I am talking about theory in the sense of a framework for making sense of the world, what Abend (2008) calls 'Theory5' - so the title of this blog post perhaps should have been 'How might your theoretical framework inform your research?'. We know that there needs to be alignment between your theoretical stance and your methodology, design, methods and instruments, analysis, and outcomes (the claims made) (Twining et al, 2017; Twining, 2018). But what does that look like in practice? I'm going to illustrate this ...continue reading "How might theory inform your research?"
Tag: methodology
The halfbaked thesis template
Do you have to develop a PhD (or maybe even a Masters) thesis?
Is your research qualitative (which can include generating numerical as well as non-numerical data within a relativist approach)?
If you've answered yes to both those questions then this thesis template may be what you have been looking for ... ...continue reading "The halfbaked thesis template"
Brief review of Quantitative Ethnography (Shaffer 2017)
As nobody wanted to give me a review copy I went out and bought this book, and I’m glad I did. It is a good book – it is an important book – indeed I think every researcher (whether coming from a positivist or interpretivist standpoint) would benefit from reading it. ...continue reading "Brief review of Quantitative Ethnography (Shaffer 2017)"
Extending guidance on qualitative research
Last Friday Fiona Aubrey-Smith asked me a great question about the table that attempted to summarise the main points in some guidance that I had written for Computers & Education about qualitative research. It was great because it extended my thinking. Fiona's question was ...continue reading "Extending guidance on qualitative research"