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RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS
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RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION ETHICS
Dr. S. K. Yadav
President
Shri J. J. T. University
Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan (India)
1
Unit - 1
Philosophy and Ethics
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Chapter 1
Philosophy of Research: An Introduction
1.1 Overview
The word research itself is a combination of “re” and “search,” which is meant by a systematic
investigation to gain a new knowledge from already existing facts. Frankly speaking, research may be
defined as a scientific understanding of existing knowledge and deriving a new knowledge to be
applied for the betterment of the mankind. In the words of Wernher von Braun (a German
philosopher), “Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing”. It is basically the
search for truth/facts. The significant contribution of Research deals with the progress of the nation
as well as an individual with commercial, social, and educational advantages. Albert Szent Gyorgyi
(Hungarian Biochemist, Nobel Prize – 1937) writes “Research is to see what everybody else has seen
and think what nobody has thought”. Research may be an important parameter to judge the
development of any nation/generation. According to Clifford Woody (American philosopher, 1939),
“Research comprises of defining and redefining problems, formulating the hypothesis for suggested
solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusion
and further testing the conclusion whether they fit into formulating the hypothesis.” The major
objectives of research are to find out a hidden and undiscovered truth of the nature/society. There
are various objectives behind undertaking research by individuals as well as various
organizations/universities. Some philosophical objectives behind any research include:
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To propose and test certain hypotheses to provide causal relationships between certain
variables;
To discover and establish the existence of relationship, association, and independence
between two or more aspects of a particular situation or phenomenon;
To understand different phenomenon and develop new perceptions about it;
To study and describe accurately the characteristics of situations, problems, phenomena,
services, groups, or individuals;
To explain unexplored horizons of knowledge;
To test reported findings and conclusions on new data and novel conclusions on previously
reported data;
To study the frequency of research that is connected with unspecified objectives.
As a long process, the main driving factor of research is motivation and passion. For some researchers
and post-graduate students, the main objective behind the research remains to earn a degree. For
organizations including defense and research laboratories, research is an important aspect for the
nation and sustainability. To the philosophers and thinkers, research means the outlet for new ideas
and insights, whereas to the intellectual people research can be the development of new styles and
creative work. Research is a random walk, but the scholars need to systematically continue towards
the destination. Failure is an inevitable step in the research phase, but may be a pillar of success.
Creativity, good written and verbal communication skills and in-depth knowledge of the subject are
essential for successful completion of research work. A researcher should have sound fundamental
knowledge of the domain to be undertaken. A querying attitude is one of the important factors.
Anything and everything are questionable. This questioning attitude of the scholar is essence of
research and invention. Practical intelligence is the ability to adopt day-to-day requirements while
persistent, tenacious, uncompromising, and stubborn are some of the characteristics of creative
people. Important ingredients for a good researcher are:
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Dedication and Commitment;
Consistency and Patience;
Good Written Communication;
Domain Knowledge;
Good Verbal Communication;
Creativity.
There are different types of research may be are classified in various categories including Applicability,
the mode of enquiry in conducting the study and major objectives of the study. Main research types
include:
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Basic Research:
✓ pure or fundamental research;
✓ no immediate need;
✓ new theories can be added to the knowledge cluster;
✓ may solve problems but may not have practical applications;
✓ broader scope as compared to applied research.
Applied Research:
✓ tries to solve an immediate specific problem faced by industry or society;
✓ obtained solution can be deployed to solve the problem;
✓ duration of is shorter as a quick solution is expected;
✓ optimized search type problem (e.g. engineering domain);
✓ either address the unsolved problem or improve the existing solution.
Descriptive Research:
✓ used in business analysis or social problems;
✓ does not have any control over the parameters or variables;
✓ just tries to represent or analyze the previous and or current facts;
✓ correlational methods, survey methods, and comparative studies are used.
Analytical Research:
✓ uses existing information to explain a complex phenomenon or to perform a critical
evaluation;
✓ identified hypothesis can be accepted or rejected depending on the analysis;
✓ from experience the hypothesis can be redefined;
✓ observed in historical study, forensic work, food, in the medical domain etc.;
✓ summarizes and evaluates the ideas in historical research for accessing both witness
and literature sources to document past events;
✓ data can be presented to support the data in comprehensive model.
Correlational Research:
✓ focuses on exploring the relationship or association between incidences, variables;
✓ from the collected data, researchers may come up with number of observations and
analytics.
Qualitative Research:
✓ mainly deals with the quality or the types of the parameters considered for the
research;
✓ differences in the parameter may occur with time;
✓ related to human behavior;
✓ more complicated and requires more guidance;
✓ less emphasis is given on generalization and more focus is towards individual;
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✓ focus of the work is to find results with respect to qualitative parameters.
Quantitative Research:
✓ involves measurements of quantities of characteristics that can be used as features
for the research study;
✓ assumes that the world is stable and uses statistical analysis on parameter values for
conclusions;
✓ statistical quantities that can be measured are involved.
Experimental Research:
✓ focuses on the fieldwork and experiments that can control the independent variable;
✓ can be tested and trained with pre- and post - experimental research design.
Explanatory Research:
✓ tries to analyze and justify the reason behind the occurrence of particular
phenomenon or association between the variables;
✓ answers the “Why” type of questions;
✓ aims to explain why a relationship, association, or interdependence exist;
✓ a causal research with three important components like time-to-time sequences
which will occur before the effect, concomitant variations, where the variations will
be systematic between two variables.
Exploratory Research:
✓ explores the areas that have required meagre attention;
✓ for checking the possibility of research in the particular domain or area.
✓ a small-scale study is done to decide the further scope of advancement in domain.
✓ depending on outcomes of study, domain is further explored for in depth research on
the specific topic.
1.2 Phases of the Research
As a verse “Efficient and well-planned activities always see success”. Well begun is not only half done
but often fully cooked. To grab the success researchers, need to:
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✓
✓
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efficiently plan a research activity;
formulate a tentative research problem;
execute it meticulously;
publish it for outside world;
follow research process to get optimized research outcomes.
General steps in the research process are:
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Selection of Domain/Area of Research:
✓ Very first step in the process of research;
✓ Different purposes behind undertaking particular research;
✓ High possibility to select the domain of the research guide or the guide may suggest
selection of the particular domain;
✓ Research domain can be selected from area of interest, identified gap in the literature
and individual skill set;
✓ Design and develop the new product, to upgrade available one, to study and analyze
the effects of the product specifications.
Formulating a Research Problem and Identification of Keywords:
✓ Define tentative research problem definition and identify the related keywords for
literature;
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✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
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Equip with all the tools and domain knowledge required for research.
Requires ability to go in depth of particular topic;
Discussion of the state-of-the-art with colleague and domain expert;
Prepare the research tentative plan of research work;
Objective of research to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and
Time-bound).
Literature Survey:
✓ Comprehensive study of technical and authorized content related to research
keywords;
✓ Revisited by researcher number of times during research journey;
✓ Provides details of research progress of particular domain;
✓ Helps the researcher to understand the approaches, methodologies, algorithms, and
datasets used by other scientists;
✓ Important to identify where the gap is;
✓ Helps the researcher to understand the progress of domain and state of the art in the
domain;
✓ Helps to avoid duplication of work;
✓ Can be done with respect to:
o What;
o How (process schematic/standard procedure);
o Discussion on major steps involved;
o Design criteria and performance measures;
o Techniques currently in use;
o Comparative analysis (table/any suitable tool to discover and list pros and
cons/ strength/weakness/future scope of existing techniques);
o Scope for research/gap in research.
Redefining Research Problem, Objectives and Outcomes:
✓ Problem definitions should be unambiguous, clear statement that states the major
objective of the research;
✓ There should be four to six subobjectives defined for research work;
✓ There should be a clear indication of the research work which should not be the
recurrence of the same research;
✓ There should also be an outcome which has be initialized while mentioning the
research objective;
✓ Objective should be given pointwise (four to six points);
✓ After domain selection and identifying the problem definition, researchers should
formulate a hypothesis.
Research Proposal:
✓ Should able to convince people for selected topic and objectives;
✓ To be reviewed by different expert committees;
✓ Mandatory document to be submitted to the university or research organization
during the registration for a PhD degree;
✓ Generally, includes the following sections:
o Introduction (250–300 words)/Proposed Topic of Research;
o Literature Review of Research Topic (1,500–2,000 words);
o Gap in Existing Research;
o Objective of the Proposed Research;
o Outcome;
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o Methodology.
Identifying Variable /Parameters and Research Design:
✓ Basic quality or attribute to differ in values under different circumstances;
✓ To identify all related variables or parameters;
✓ To define the domain and range of each variable;
✓ To decide on the design strategy of research;
✓ To shift the paradigm from “what is my research?” to “how am I going to conduct it?”;
✓ Systematic plan designed to obtain a solution to the research problem;
✓ Blue print of the entire research.
Data Collection and Representation:
✓ Data can be either directly collected afresh (primary data) or already collected and
used data (secondary data);
✓ Depends on problem definition and research objectives;
✓ Can be represented in simple text, tables, graphs, audio, video, or images.
✓ The reliability can be tested by finding out the following:
o Who collected the data?
o What were the sources of the data?
o Were they collected by using proper methods?
o At what time were they selected?
o What level of accuracy was desired?
o Was accuracy achieved?
✓ Tabulation can conserve space and reduce explanatory and descriptive statement to
provide the comparison from one state to another with importance:
o Each table will give a clear title that does not require an explanation;
o Each table will be provided with a separate number that will be easy for
referring;
o Graphical representation helps to understand the data easily.
Testing of Proposed Design on Collected Data/Hypothesis Testing:
✓ To prove or disprove the research, hypothesis testing is expressed as either a null
hypothesis or alternative hypothesis; The procedure for hypothesis testing is
undertaken for making a choice between the rejection and acceptance of a null
hypothesis observing the following steps:
o Setting up of hypothesis consists of the data that makes the statement of a
null hypothesis, which should clearly state the nature of the research
problem;
o Particular expression of the hypothesis is an important aspect while
considering a goal or purpose of the considered problem;
o Hypothesis can be validated when the values are decided in advance for the
significance of the work when they are directional and nondirectional;
o Test statistics will be conducting hypothesis test for means and variance. The
formula for test statistics and their distributions are discussed depending on
the value of test statistics using observations selected by the researcher and
the parametrical value stated under null hypothesis;
o Using different type of critical value for test statistic, level of significance, and
the type of test we obtain a critical value;
o The null hypothesis is rejected or accepted by comparing the distribution of
test statistics.
✓ Some of the important limitations of hypothesis testing are:
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o
o
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Results cannot be expressed with full certainty (they are probabilistic);
Testing is not a decision-making activity in itself, the researcher should not
use it in a mechanical way;
o Tests don’t explain the reason why the dissimilar result has been obtained
due to fluctuation;
o Significance of the results is been validated on the basis of the probabilistic
conditions which cannot be explained fully;
o Inference the statistical data cannot provide the evidence for the truth of the
hypothesis.
✓ There exist the number of statistical tools like t-test, F-test, chi-square test, D-W test,
etc. to test the validity of the hypothesis.
Results and Analysis:
✓ The most important section of the research;
✓ The hypothesis should be tested with multiple approaches and that results can be
compared;
✓ Should be represented in the visual format using tables, figures and or graphs;
✓ May include the problems faced during collection of data and complete analysis of
results.
Research Report Writing:
✓ The research report is a medium to convey research outcomes, contributions, findings
and results to the outside world to decide the quality of research work done by the
researcher;
✓ Patents, copyrights and white papers are also possible outcomes of the research;
✓ A research report may include the following sections:
o Abstract;
o Introduction;
o Review of Literature;
o Problem Definition and Objectives;
o Research Methodology;
o Observations and Results;
o Discussion;
o Summary;
o Conclusion and Future Trends;
o Publications;
o Bibliography/References;
o Appendices.
Note: Researchers must be aware of plagiarism issues, copyright issues, procedures, and penalties.
Plagiarism is to literally steal the work of another person, presenting it as original research without
proper citation comes under professional misconduct. There are different agencies including Turnitin,
Unkund, Plagscan etc. to verify the copied content in written document with its source. After
completion of writing, a plagiarism check of the written document by an authorized agency must be
recommended.
1.3 Features of Good Research Study
Research inculcates scientific, curious and inductive thinking of any objective. Being an important
component of the development of nation and individual, research has special significance in deciding
government policies in economics, in solving various operational and planning problems of business
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and industry, and in seeking answers to various social problems. Research opens different avenues in
particular domain for the betterment of mankind and world. Research activity develops critical
thinking about the problem, systematic examination, developing and testing new theories, and draw
important meaningful conclusions. At glance during research process researcher should monitor
following stage-wise details:
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First stage:
✓ Where do you start?
✓ Area of interest should be decided
✓ Check out why this area is of interest
✓ Discuss your idea with local R&D staff.
Second stage:
✓ From the existing source systematic reviews should be considered carefully before
starting the research;
✓ Duplication of research which is not of sufficient quality is itself unethical.
Third Stage:
✓ Research domain should be determined;
✓ Data should be arranged for a specific purpose and statistically analyzed;
✓ Determine top-down or bottom-up approach or combination;
✓ Data should be compared and validate on the work done;
✓ Data should provide the information and action performed for comparison of the
work;
✓ Results should deal with a means of solving the problem;
✓ Research validation should be verified with surveys;
✓ Perform research validation using research methods (interviews, surveys, etc.);
✓ Appropriateness of the work should be justified;
✓ Cost should be specified;
✓ Test Practicality.
A good research clearly defines the methodologies used, should be replicable, should be time-bound
and realistic. Good research should have systematically chosen methodologies and datasets to prove
the proposed hypothesis. Validity and reliability of data should be checked and researchers should
consider an adequate amount of data. Common features of good research are:
✓ Research purpose should be clearly defined;
✓ Procedure for the research should be detailed sufficiently which should help the other to
continue the work by referencing our work;
✓ Research work should be carefully planned to get the results in related to the specified
objectives;
✓ Reports should be created by a researcher stating that what was the procedure adopted for
completing the work which should also include errors in their findings;
✓ Conclusions should be confident to those justified by the data of research.
✓ The entire research work should either form foundation for further advancement in the
domain to draw some concrete conclusions;
✓ it should be beneficial from the social, commercial, or educational point of view.
✓ Good research is always systematic and logical;
✓ The report should be well written and it should be published through refereed journal.
1.4 Educational Research and Philosophy
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Educational research now a days has become the focus for mass academic attention throughout the
world. More than 1.5 million conferences/workshops/research seminars on various themes are being
organized by universities /HEIs in a calendar year as per record of American Educational Research
Association, European Education Research Association, Association for Research on Learning and
Instruction, Comparative and International Education Society and Conference Alert forum. Since
methodology is viewed as the theory of organization of an activity, we should start with the basic
notions connected with an activity. An activity is an active interaction of a human being with an
external environment, where the former acts as a subject exerting a purposeful impact on an object
to satisfy his/her own needs. In philosophy, a subject is defined as a bearer of the object-oriented
practical activity and cognition (an individual or a social group); as the source of active behavior
directed towards an object. According to dialectics, a subject is remarkable for inherent selfconsciousness, indeed, he/she has mastered the world of culture created by the humanity as the tools
of the domain practical activity, the forms of a language, logical categories, the norms of aesthetical
or moral judgements, etc. The active behavior of a subject forms a condition ensuring that a certain
fragment of objective reality acts as an object given to the subject in the forms of his/her activity.
philosophy determines an object as the entity opposing a subject in his/her object-oriented practical
activity and cognition activity. An object appears non identical with the objective reality, merely acting
as its part which interacts with a subject. Philosophy studies an activity as the comprehensive way of
a human life; accordingly, a human being is defined as an active being. The human activity covers
material-practical and intelligent(spiritual) operations, external and internal processes. The human
activity lies equally in thinking and working, in cognition process and human behavior. Through activity
a human being reveals his/her own (special) role in the world, asserting oneself as a social being.
Needs are defined as the requirement or lack of a certain entity being essential to sustain vital activity
of an organism, an individual, a social group or society as a whole. Biological needs are subject to
metabolic conversion as a prerequisite for the existence of any living organism. The needs of social
subjects, i.e., an individual, a social group and society as a whole, depend on the development level
of a given society and on specific social conditions of their activity. The needs are stated in concrete
terms via motives that make a man or a social group act; in fact, activity is performed for the sake of
motives. Motivation means the process of stimulating an individual or a social group to fulfill a specific
activity, actions and steps. Motives cause formation of a goal as a subjective image of the desired
result of the expected activity or action. The goal-implementation process is characterized by its
content, forms, as well as by specific methods, means, and technologies. A particular position within
the activity structure is occupied by those components referred to as either self-regulation or control.
Self-regulation is defined as reasonable functioning of living systems. Psychical self-regulation is the
regulation level for active behavior of such systems to expresses the specifics of psychical means of
reality reflection and modeling. Control is treated as an element, a function of organized systems of
different nature (e.g., biological, social or technical ones), ensuring retention of their structure,
maintenance of activity, and implementation of a program or a goal of activity. The notion of an
external environment turns out to be an essential category in system analysis. Conditions of activity
(material and technical, financial, informational, etc.) are related to the external environment. The
following groups of conditions are invariant for any activity:
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Motivational;
Personnel-related;
Material and technical;
Methodical;
Financial;
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Organizational;
Regulatory and legal;
Informational.
In principle, human activity may be performed spontaneously, learning by one’s own mistakes.
Methodology generalizes rational forms of activity organization that have been verified in rich social
and historical practice. During different epochs of civilization development, various basic types of
organizational forms of activity have been popular. In modern scientific literature, they are often
referred to as organizational culture. A technology is a system of conditions, forms, methods and
means to solve a posed problem. Methodology rests upon scientific knowledge. A researcher involved
in scientific activity must have a clear and conscious conception of science, its organization, the laws
of science development, and the structure of scientific knowledge. A researcher must conceive the
criteria of scientific knowledge, as well as the forms of scientific knowledge to-be-used for expressing
the results of investigations. The field of science studying science itself is called the science of science
to include several disciplines such as epistemology, the logic of science, semiotics (the theory of signs),
the sociology of science, the psychology of scientific creation, and others. Epistemology is the theory
of scientific cognition, a branch of philosophy. Epistemology studies the laws and capabilities of
cognition, as well as analyzes the stages, forms, methods, and means of cognition process, the
conditions and criteria of scientific knowledge validity. Scientific cognition is considered as a
sociohistorical process and represents the subject of epistemology. The philosophical scientific
knowledge may be classified as under:
✓ According to the groups of problem domains, knowledge is classified as mathematical,
physical, humanity-type and technical knowledge;
✓ According to the way of reflecting its essence, knowledge is classified as phenomenological
(descriptive) and essentialist (explanatory) knowledge. Phenomenological knowledge
represents qualitative theories with par excellence descriptive functions (many branches of
biology, geography, psychology, pedagogics and so on). Contrariwise, essentialist knowledge
makes up explanatory theories with application of quantitative analysis tools;
✓ According to the activity of certain subjects, knowledge is classified as descriptive and
prescriptive, normative knowledge; the latter contains regulations, direct instructions for an
activity. We underline that the material regarding the science of science
(epistemology) presented in this subsection has a descriptive character. Nevertheless, first,
this material is necessary as a guideline for any investigator. Second, it provides a certain base
for further exposition of prescriptive, normative material related to the methodology of
scientific activity;
✓ According to functional purposes, scientific knowledge is classified as fundamental, applied
and development knowledge.
Empirical knowledge is the established scientific facts, as well as the empirical laws formulated on
their basis. Theoretical knowledge is the general laws stated for a given problem domain, enabling to
explain the facts and empirical laws established earlier, as well as to predict and foreknow future
events and facts.
Some philosophical definitions are as under:
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A thesis is a scientific assertion, a formulated idea.
Particular cases of a thesis are axiom and theorem.
An axiom is an initial thesis of a scientific theory taken to be valid without a logical proof and
used to prove other theses of the theory.
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The issue regarding validity of an axiom is solved either within the framework of another
theory or by means of interpretation, i.e., a meaningful explanation of this theory.
A theorem is also a thesis whose validity is established through a logical proof.
Auxiliary theorems serve to prove a basic one is called lemmas or statements;
A concept is an idea reflecting objects, phenomena and their interconnections by fixing
general and specific attributes, the properties of objects and phenomena;
A category is an extremely wide concept reflecting the most general and essential properties,
attributes, interconnections and relations of objects and phenomena of the surrounding
world (e.g., matter, motion, space, time, etc.);
A principle is a concept playing a dual role and acts as a central concept representing the
generalization and extension of a thesis to all phenomena and processes in a domain used to
abstract this principle;
A law is an essential, objective, general, stable and repetitive relation between phenomena
and processes;
A metatheory is a theory which analyzes structures, methods, properties and ways of
constructing scientific theories in a certain field of scientific knowledge.
An idea is the supreme form of cognizing the world, not just reflecting the object considered,
but being directed to its transformation;
A doctrine is almost a synonym of a concept, a theory;
A paradigm also acts as a concept, a theory or a model of a problem statement accepted as
standard solution of research problems.
Semiotics is the science studying the laws of designing and functioning of systems of signs.
1.5 Concept of Educational Philosophy and Theory
Wilfred Carr (Chair, Philosophy and Education Society of Great Britain, 1993-1996) observed
succinctly in a paper presented at a British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference
roundtable in September 1995:
Research … always conveys a commitment to philosophical beliefs even if this is unintended and
even though it remains implicit and unacknowledged … [Researchers] cannot evade the
responsibility for critically examining and justifying the philosophical ideas that their enquiries
incorporate. It follows that philosophical reflection and argumentation are central features of the
methods and procedures of educational research.
Many researchers who might not necessarily identify themselves as philosophers are, perfectly
alert to these methodological issues and their philosophical underpinnings. There are two or three
alternative moves for philosophers, which are interesting not just as defensive political moves in
a particular academic economy, but for what they reveal about the characteristics of different
kinds of philosophical activity to:
✓ accept that the term ‘research’ is appropriately attached to the scientific or (in the case
of social sciences quasi-scientific) paradigm indicated to find a different descriptor for the
activities of philosophers;
✓ advance more inclusive but restrictive definition of research which can include the
evidentially based work characteristic of historical and literary scholarship and biography
and a good deal of philosophical writing rooted in the history of ideas;
✓ advance an even wider definition of research to encompass at least some philosophizing
terms. A systematic and sustained inquiry to be made public is also called research.
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The actual products of philosophical work provide a very mixed picture of the extent to which the
producer was engaged in an inquiry of the fact. Most commonly researchers take the form either of a
critical attack on a previous writer, or an attempt to advance and defend a point of view held by the
author, or some combination of the two. The author might place the question or point of curiosity in
the center, but this is by no means a requirement or expectation of philosophical writing, which in
some of its more declamatory forms can come across as the product not of a humble inquirer after
truth but of a somewhat arrogant holder of the truth, a knower rather than a seeker after knowledge.
Conceptual or linguistic analysis may have a role as a helpful preliminary or accompaniment to other
forms of theoretically informed or ideologically laden enquiry into educational thought and practice;
but it cannot be separated from such theory or such ideology since the analysis rests itself on the same
framework of beliefs. Philosophers of education are faced with something of a dilemma, which
different scholars resolve in different ways. The dilemma is created by a simultaneous demand to
produce work which is a visible contribution to contemporary educational debate (and perhaps one
that non-philosophers will find accessible) and to produce work of serious philosophical scholarship.
1.6 A Philosopher in the Classroom?
It is quite easy to see or to represent action research as something standing in contrast with, or, more
strongly, in opposition to, more theoretical or philosophical approaches to classroom practice. This
would be a serious error because not only it does action research itself depend on all sorts of
philosophical premises for its own rationale, but properly conceived also requires its practitioners to
reflect on their own educational philosophies, as well as to inquire empirically into the consequences
of their actions. There may be two distinctions in terms of research as:
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Philosophy of Research (refers to the ideas, rooted in epistemology, ethics, and social
philosophy, which might underlie the idea and practice of action research, but of which action
researchers themselves do not necessarily have to be aware).
Philosophy in research (refers to the ways in which, arguably at least, action researchers need
to engage more self-consciously with philosophical questions).
According to John Elliott (British Historian, 1991) :
“A philosopher who played a central role in the development of action research and someone who
always regarded the two fields of educational inquiry as mutually dependent. Philosophical reflection
… itself modifies conceptions of ends in ways which change one’s understanding of what constitutes
good data about practice. So, one cannot improve the methodology of action research independently
of philosophical reflection”.
As a form of practice, action research can appear to have a disarming philosophical innocence. A
teacher initiates a new approach to her handling of some disruptive pupils, monitors the effects, and
revises her approach in the light of what he/she observes. Certain features of modest initiatives that
carry wider significance in research are to be observed:
•
•
how the practitioners are developing their understanding of their professional practice not by
reference to any externally generated theory or generalized principles. With reference to their
experience tested in their own environment, there are some epistemological principles at the
work order section;
that the practitioners are themselves taking responsibility for developing their practice, rather
than being directed in the development by some outside agency, so there are some principles
to do with power and agency involved under some social/political principles;
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•
that the inquiry, the research, is being conducted by an insider researcher in the context of
his/her own working environment, so there are some ethical principles invoked both, in the
preference for the insider researcher over the outsider researcher and in the obligations to be
right at stake in the relationship between researcher and researched.
There is no escaping the fact that educational action research has represented a distinctive view of
the nature and development of professional knowledge. It may be a view to stand in some contrast to
the idea of educational theory as applied social science, as a body of ideas which can be developed
and gain validation independently of practice and can be handed down. MacLure (1995) suggests that
it is a distinctive feature of action research that it appears to privilege experience over theory and
ascribe a special epistemological status to experience ‘with connotations of authenticity, directness,
naturalness, immediacy, relevance’, ‘life-as-it-is- lived’, and counterpoises this against the ‘remoteness
and abstraction of research/theory/policy/positivism’
For John Dewey (American Philosopher and Psychologist, 1916) there is a physical relationship
between learning and experience:
“When we experience something, we act upon it, we do something with it; then we suffer or undergo
the consequence. We do something to the thing and then it does something to us in return … The
connection of these two phases of experience measure the fruitfulness or value of the experience …
When an activity is continued into the undergoing of consequences, when the change made by the
action is reflected back into a change made in us, the mere flux is loaded with significance”.
A particular teaching approach ‘works’ in maintaining order in the classroom, but what is its impact
on the scholar’s learning, on their attitudes towards the subject, on their moral, social, and political
education? The notion of something ‘working’ itself requires interrogation and reflection of a kind
which requires a wider conceptual apparatus than is necessarily provided by immediate experience.
The rationale for involving teachers as researchers of their own practice is connected to an aspiration
to give them control over what is to count as knowledge about practice. As action researchers,
teachers are knowledge generators rather than appliers of knowledge generated by outsiders. A shift
in the distribution of the production and validation of knowledge might itself be held to constitute a
shift in the distribution of power. To qualify for inclusion as action research, a research project had to
be:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
participatory (where the researched were the researchers);
first person (‘we do’ in order to change ourselves);
emancipatory (designed to free participants by helping them to think differently);
socially critical (so that what normally went unquestioned was questioned);
collaborative (research the members of an action team did together);
committed and conducted according to ethical procedures;
risky (in a way which would make life uncomfortable).
Carl Elliott (American Philosopher, 2000) sets out the characteristics of educational action research in
terms which repeatedly reveal the intimacy of the relationship between action research and moral
and ethical evaluation rooted in a considered philosophy of education:
✓ its major purpose is to realize an educationally worthwhile process of teaching and learning.
✓ what counts as educationally worthwhile activity should be defined in terms of value-concepts
like ‘autonomous learning’, ‘learning with understanding’, ‘critical thinking’, ‘learning through
discovery or inquiry’.
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✓ … an activity should be evaluated as educationally worthwhile, not by virtue of its
instrumentality for effecting certain results but by virtue of the extent to which it embodies
in itself criteria and standards which are implicit in the educational ends to which it is directed.
✓ … enquiry into how to realize educational values in the practices of teaching and learning
cannot be separated from philosophical enquiry into what these values mean and their
implications for practice. When it is so reduced, we get a version of action research which
amounts to a form of instrumental/technical problem solving.
The educational character of any practice can only be made intelligible by reference to an ethical
disposition to proceed according to some more or less tacit understanding of what it is to act
educationally. Action research leaves a role for the educational theorist in the university as a supplier
of theoretical resources for teachers to use in reflecting about and developing their practice, but it
establishes the teacher as the ultimate arbiter over what is to count as useful knowledge.
1.7 The Philosopher in an Interdisciplinary Research
The Higher Education Funding Council for England declares that:
‘Research in education is multi-disciplinary and is closely related to a range of other disciplines with
which it shares common interests, methods and approaches …’ (HEFCE, 2012).
The philosophical attitude can critically reacquaint policy makers with the resources of their own
ethical tradition and in doing so enable them to test proposed prescriptions against those traditions.
In the field of research we refer to research teams, research groups, and research centers. These have
in common the features of:
✓ bringing together a number of researchers in some formation;
✓ around some common task or set of tasks;
✓ with some shared principles, values, or interests.
Moral education can only be articulated upon some understanding of what it is to be moral, and of
the knowledge and understanding which are the components of moral choice and moral action. It
might be helpful to pull out some of the issues might provide a focus for discussion on
interdisciplinarity in research. These have included:
✓ questions to do with the role of ‘the philosopher’ in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary
research group and how the ‘philosophical’ contribution is understood;
✓ questions to do with the problematization of that identity of ‘non-philosophers’ who seem to
be doing philosophical work and of ‘philosophers’ whose intellectual role and resources
cannot be reduced to the philosophical;
✓ questions to do with what anyone qua philosopher can make of empirical data;
✓ questions to do with how philosophers and those in the educational research community who
would not define themselves in these terms can engage more effectively together; does this
require us to subordinate our disciplinary identities?
✓ questions to do with the conditions which ‘make a community of arguers possible’ within a
research group and, more problematically, within looser educational research
groupings/networks which cross all sorts of linguistic and cultural, as well as epistemic,
frontiers.
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1.8 Educational Research: Pursuit of Truth
There is an illuminating association between some of the classical theories of truth and the major
paradigms of educational research. The application of any type of research method and the defense
of the results of inquiry thus obtained implies a view, or views, of what is to count as knowledge. The
point of preferring one set of methods over another is to believe that the chosen set will lead to
knowledge rather than mere belief, opinion, or personal preference. We regard our work as simply
another construction. We hope the reader will find it reasonably informed and sophisticated, but it is
certainly far from universal truth. Indeed, there is no universal truth to which our construction is a
more or less good approximation. We trust that continuing dialectic dialogue about what we have to
say will lead to reconstructions of greater power and worth but not of greater truth. The moral
imperative on the responsive constructivist evaluator is continuously to be on the alert for
challenges to the prevailing construction and to stand ready to refine, change, or even reject that
which is currently believed in favor of something else that, on examination, seems more reasonable
and appropriate to those in the best position to make that judgement. Confirmability is concerned
with assuring that data, interpretations and outcomes of inquiries are rooted in contexts and persons
apart from the evaluator and not simply figments of the evaluator’s imagination. What is represented
in this instance, is clearly a correspondence theory of truth applied to the particular context of giving
accounts of people’s constructions of their social world. The imperative on the researcher is clearly to
penetrate all sorts of lies, deceit, and misrepresentation in order to provide as far as possible a truthful
account of people’s constructions of their world.
The “non-scientific” approaches to educational research which supposedly or seemingly reject the
quest for truth do not so much reject truth as shift the focus to other types of question, displaying the
different interests. The net consequence of ‘alternative’ approaches to educational research may be
to relieve the researcher from some responsibility for establishing what is ‘truthlike’ to use, but this
responsibility is then simply passed on to others.
1.9 Pragmatic Perspectives of Research
A pragmatic approach is to eschew lofty theory, ideology, rarefied scientific claims which researched,
conflict with common-sense of understanding. Theory of knowledge has come to dominate via a good
deal of policy in relation to education. Philosophical pragmatists remain a loosely associated group
with overlapping and evolving concerns and points of view, rather than a single programme or set of
commitments. For the pragmatists, learning and the development of knowledge and understanding
had its roots in an interest, purpose, task, or project which an individual was engaged with or pursuing.
A problem situation exists whenever we find our established habits of conduct inadequate to attain a
desired end and the effect of a problem situation upon us is the production of doubt. The key to the
educational experience is getting the student to recognize that this cycle of interest-doubt-problem
solving is beneficial and worthy of pursuit. The repeated cycle of classroom action research (as
researcher):
✓ starts with teachers identifying some aspect of their practice which they find unsatisfactory,
puzzling, frustrating, not working as they would wish it;
✓ they move from a state of puzzlement or frustration to a more explicit articulation of the
problem;
✓ they investigate what is happening in their classrooms more carefully (in a more systematic
and sustained way?) than they are normally able to do (hence the claim to research);
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✓ they hypothesize in the light of this evidence some changes in their practice which will address
the problem;
✓ they implement the changes in practice;
✓ they investigate again their impact on what is happening.
The model of classroom action research is clearly rooted in pragmatic theory of knowledge and enjoys
the benefit of its persuasive and practical representation of the relationship between theory and
practice. Pragmatism is at its most convincing within the realm of technology probably suffers from
having taken the technological domain as paradigmatic of all knowledge. Technology comes into play
in very much the way that the pragmatists describe, when people want to do something or get
somewhere, when they try out a solution. If that works and allows them to do what they want, then
that is enough.
When we set the problem, we select what we will treat as the ‘things’ of the situation, we set the
boundaries of our attention to it, and we impose upon it a coherence which allows us to say what is
wrong and in what directions the situation needs to be changed. Problem setting is a process in which,
interactively, we name the things to which we will attend and frame the context in which we will
attend to them. The function of research not only to address pragmatically the problems which arise
out of practice, to serve the purpose of improving the technical success to which we aspire which we
have individually or collectively, but also:
✓ to dig out the less apparent evidence, perhaps the evidence concealed by an embarrassed
government department, which challenges our ideas about what is in fact happening;
✓ to challenge the ends or purposes which are guiding our practice and the values and principles
which are governing their pursuit;
✓ to challenge and to provide alternatives to the ideas which frame our understanding of and
interpretation of what is going on in our classrooms, schools, or educational systems;
✓ to make this public.
Research is not only a resource for enabling us more effectively to achieve prescribed ends, but also
an instrument of disturbance, disruption, and dissent challenging not only the answers to questions
about our practice but also the questions which we ask. Researchers endear themselves neither to
politicians, who rarely actually welcome criticism even if they subscribe to forms of democratic
government which require them to submit to it, nor the teachers, who probably think they have
enough problems to deal with before lunchtime without researchers or anyone else thinking up more.
1.10 Ethical Codes and Academic Independence
Ethical codes appear to be designed to protect the weak and the vulnerable from exploitation or harm,
which is entirely proper. Educational research is not focused exclusively on communities defined or
self-defined as ‘disempowered’, communities which lack either legal or psychological ‘ownership’ of
research or the research process. The British Education Research Association (BERA) Council had
drawn to its attention a number of research contracts which seemed to allow the commissioners of
the research an inordinate amount of control over, among other things, the research methods to be
employed, the form in which the research report will be published. The Association considers that all
educational research should be conducted within an ethic of respect for:
•
•
The Person;
The Knowledge;
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•
•
•
The Democratic Values;
The Quality of Educational Research;
Academic Freedom.
In guiding researchers on their conduct within this framework the Association sets out its guidelines
under the following headings:
✓ Responsibilities to Participants;
✓ Responsibilities to Sponsors of the Research;
✓ Responsibilities to the Community of Educational Researchers.
“Researchers must avoid agreeing to any sponsor’s conditions that could lead to serious contravention
of any aspect of these guidelines or that undermine the integrity of the research by imposing
unjustifiable conditions on the methods to be used or the reporting outcomes. Attempts by sponsors
or funding agencies to use any questionable influence should be reported to the Association” (BERA
Ethical Guidelines, 2004).
Educational researchers are free to interpret and publish their findings without censorship or approval
from individuals or organizations, including sponsors, funding agencies, participants, colleagues,
supervisors or administrators. This understanding should be conveyed to participants as part of the
responsibility to secure informed consent.
Educational researchers should not agree to conduct research that conflicts with academic freedom,
nor should they agree to undue or questionable influence by government or other funding agencies.
Examples of such improper influence include endeavors to interfere with the conduct of the research,
the analysis of findings, or the reporting of interpretations. Educational researchers should not accept
funds from sponsoring agencies that request multiple renderings of reports that would distort the
reports or mislead readers.
The right of researchers independently to publish the findings of their research under their own names
is considered the norm for sponsored research, and this right should not be lightly waived or
unreasonably denied. This right is linked to the obligation on researchers to ensure that their findings
are placed in the public domain and within reasonable reach of educational practitioners and policy
makers, parents, pupils and the wider public. Researchers must avoid agreeing to any sponsor’s
conditions that could lead to serious contravention of any aspect of these guidelines or that
undermine the integrity of the research by imposing unjustifiable conditions on the methods to be
used or the reporting of outcomes. Researchers have the right to dissociate themselves publicly from
accounts of the research that they conducted, the subsequent presentation of which they consider
misleading or unduly selective. Sponsors enjoy a similar right. It is in the interests of researchers and
sponsors alike to prevent this situation arising by agreements on publication or, if necessary, through
arbitration. The fact that research codes of national research associations do address some of these
issues of responsibility to both an informed public and an academic community of scholars is part of
an answer to concern.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Explain the term ‘research’ in view of two philosophers.
2. Briefly describe the different steps involved in a research process.
3. Describe the different types of research, clearly pointing out the difference between an
experiment and a survey.
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4. “Empirical research in India in particular creates so many problems for the researchers”. State
the problems that are usually faced by such researchers.
5. “Creative management, whether in public administration or private industry, depends on
methods of inquiry that maintain objectivity, clarity, accuracy and consistency”. Discuss this
statement and examine the significance of research”.
6. What is research problem? Define the main issues which should receive the attention of the
researcher in formulating the research problem. Give suitable examples to elucidate your
points.
7. “Knowing what data are available often serves to narrow down the problem itself as well as
the technique that might be used.” Explain the underlying idea in this statement in the context
of defining a research problem.
8. What is research design? Discuss the basis of stratification to be employed in sampling public
opinion on inflation.
9. Give your understanding of a good research design. Is single research design suitable in all
research studies? If not, why?
10. “It is never safe to take published statistics at their face value without knowing their meaning
and limitations.” Elucidate this statement by enumerating and explaining the various points
which you would consider before using any published data. Illustrate your answer by examples
wherever possible.
11. “Experimental method of research is not suitable in management field.” Discuss, what are the
problems in the introduction of this research design in business organization?
12. What are common features of good research?
13. How many ways the philosophical scientific knowledge may be classified in the research?
14. Explain Wilfred Carr’s concept of educational philosophy and theory.
15. What is the difference between philosophy of research and philosophy in research?
16. What is the physical relationship between learning and experience?
17. What is the impact of action research on the scholar’s learning?
18. What are philosophical features of a good research study?
19. Explain the role of a philosopher in an interdisciplinary research.
20. Write Short Notes on the following:
a. Educational Research and Philosophy
b. Philosopher in the Classroom
c. Educational Research: Pursuit of Truth
d. Interdisciplinary Research
e. Pragmatic Theory of Knowledge
f. Ethical Codes and Academic Independence
SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Alexander M. Novikov & Dmitry A. Novikov, Research Methodology: From Philosophy of
Science to Research Design, CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, (2013).
2. C. R. Kothari, Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, New Age International (P)
Ltd., New Delhi (2004).
3. David Bridges, Philosophy in Educational Research: Epistemology, Ethics, Politics and Quality,
Springer International Publishing AG (2017).
4. Deepak Chawla & Neena Sondhi, Research Methodology: Concepts and Cases, VIKAS®
PUBLISHING HOUSE PVT LTD, New Delhi (2015).
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5. Paul Smeyers & Marc Depaepe, Educational Research: Ethics, Social Justice, and Funding
Dynamics, Springer International Publishing AG, (part of Springer Nature) (2018).
6. Peter Pruzan, Research Methodology: The Aims, Practices and Ethics of Science, Springer
International Publishing Switzerland (2016).
7. Ranjit Kumar, Research Methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, SAGE Publications
India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi (2011).
8. Richard Pring, Philosophy of Educational Research, Continuum, London (2000).
9. Robyn Brandenburg & Sharon McDonough, Ethics, Self-Study Research Methodology and
Teacher Education, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. (2019).
10. S. K. Yadav, Elements of Research Writing, UDH Publishers and Distributers, New Delhi (2015).
11. Surbhi Jain, Research Methodology in Arts, Science and Humanities, Society Publishing,
Oakville, Canada (2019).
12. Vinayak Bairagi and Mousami V. Munot, Research Methodology A Practical and Scientific
Approach, CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, New York, NY (2019).
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