Guidelines RSE4801
Assignment 4
2022
General requirements You are required to use the prescribed material as primary source, and are encouraged to use other sources as well. The prescribed texts provided in the Study Units provide a starting point and a guideline for your response. Since everyone uses the same primary sources, you are advised, besides not to copy from any resource, to also write in your own words. Your own formulations are of much more value than anything copied from a resource.

Question 1
Questions 1 and 2 are related since they both deal with the criteria for sound research. Question 1 deals with the criteria of sound research when using quantitative methods while question 2 deals with qualitative methods.
It would be valuable to first provide a clarification of the relevance of these criteria. How are these criteria related to the generation of legitimate knowledge?
The concepts reliability and validity are used to refer to aspects of the legitimization of knowledge in quantitative research. Consult the texts of Horne and Bhattacherjee as the basis and add other resources to discuss the criteria of validity and reliability. Take head of Horne view that these concepts are understood and used in different ways. This is also the case with these two authors.
You are required to develop your own understanding of these concepts through an engagement with the views of the authors. You are expected to develop a basic understanding of these two concepts and to show what could be done to meet the criteria, and what to avoid. Include the different types of validity and reliability in the discussion. You do not need to discuss the technical detail of measurement as discussed by Bhattacherjee.
Your understanding of these criteria is shown more clearly when you discuss examples from educational research using quantitative methods as is the case in, for example, quasi-experimental research.
You should not only explain the criteria, but also show how to ensure that the demands of the criteria could be met.

Question 2
This question is related to question 1 except that the focus is now on qualitative research methods. It would be valuable to reflect briefly in your introduction on the differences between the quantitative and qualitative criteria.
It is often expected that qualitative research should use the same criteria as quantitative research in order to obtain the same level of rigour. While qualitative research methods are not rigorous in the same way as quantitative methods, they have been accused that the role of subjective aspects makes this kind of research less sound. It is therefore important that qualitative research shows the same commitment to ‘rigour’ although the way it is promoted differs. You could reflect critically on such expectations in your discussion of the qualitative criteria. While the methods of qualitative research are not as well defined and established as those of quantitative research, qualitative researchers do not at times justify their methods and show how legitimate knowledge is generated.
Lincoln and Guba (1985) are among the first to start developing criteria that are relevant to the distinctive nature of qualitative research approaches. In this process they attempt to define ‘rigour’ in a way that is relevant to qualitative research methods. Use the discussion of Lincoln and Guba (1985) as you starting point and as a frame of reference. You will in the text a brief discussion of five criteria. You are welcome to read wider for more information about these criteria. You may want to reflect as well on the additional criteria as discussed by Treharne and Riggs.
Your examples are again very important because they illustrate your own understanding. Avoid therefore to use examples from the literature without explaining them in detail.
Finally, you are requested to reflect on the kind of ‘rigour’ that applies to qualitative research.

Question 3
This question deals also with the criteria for sound research, but focuses on critical research (also called transformative or emancipatory research). These paradigms make an explicit commitment to the kind of research that addresses issues of justice in the struggle towards a more equal society. Critical research does not only describe the manifestations and causes of inequalities, but mainly look for the causes in systemic and structural elements of the local and global world.
Because of its commitment to address issues of social justice critical research is accused of ideological bias. Bias means that all the aspects of the research process (problem statement, research questions, research methods, results) are influenced by the particular notions of justice and equality. Ideological is used in the accusations as a pejorative term indicating an undue influence of non-scientific ideas and beliefs.
Lather (1986) is a critical researcher that takes seriously the demands for sound research and cautions against an attitude of ‘everything goes’. She embraces the notion of ideological research by questioning the notions of ‘neutrality’ and ‘objectivity’ in positivist research. She discussed in this article how the criterion of ‘validity’ could be met in different kinds of critical research.
It would be valuable to reflect again on the need for such criteria in the light of unwarranted theoretical claims and emphasizes by Lather (1985:77) who talks about the ‘primitive state of validity issues within openly value-based research’.
You will notice that Lather uses many of the same concepts you found with Guba and Lincoln, but that she defines them somewhat differently. She focusses on four criteria. She uses her understanding of these criteria to critically evaluate four types of critical research. In the process you gain further insights in how she understands the criteria.
Through an engagement with Lather’s views, you should be able to articulate your own understanding of these criteria in ideological research.
Please note the comment in Unit 6.3 about the term ‘post-positivism’ used by Lather.

Question 4
The ethics of research is addressed in questions 4 and 5 and is based on Unit 7.
Consult Unit 7 for an introduction to the issue of research that promotes educational goods. Although Smith did not do educational research, we could see how she aimed to promote the good (well-being) of the community. Go back to her text to investigate how she understood the well-being of the community and how she wanted to promote it through her research. It relates to the paradigms, aims and methods of her research.
The good of educational research refers to the way research aims to benefit education which in its turn aims to benefit society and individuals. When thinking about benefitting education, one should have a notion of what education is for. You have investigated the aims of education in the philosophy-section of PSE4801. Education is an ethical practice that aims to transform society for the better.
This question allows you to reflect on the relevance and quality of education in your community or school and to think about ways in which it could be improved through research. Identify one or more issues you think that should be investigated to make education better and more relevant. It could relate to any aspects of education such as governance, curriculum, relations, infrastructure, teaching and learning and parental involvement.
There are not specific prescribed texts for this question besides the example of Smith, the reference to PSE4801 and the discussion in Unit 7.2. Your identification of educational issues in a context you are familiar with is important.

Question 5
Educational research is not only ethical in relation to its aims, but also in relation to the processes of conducting research. This is particularly important since empirical educational research involves participants. The ethical demand is that participants be treated as ends in themselves and not simply as means to an end. It has been (and still is to a large extent) the case that research participants are treated as objects from whom information is extracted and not as subjects that take part in the processes of knowledge generation. It is not correct to separate the processes of ‘data’ generation (the words of the participants) and from that of the interpretation of ‘data’ (the work of the researcher) since the participants already provide interpretations. Educational research should not only respect the sense that participants make, but must also promote the well-being of the participants.
This question requires you to consider the ethical relation with the participants who are under age when you conduct interviews and observe their actions and behaviours. Before you engage in these research actions, you have to obtain the required permissions. Note that informed consent differs whether you work with adults or with children. You also need to identify and discuss the ethical demands that apply during the research actions such as interviews and observations. You also have to ensure that confidential information is not made public.
The text by Decarlo provides a valuable introduction to ethical issues related to research with humans including its history. Specific ethical issues you have to engage with appears in 5.2. Chapter 3 and 4 of Wiles provides more detailed information.