Methodological Pragmatism Research Articles

Reflective Practice and Frame Theory in Educational History

This document presents a research proposal on the relationship between media and public perception regarding education. It is proposed, following Foster's tenets on the use of methodological pragmatism, to analyze narratives present in historical media and other educational documentation to comprehend how discourses are constructed through the narrative frames employed by the media and how this might influence the public's perception and understanding of educational issues. The proposed methodology is grounded in reflexive and critical analysis of existing literature, employing mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques. Additionally, the use of reflective practice methods and frame theory is suggested to develop a scientific analysis from historical documents. This research aims to gain a more comprehensive insight into educational practices and debates within a specific period, thereby enabling a broader and more objective understanding and evaluation of the predominant educational discourse of the time.

Methodological pragmatism in educational research: from qualitative-quantitative to exploratory-confirmatory distinctions

ABSTRACT Educational researchers continue to polarize into ‘qualitative’ and ‘quantitative’ camps, with these terms often functioning as global identity markers, rather than as styles of research that are available to anyone. Many scholars have lamented the drawbacks of researchers being siloed into opposing, apparently incommensurable research paradigms, and have advocated for more inclusive and mixed-methods approaches. However, mixed methods research is not necessarily a good fit for every researcher, research study or research question. In this theoretical paper, I argue that the distinctions commonly made between qualitative and quantitative research are fundamentally incoherent and that the challenges researchers face across both styles of research are essentially analogous. I present methodological pragmatism as an accessible and convenient, compatibilist framework for making research design choices which cut across qualitative-quantitative divides. I propose that the exploratory-(dis)confirmatory distinction is of considerably more practical relevance to educational researchers than qualitative-quantitative ones, and I outline how methodological pragmatism, while consistent with a degree of methodological specialism, recognizes the availability of all research methods for all researchers. Methodological pragmatism liberates researchers in education to conduct the most rigorous research possible by drawing on any methods from any tradition that will further their research goals.

Kraepelin's psychiatry in the pragmatic age.

The movement of a pendulum is often used as a metaphor to represent the history of twentieth century American psychiatry. On this view, American psychiatry evolved by swinging back and forth between two schools of thought in constant competition: somatic accounts of mental illness and psychodynamic ones. I argue that this narrative partly misrepresents the actual development of American psychiatry. I suggest that there were some important exchanges of ideas and practices in the transition from German biological approaches to American psychodynamic approaches. In particular, two kinds of pragmatism played an important role in this transition: Kraepelin's methodological pragmatism, and pragmatic values present in the American psychiatric context, due in part to the influence of William James. From a historical standpoint, I suggest that the metaphor of the pendulum doesn't capture the full complexities of this shift in psychiatry at the turn of the century; from a philosophical standpoint, my discussion brings to light two strands of pragmatism salient to scientific psychiatry.

Bezpieczeństwo społeczne w wymiarze lokalnym

The aim of the considerations described in the article is to place the problem of social security on the local ground. Theoretical foundations of social security derive from the achievements of political science, international relations as well as the science on economics and law. Interdisciplinary approach to social security research allows the methodological pragmatism, having an interesting humanism and the utilitarian approach. In the article, literature studies as well as deductive approach have been used as a research method, with an indication of the crucial analysis areas. The results lead to the conclusions on the necessity of strengthening the access to public services for local communities. As for the public administration in a crisis situation, an important postulate in practice is professionalization of crisis management and taking benefit of the experience of commercial sector, especially in the aspect of efficient administering of the economic system resources.

Methodological Pragmatism—Freedom from the Squeeze?

This article discusses how combining and integrating a range of traditional qualitative methodologies under the umbrella of methodological pragmatism supported and challenged an early career researcher (ECR). It will consider how methodological pragmatism is defined from a purely qualitative rather than a mixed methods perspective, and how it fed into and shaped each stage of the research process. Some of the issues encountered in finding a methodology that supported study in an area where no specific previous research existed will be discussed, and the opportunities that pragmatism offered shared. The article then will focus on the standpoint and the perspectives of an ECR—specifically my own experiences of what I termed the methodological squeeze, and how a pragmatic methodology can be effective in countering this. This will further the discussion of what previously has been described as the acrobatics required to ensure that research fits within the boundaries of traditional qualitative methodological approaches. The article will conclude with some of the key advantages of utilizing a pragmatic methodology, both on the research process but also on the skills it can develop in an ECR. I argue that, rather than being disadvantageous, working beyond and between the boundaries of traditional and pure methodological approaches as an ECR encourages a distinctly different perspective on research and specifically promotes active engagement in reflexive decisions about research.

Peirce and Archaeology: Recent Approaches

The philosophy of Charles S. Peirce, and in particular his theory of signs (semiotic), has seen increasing interest within archaeological theory over the past 20 years. This article reviews Peirce's most influential ideas within archaeology, directs readers to where in Peirce's voluminous works they can find these ideas, and discusses how each of them has been applied by archaeologists to a variety of different research topics. In addition to the semiotic, these ideas include Peirce's metaphysical doctrine of synechism; his methodological pragmatism; abductive logic; and the phenomenological concepts of firstness, secondness, and thirdness. Finally, I discuss two research areas—materiality and paleolithic archaeology—in which a combination of Peirce's ideas has led to important new insights.

Methodological pragmatism in doing data

Methodological pragmatism in doing data

Balancing Rigour and Relevance: The Case for Methodological Pragmatism in Conducting Large‐Scale, Multi‐country and Comparative Management Studies

AbstractCollecting large‐scale comparative management data from multiple countries poses challenges in demonstrating methodological rigour, including the need for representativeness. We examine the rigour of sample representativeness, the counterbalancing effect of sample relevance, and explore sampling options, equivalence across countries, data collection procedures and response rates. We identify the challenges posed by cross‐national survey data collection, and suggest that the ideal research designs presented in much of the literature might not be practical or desirable in large‐scale, multi‐time‐point, cross‐national comparative management studies because of the need to ensure relevance across such contexts. Using the example of Cranet – a large‐scale, multi‐time‐point, cross‐national survey of human resource management – we offer suggested solutions for balancing both rigour and relevance in research of this nature.

Reflective Relationality in Social Investigation: Theoretical Considerations for Research Practice

This paper offers a theoretical reflection on the epistemological and methodological reasons listing reflexivity among the main practical issues of social investigation. Inspired by the situational logic of the constructivist paradigm, the paper’s analysis is limited to the preliminary stages propaedeutic to the operativeness of research, in an attempt to argue the insurmountable condition of contingency and circularity of scientific knowledge and of the procedures themselves which need to be problematised and ‘adjusted’ to specific situations. Furthermore, starting from a number of assumptions on the implicit constituents of methodological pragmatism, the paper attempts to illustrate its peculiarities with regard to the abductive logic of construction of appropriate indicators for the issues under investigation.

Methodologies of Travel: William James and the Ambulatory Pragmatism of Bruno Latour

ABSTRACTThis article argues for the methodological resonance shared by Bruno Latour and William James in order to understand Latour's affiliation with pragmatism. Unlike many readers of Latour, I suggest that his relation with pragmatism is primarily methodological rather than primarily ontological. To clarify this, I look to the resonances between James's methodological pragmatism and Latour's actor-network methodology. Latour's pragmatism resonates with James's as it incorporates a methodological focus on practices and objects, and as it furthers underdeveloped themes of motion in James's pragmatism. This methodological alliance, I argue, consists in a modification of the metaphoric of method from one of Cartesian construction to one of movement and travel.

Using Social Media as a Source for Understanding Public Perceptions of Archaeology: Research Challenges and Methodological Pitfalls

Digital social science research has had an important impact on the types of methodological approaches to the internet and digital social phenomena, practices and communities. Whilst this paper does not seek to include empirical data, it aims to elaborate further on these debates in digital social research, that is, research on ‘life in digital society’ (Lindgren 2017: 230), using insights from my own research methods. This paper will firstly consider some methodological pitfalls that could sabotage our digital social archaeology research. It will then discuss the importance of understanding the framework and sources of our data. It will outline the two main methodological approaches I have used in my own empirical research to date – ‘thick’ social media data collection and analysis, and digital ethnography. It will discuss some of the many ethical considerations that must be assessed and implemented when undertaking this type of work. I will argue for a methodological pragmatism when undertaking social research in the fields of archaeology and heritage, although this pragmatism can be applied to any field of social study in the digital world.

Pigou on philosophy and religion

This article discusses a group of essays on ethical issues written by Pigou between 1900 and 1908. It is argued that they contain the foundations of his economic philosophy. Pigou's research on the meaning and content of the good merged into his definition of welfare, and his interest in religion as a subjective experience resurfaced in the subjective framework of his economics. A methodological pragmatism informed his economics as well as his ethics; moreover, the endorsement of interpersonal comparisons of the good in the ethical texts was consistent with Pigou's adoption of utility comparisons in welfare economics. Pigou's philosophical pessimism was reflected in his analysis of the economic evils of society, eventually leading to his advocacy of governmental intervention to foster economic welfare. The article contends that Pigou's philosophy derived not only from Sidgwick, as commonly believed, but also from G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica.

When is Good, Good Enough? Methodological Pragmatism for Sustainable Guideline Development: Democratization of Processes for Setting Methodological Standards for Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines

When is Good, Good Enough? Methodological Pragmatism for Sustainable Guideline Development: Democratization of Processes for Setting Methodological Standards for Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines

Концепция обоснования современной математики с критической точки зрения методологического прагматизма

Концепция обоснования современной математики с критической точки зрения методологического прагматизма

When is good, good enough? Methodological pragmatism for sustainable guideline development.

BackgroundContinuous escalation in methodological and procedural rigor for evidence-based processes in guideline development is associated with increasing costs and production delays that threaten sustainability. While health research methodologists are appropriately responsible for promoting increasing rigor in guideline development, guideline sponsors are responsible for funding such processes.DiscussionThis paper acknowledges that other stakeholders in addition to methodologists should be more involved in negotiating trade-offs between methodological procedures and efficiency in guideline production to produce guidelines that are ‘good enough’ to be trustworthy and affordable under specific circumstances. The argument for reasonable methodological compromise to meet practical circumstances is consistent with current implicit methodological practice. This paper proposes a conceptual tool as a framework to be used by different stakeholders in negotiating, and explicitly reporting, reasonable compromises for trustworthy as well as cost-worthy guidelines. The framework helps fill a transparency gap in how methodological choices in guideline development are made. The principle, ‘when good is good enough’ can serve as a basis for this approach.SummaryThe conceptual tool ‘Efficiency-Validity Methodological Continuum’ acknowledges trade-offs between validity and efficiency in evidence-based guideline development and allows for negotiation, guided by methodologists, of reasonable methodological compromises among stakeholders. Collaboration among guideline stakeholders in the development process is necessary if evidence-based guideline development is to be sustainable.

Meta-theoretical paradigms underpinning risk in child welfare: Towards a position of methodological pragmatism

The aim of this paper is to explore the ‘natural attitude’ underpinning risk practices in child welfare. This refers to various taken-for-granted approaches to risk that social workers and other human service professionals draw upon in their everyday practice. The approach proceeds by identifying and critically examining three key, meta-theoretical paradigms on risk which typically shape the natural attitude. They are labelled ‘objectivist’, ‘subjectivist’ and ‘critical’. The ontological, epistemological, axiological and methodological premises supporting each paradigm, and how they shape risk practices, are then reviewed leading to a composite, meta-theoretical position on risk termed ‘methodological pragmatism’. This position draws on the strengths of each paradigm and is formulated into ten propositions which consider how risk should be approached in child welfare. Within this corpus of thought salient themes are endorsed such as the need for method triangulation, an examination of ‘deep causality’, and the promotion of emancipatory perspectives. By critically reflecting on meta-theory, the paper contributes to the development of substantive theories of risk assessment and management in child welfare.

JÜRGEN HABERMAS

This paper is a short introduction to Habermas’s life and philosophy. It outlines his views on society, religion, morality and politics. It begins with his ‘methodological pragmatism’ which emphasizes the performative and intersubjective role of language. This rejects the “philosophy of consciousness” and sees society as a medium in which we live. Society is not an aggregate of individuals or a unity but a complex, multifarious, intersubjective structure with many different overlapping spheres. Habermas is essentially a social scientist and his concern about society refers to the problem of how a social order and integrity can be maintained in a modern democratic and secular society. He believes that religion will survive a long time and is unsure whether philosophy will ever triumph over religion but is convinced that it can deal with our religious heritage with more sensitivity than hitherto. Habermas proposes a moral discourse theory based on the universalizability of social norms. In his political system, he combines the ideal of liberal democracy based on human rights with the ideal of republicanism based on popular sovereignty. He is nevertheless critical of some aspects of liberalism. Overall, Habermas foresees the danger to modern society to social groups that feel themselves to be alienated and marginalized from the mainstream.

Development ethics – Why? What? How? A formulation of the field

The paper assesses the rationale, contributions, structure, and challenges of the field of development ethics. Processes of social and economic transformation involve great risks and costs and great opportunities for gain, but the benefits, costs, and risks are typically hugely unevenly and inequitably distributed, as is participation in specifying what they are and their relative importance. The ethics of development examines the benefits, costs, risks, formulations, participation, and options. The paper outlines a series of ways of characterizing such work, arguments for and against its importance, and some of its major sources and contributions, especially from the interdisciplinary stream of work represented over several decades by Denis Goulet. Definitions are diverse since the work covers many different intersections of practice and theorizing, at multiple levels. The paper considers and replies to arguments against discussing development ethics: the claim that it involves only endless proliferation of different opinions, is an expensive luxury that undermines long-run development, is superfluous if one already works with the capability approach or the human rights tradition, or never has influence. Finally, it presents suggestions for how development ethics thinking can have increased impact, with reference to incorporation in policy analysis and planning methods, professional codes and training, and to its intellectual location and communication strategies. The field should articulate the methodological pragmatism which much of it has adopted, consistent with its required role as a practice-oriented interdisciplinary meeting ground.

The Problem with Methodological Pragmatism

The Problem with Methodological Pragmatism

Pragmatisme logique et probabilisme radical dans La philosophie italienne du XXe siècle

This article sketches the principal characteristics of a philosophical trend which has met with some resistance despite the recognized importance of its representatives. This text illustrates the ideas at the foundation of the logical and methodological pragmatism of Giovanni Vailati and Mario Calderoni. These are ideas which should have surfaced in the international debate about the principle of verification and the concept of analyticity. In addition, the links between these ideas and the development of the subjective conception of probability in the work of Bruno de Finetti are explored.