Introduction
The research in the cognitive science in the recent decades has led to the advancement of knowledge, truth, and meaning as well as the demonstration of the appreciation of the different techniques of performing research in a professional setting. It is worth revealing that the current research is associated with significant developments in measurements theory and methods (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 1). There have also been increasing concerns on bridging of research and practice in the context of professional research. It appears that the bridge between practice and research requires more time in terms of building and it is important to note that research and practice calls for interactive procession (Scotland, 2012, p. 9). In this paper, an understanding of the concept of research and practice is based on the aspects which include research for the expansion of the existing knowledge base, various starting steps to build the knowledge base, and synthesis of the current knowledge. Therefore, the task of this assignment will be to examine the various methodologies and research and practice in the professional setting.
Epistemological and Ontological Assumptions
In a brief examination of ontological assumptions, it is crucial to define the term ‘ontology’ as applied in social sciences. Ontology refers to the study of being (Crotty, 2003, p. 10). Researchers have provides the role of social science as to offer an understanding of the social reality the way different individuals view it. Additionally, it gives a demonstration of the views shaping the action that the people take in the context of such a reality (Anderson et al. 2003, p. 153). Undoubtedly, Cohen at al. (2000, p. 3) presents the extensively tenuous connection between how a person may see the realities that are socially constructed and the choices that might be made by an individual based on the methodological aspects. The assumption the researchers make in the context of ontology is that the world which they study is full of human beings with different interpretation, meanings, and thoughts. To this end, researchers have depicted their use of different approaches of research as well as the interpretive design techniques in the course of their investigations.
On the other hand, epistemology is described as an understanding and explaining the way people know what they know (Crotty, 2003, p. 3). Also, it entails the provision of a philosophical base concerning the decision of the possible forms of knowledge as well as the way people can make sure they are both legitimate and adequate. In some studies, the concept of constructionism has been utilized. By definition, constructionism means the view of all kinds of knowledge as well as all the meaningful reality which is contingent upon the practices of human beings (Siegel, 2006, p. 3). Its construction is in and out of the relationship between people and their world and the development, which is transmitted in regard social science. In most epistemological stances, researchers seek to look for the answers to the questions formulated in the studies, where case studies may be used (Siegel, 2006, p. 3). Additionally, those who carry out the research try to ensure the transmission of the meaning’s construction in the social perspective, which can be indicated in the reaction papers and interviews.
Methodological Approaches to Research and Knowledge Generation
Design Inclusive Research (DIR)
Three approaches to research and the generation of knowledge include the design inclusive research, the practice-based research, and the research in the context of design. In a broader perspective of the design inclusive research (DIR), different researchers aim at providing a sound foundation of theory as well as the robust approach of the methodology for the inquiry of the design to fulfill the scientific rigor (Wood, 2000. p. 44). In this category, it is assumed that a designer inquiry needs to offer the knowledge of an elevated degree integration and contextualization as compared to when it can be attained through disciplinary or foundational research. In this sense, its facilitation or intensification can occur by involving the design since such a design is under the process of the knowledge synthesis. Wang et al. (2002, p. 545) argued that DIR plays a critical role of opening up the hopes of systematical mixing of two the domains of learning which include design and research.
It is also worth identifying that DIR performs a role of providing the possibility of the design embedment as per the meaning of the study, as well as offering room for the combination of the designer inquiry and scientific research in a precise manner. In this case, the design as a way of research can include the entities, artifacts, knowledge, process, and phenomena (Edelson, 2001, p. 105). If the technical details are ignored, it is possible to suggest the design of embedment categorizes the process of research into three principle phases which comprise the creative design actions phase, the stage of confirmative research actions, and the phase of explorative actions of research (Horvath, 2007, p. 6). Thus, a systematic arrangement of such phases gives rise to a particular pattern to the DIR. Therefore, the DIR’s general process is represented in Figure 1 shown below.
Figure 1: The DIR phases (Horvath, 2007, p. 6)
There are two main aspects associated with this kind of research method. The first technique to consider is the pre-study and the second one is the post-study. In the pre-study stance, the key aspects include induction, deduction, and exploration activities of a systematic process of the study. This kind research method seeks to fulfill two core objectives. One of the goals is that it aggregates that knowledge and the construction of the new knowledge which is associated with the problem of research and its environment as well. The second aim is to provide a definition of the questions of research as well as the development of the hypotheses. Thirdly, pre-study aims at the development of comprehensive those that seek to resolve the problem of the design or research (Friedman, 2003, p. 507). While the study formulates a critique of the existing approaches and understanding, it also attempts to sets the goals of the activities of the research design.
In context of post-study, its confirmative approach first entails the actions whose orientation aims at verifying the hypotheses, the outcome of the process of the design, and as well the constructed theory. Added to this orientation is the internal validation of the research and design methods as well as the external validation of the research findings. Finally, post-study focuses on consolidating the results of the study by attempting to match them with the current body of knowledge, and as well by their generalization towards other uses. Therefore, the existing research indicates a wide range of the application of DIR in the professional setting.
Practice-Based Research (PBR)
It has been argued that PBR stems from the discipline of social work and fine arts services. At this stance, it is concerned with both inferable and doable questions of research, where the practitioner is positioned as a researcher or an observer (Horvath, 2007, p. 8). Researchers have posited that PBR is the latest research conceptualization which results in diverse operationalization and interpretation in the practical areas. It is essential to note the factor which impact the practice- based research. These factors include the motives of performing the research, funding of the research, and the research context for the characterization of the condition in the field of fine arts. Horvath (2007) further pointed out the three routes associated with the research including the research as a critical practice, formal research, and the personal research. In the view of critical practice, there is inauguration of the appraisal and review the sessions like symposia, discussion platforms, and workshops and approach inquiry (Horvath, 2007, p. 9). Also, the personal research plays role of studying the interpretations, influences, and reflection of the individual work via the networked interviews, public exhibitions, and the critiques in art journals that are widely known.
In the recent research, the practice-based design research (PBDR) has been examined in the designs like the media design, industrial design engineering, and architecture. This concept refers to the utilization of the design, principles, that are research inspired and the methods of the information collection within the current kinds of practice to address the questions emerging from practice in manner that informs the practice (Kothari, 2004, p. 5). Notably, PBDR resembles the design analysis but differs based on the following three aspects: the dissemination of the research outcomes, the utilization of the methods of operative research, and the formulation of the explicit questions of research. The assumptions made in kind of the research approach need to be considered, indicating that the designer knowledge production is required, which is performed in the designing process.
In the PBDR, the key methods of research associated with it include protocol analysis, the construction of grounded theory, participatory observation, assessment forums, case study, and expert interviews. Additionally, the associated features of PBDR include the timelines that are short, complexity reduction, real-time intervention, and evaluation in a real-life perspective. In this approach, an emphasis is placed on paying attention to the notion the PBDR identifies many possible problems which are solvable. Furthermore, the knowledge generation which is testable and objective is attained via cycles of the construction and evaluation of the structurally experiential, and varied, and the prototypes that are product relevant (Kothari, 2004, p. 5). The summary of the process involved in PBDR is as depicted in Figure 2 shown below.
Figure 2: The process flow of PBDR (Harvath, 2007, p. 9)
The Research in the Context of Design (RiDC)
There is a necessity to note that the research in the design perspective shares several commodities with the vital scientific research, implying that there can be the application of the all forms descriptive, explorative, and observational research approaches (Babbie, 2007, p. 87). Added to this idea is the notion that the knowledge of the relevant background disciplines, including form theory, marketing, formation theory, and psychology, is required as the basis of any study. In this approach, the studies performed are mono-disciplinary, where the set-up which they have is similar to those of the empirical approaches. This methodology is based on the experimental and empirical inquiries whose performance aims at getting insights, or rather to attain improvements in different contexts. These contexts include human reflections and behaviors, interactions and effects on the artificial or natural environment, and the qualities of the artifacts. The various design concerns that have been considered in this context comprise the artifacts which are taken to the conceptual existence via the processes of design, the environment in where products and people interact and exist, and the humans taking part in the design. Thus, the concerns of the design and the types of the contextual relationships are shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3: The design concerns as well as the forms of the contextual relationships (Horvath, 2007, p. 5)
Researchers have indicated that RiDC seeks to address a range of the research questions and problems from human to social and engineering fields. In this methodology approach analysis, the knowledge which has been explored by the processes of RiDC reveals better insights and as well enhances the building of theory. Moreover, the style which this form of research takes is analytical, but not constructive. It aims at exploring, explaining, describing, and understanding the phenomena which are related to the research design, taking place naturally, or entirely or partly established by the design. As compare to other approached, RiDC seems to lack strong capacities to integrate the knowledge from the multi-disciplinary sources because of its nature of mono-discipline.
Ethical Tensions and Dilemmas Encountered by Researchers and Participants
In the analysis of the research and practice, it is crucial consider the superficial as well as deep ethical and moral tensions and dilemmas which confront the researchers and participants involved in the research. There has been a rise in the understanding of the ethical and moral problems prevalent in the educational research in the recent years (Floyd & Arthur, 2012, p. 173; Halse & Honey, 2007, p. 336).). The main ethical issues that are encountered in the course of carrying out a research include confidentiality and anonymity, privacy, and informed consent. In the context of confidentiality and anonymity, two concepts are closely related to the rights beneficence, which is the respect for fidelity and dignity. It has been suggested that the protection of anonymity occurs when the identity of the subjects is not connected to the personal responses (Tolich, 2004, p. 101; Nolan & Putten, 2007, p. 400). At this point, if it is not possible for the researcher to gives hopes of anonymity, it is required of him or her to respond to the matters of confidentiality, which refers to the researcher’s management of the private information for the protection of the identity of the participants. Fouka and Mantzorou (2011, p. 6) postulate that confidentiality involves the freedom of the participants to provide and as well withhold the information to an individual they find they are comfortable with. Additionally, it has been argued that the researcher’s ethical dilemma can be addressed when there is a need to break confidentiality as a result of the need for the moral duty to safeguard the society (Gibb & Costley, 2006, p. 239). Therefore, it rests with the researcher ensure confidentiality which that surpasses the ordinary loyalty.
The respect for privacy of the participants’ has is another aspect that has constituted ethical tension and dilemma in the field of research. Fouka and Mantzorou (2011, p. 6) define privacy as the freedom that a person possesses for the determination of the time, the extent, and the general conditions where the private information can be shared with or withholding it from others. It has also been argued that invasion of privacy occurs when there is sharing the private information such as opinions, beliefs, records, and opinions without the consent or knowledge (Pring, 2001, p. 407). Additionally, the privacy can be interfered with when the researchers perform a study on particular groups without identifying themselves and where they have no knowledge about the research being conducted. Therefore, the researcher has a responsibility of ensuring their privacy as well as that of the information provided by the participants to protect them from any malice.
The researchers also need to consider the aspect of the informed consent since it is a major ethical problem while carrying out a research. It worth mentioning that informed consent constitutes one of the ways of protecting the right of the patient to autonomy. It also plays a critical role in incorporating the autonomous individuals’ rights via self-determination. On the other hand, informed consent involves the prevention of assaults on the participant’s integrity and as well safeguard personal veracity and liberty. Generally speaking, it is important for the researcher to make sure participants have an informed consent prior to conducting the study.
Development and Planning of a Coherent Small Research Project
The process involved in conducting a research project requires one to be creative since it is considered as a creative process. In the case of developing and planning a coherent small research project, the researcher needs to follow some imperative logical processes (Kothari, 2004, p. 11). In the first place, one has to select a topic of research and search for the relevant literature concerning the subject he or she intends to study. Secondly, the researcher needs to identify and formulate the specific problem of research. The next phase will be the conceptualization of the process of examining such a problem. After this step, the researcher collects, analyzes, and interprets the relevant data while investigating the problem of research. Finally, the person who conducted the research will then compile the research report.
For instance, if one has to carry out a research is a social context, it is important to make choices between the research methodology and the methods that are appropriate for the field of social studies. The methodology refers to the plan of action, design of strategy that is useful in the selection and use of the certain approaches that connect the use and choice of the required outcomes (Crotty, 2003, p. 3). In this case, the research methodologies used will involve the qualitative research method to obtain the relevant data and information (Mahoney & Goertz, 2006, p. 227). The qualitative research comprises a variety of methods and approaches that one can find in diverse disciplines of research. In this case, an interpretive approach is used since it entails the exploration of the phenomena from inside and as well take the accounts and views of the participants of research (Babbie, 2007, p. 87). This method has been selected because it uses the non-standardized and adaptable approaches of generating data which are sensitive to the context of social interests of the research (Savin-Baden & Major, 2013, p. 8). The adaptation of such data can be for every participant or case to make it possible for the exploration of the emergent problems.
Conclusions
The advancement of knowledge, truth and meaning as well as the demonstration of the appreciation of the different techniques of performing research in a professional setting has been shaped by ontological and epistemological assumptions. It is worth to identify the various methodological approaches used in the educational research in the professional setting. Such approaches include the practice-based research, the research in the context of design, and the design inclusive research. Additionally, researchers have presented the ethical tension and dilemmas that researchers and participants encounter as respect for privacy, informed consent, and confidentiality and anonymity. Also, the development and planning of a good research requires the researcher to be guided by some logical phases involved in conducting the research.
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