowledge through the application of

the rules of logic

• Empiricism– Development and confirmation of knowledge through

the observation of events using human senses

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Ways of knowing: Science (cont.)

• Rationalism: knowing through logic• deductive logic:

– apply general principles to a case to draw conclusions– syllogism

• inductive logic:– from specific case, generalize to principles– Basis for hypothesis testing

• analogical logic:– from a specific case, apply to another case– Based on similarities between the cases

• casual logic :– cause and effect link between events

• Three requirements for establishing a causal link (see later)

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Advantage of science over the other methods of knowing?

• able to develop new knowledge, find new answers, beyond accepting existing answers, by applying logic

• able to verify newly established knowledge by objectively relying on one’s own senses

– What is the key difference between “Low level epistemological methods” and “high level epistemological method”?

• Develop vs. Accept

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Characteristics of science

– Logical• Adherence to the rules of logic

– Empirical• Objects/phenomena being investigated should be observable.

– Problem oriented• Begins with a problem statement then ends with other problems

– Procedure driven• To keep objectivity

– Community-Based• Exchange of ideas and procedures

– Replicable• This is what a method section is for

– Self critiquing• What you do at the end of a study (discussion section)

– Evolutionary• Grows day by day

– Creative• Revolutionary findings!; beyond the normal application of logic!

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Fundamental Scientific Activities

• Theory development– What is theory?

• A set of interrelated constructs, definitions, and propositions that presents a systematic view of phenomena by specifying relations among variables, with the purpose of explaining the phenomena.

• Causal statement with boundary conditions

• Observation– Observation follows research methods

(survey, experiment, content analysis, naturalistic observation, etc.)

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Evaluation of Theory

• Clarity• Parsimony• Validity

– Is it empirically true?

• Testability• Scope

– How big is it?

• Flexibility– Can it adopt to explain new related observations?

• Predictability– What can we predict based on this?

• Utility– for explanation, generation of new knowledge, prediction, etc.

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Procedures of the scientific method

– Problem development– Methodological design– Data collection– Data analysis– Interpretation of findings, generalizing of

principle, developing theories

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A note on causality

• Tendency to “prove” causal relationships is very strong in science and in life

• Need to consider the criteria for causality– Temporal ordering: cause precedes effect in

time– Meaningful correlation: must have a

theoretical foundations for observed correlations

– No competing hypotheses: correlation cannot be explained by other factors

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A note on causality (cont.)

• Exercises in alternative hypotheses

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End of Slides

ANY QUESTION?