Given Danziger’s Claims Essay

Given Danziger’s claims about ‘methodomorphic theories’ and given what you know of quantitative and qualitative research methods and psychology in general, what do you think would be the obstacles to attempt to break free of the ‘methodological circle’? Research methods in modern psychology offer a variety of methodological options for researchers to utilise. However, there are issues associated with all methods. This essay will examine problems associated with the ‘methodological cycle’, such as the monopolisation of statistical methods in social sciences. These ‘issues’ continue to be common practice in psychological research and present obstacles to moving towards a less rigid, constrained method of working. This will be followed by exploring approaches that move forward, towards a more fluid and inclusive method of empirical psychology, such as Theoretical Sampling in Grounded Theory and Relational metatheory. Danziger coined the term ‘methodological circle’, asserting that many psychological researchers adopt methods based on certain assumptions about the subject matter, which in turn â€Å"only produce observations which must confirm these assumptions† (Danziger, 1998, p 1). These assumptions continue to be common practice in current psychological research, and pose as a barrier to moving away from the ‘methodological circle’. Psychology as Pure Science Kuhn (1962) described â€Å"ordinary science† as involving discussion of problematic truth claims and is carried out within the context of implicitly shared metatheoretical frameworks; on the other hand â€Å"paradigms† involve discussion that challenges these metatheoretical frameworks themselves. Psychology operates within both of these frameworks. ‘Ordinary science’, also known as Scientism, involves uncritically accepting that science is both highly distinct from, and superior to, ‘common sense’ and methods for identifying cultural patterns. However, factors that a social scientist may wish to study do involve facets that are not static and are defined by the context in which these facets operate. An example of this could be trauma. Trauma is viewed by individuals in Western society as a concept which individuals or a collective may suffer after a disrupting or distressing event. However, in less developed societies, such as in Rwanda which suffered mass genocide, no instances of trauma are reported (Alexander et al, 2004). Such examples highlight the problems presented by adopting a purely scientific (positivist) approach to a social phenomenon. In addition to this, it must be remembered that even though research will always endeavour to be as objective as possible they will, ultimately, use their common-sense knowledge of how social phenomena operate in order to define and measure these variables for precise investigation (Silverman, 1993). Psychologists who work purely in line with Scientism make the error to totally remove itself from common sense, rather than acknowledging and working with it, adopting, say, a more constructivist approach e.g. Conversation Analysis. Kock (1973) sums this up assumption beautifully by saying â€Å"The entire subsequent history of psychology can be seen as a ritualistic endeavor to emulate the forms of science in order to sustain the delusion that it already is a science† (Kock, 1973, p. 66). Dependence on statistics The use of statistical methods in psychology can be said to have become â€Å"institutionalized† (Danziger, 1998, p. 4). According to Danziger, such institutionalization presents 3 main problems: 1. It assumes that statistical conclusions are the only means of providing reliable and valid results for interpreting and developing theory; 2. It asserts that certain rules and models are constant, and cannot be amended or updated by new evidence; 3. it postulates that methodology must lead theory formation, and not the other way round. Such facets create a rigid environment, which restricts ways in which the social scientist can explore social phenomena which focuses on interactions between figures rather than meanings of interactions. The importance of the meaning behind words was acknowledged as far back as Freud, who stated â€Å"In medics you are accustomed to see things†¦in psychoanalysis, alas, everything is different†¦Words were originally magic and to this day words have retained much of their ancient power†¦Words provoke affects and are in general the means of mutual influence among men† (Freud, 1918, p.12). This statement emphasises the importance in not just, say, overt behaviour in the amount of words one uses (i.e. numerical data) in an interview, but also what one says and the meaning behind those words (i.e. qualitative data). Artificial settings to measure real life Psychology is the science of the real life, cannot be manipulated in artificial models. In its attempt to become a ‘pure’ science, psychological research methods tend to prefer to use controlled, experimental procedures, where one variable is directly manipulated by another variable, controlling for any other influencing factors. While such methods offer detailed and reliable statistical information, details of social, political, economic, and historical contexts can be overlooked (Waitzkin, 1990). The variety within psychology Psychology is a broad discipline with a variety of approaches such as Social and Cognitive Psychology. Social Psychology looks at qualitative interactions in the real world between people, whereas Cognitive Psychology examines the thought processes involved in individual reasoning. The former cannot be effectively manipulated in a controlled laboratory experiment, whereas the latter can be. If one attempts to artificially create and conduct a social experiment which uses solely statistics as a method of obtaining and interpreting results, one will miss the rich data that can be gained through qualitative measurement, looking at meanings and interpretations. A degree of flexibility is required in theory construction and method development, taking care to acknowledge how applied the science is and the vast array of methodological procedures to adopt. Top down vs. bottom up When conducting empirical investigation in psychology, the research question should lead the methodology, not the other way round. However, with the dominant quantitative method, researchers tend impose theories on data and see whether or not the data supports the theory. Upon these results, the researchers either accept or reject their hypotheses, rather than further exploring any discrepancies. Alternatively, researchers who adopt a qualitative method allow the data drive the theory and design models and theory from data. This is unpopular with many as it can oversimplifying complex social phenomena. As we can see, both designs appear to be poloarised, with little or no room for convergence. Deductive vs. Inductive Another assumption that perpetuates the ‘methodological circle’ is the belief that quantitative methods always must use a hypothetico-deductive approach and qualitative methods an inductive approach. Again, this restricts the way in which researchers can work with their subject matter, and rather than adopting an antithetical approach, researchers should endeavor to focus on the rationale of the study and the research question. Realism vs. Idealism In a similar vain to the short discussion above, there is the determinist assumption that all quantitative researchers are realists and qualitative researchers are idealist in their approach. This assumption enforces more restrictions on the way research would be carried out. Indeed quantitative research could do well to accept more subjective and individual attitudes, as qualitative methods could with more objective, measurable approaches. Moving forward Acknowledging the obstacles above, I will now explore ways in which psychology can move forward, away from the ‘methodological circle’ towards an approach that recognises and embraces both ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ virtues. Such an approach should not be concerned with paradigmatic purism but more concerned with identifying effective ways of conceptualising and discovering answers to the research questions. Grounded Theory -Theoretical saturation and sampling When using Grounded Theory, researchers use Theoretical sampling until they reach ‘Theoretical saturation’, where researchers collect data â€Å"until (a) no new or relevant data seem to emerge regarding a category, (b) the category is well developed in terms of its properties and dimensions demonstrating variation, and (c) the relations among categories are well established and validated.† (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 212). Such a fluid and flexible approach provides a useful means in theory construction because it builds the theory as it evolves from incoming data, offering an alternate perspective on how the results are interpreted than the restrictive positivist, deductive approaches. Relational metatheory Relational metatheory offers a relational dialectical perspective in which interpretation (a more quantitative, positivist approach) and observation (a more qualitative, construstivist approach) are both acknowledged and used (Overton, 1998; 2003). Relationism metatheory acknowledges that there is interconnection between the person, culture and biology (Hase, 2000), which is a much more fluid and explorative method then a split metatheory (using only quantitative or qualitative). This results in more complex, self creating, self organising, self regulating and adaptive systems that function and develop in relation with sociocultural constructs. In conclusion, there is a range of obstacles researchers encounter when attempting to break free of the ‘methodological circle’. These include both theoretical considerations such as theory construction and practical considerations such as the dependence on statistics. In order to move away from these imposed restrictions, researchers should consider adopting a more inclusive, flexible approach such as Grounded Theory and Relational Metatheory. As Danzgier concludes we must overcome these problems associated with the ‘methodological circle’ in psychological research; if not â€Å"theory testing in psychology will be a matter of choosing among different versions of a theoretical position, the fundamental features of which are in fact beyond dispute.† (Danziger, 1985, p.13). References Alexander, J. C., Eyerman, R., Giesen, B., Smelser, N. J., Sztompka, P. (2004) Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity, University of California Press, CA Danziger, K. (1985) The methodological imperative in psychology. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 15, 1-13 Freud, S. (1918) The Complete Introductionary Lectures on Psychoanalsis, Alden Press, Oxford Hase, S. (2000) ‘Mixing methodologies in research’, NCVER conference, Coffs Harbour, April. Koch, S. (1963) Psychology: A Study Of a Science, (Koch, S. (Ed.). (1959-1963), McGraw-Hill, New York Kuhn, T. S. (1962) The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Overton, W. F. (2012) Paradigms in Theory Construction, (Eds L’Abate, L.) Springer; US. Silverman, D. (1993) â€Å"Beginning Research†. Interpreting Qualitative Data. Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction, Sage Publications, Londres Strauss, A. L. & Corbin, J. M. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, Sage Publications, US Waitzkin, H. (1990) On Studying the Discourse of Medical Encounters, Medical Care. 28:6, 473-487

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story

Dont You Love a Good Job Search Success Story I love a good success story, don’t you? And, given my profession, I especially love a good job search success story. This week I heard two of them and I want you to be inspired by these two professionals who used their networks and their talents to land jobs they love! Success Story #1: Stay-at-Home Dad I met Winslow Yee at the Connect – Work – Thrive Conference where I spoke several years ago. He attended my presentation, â€Å"Traversing the Resume Gap.† Winslow was a stay-at-home dad and Human Resources professional who had not worked in his field for ten years! He had taken a huge risk by stepping out of the workforce for so long. To address his gap on his resume, Winslow chose to do what many are frightened to do: absolutely nothing. He listed his most recent position, Senior Employee Relations Specialist at a semiconductor manufacturing company, at the top of his experience section. This job had ended in 2003. Then Winslow started networking. His wife connected him with someone at a company that is now his employer of 9 months. Here’s Winslow’s summary of his strategy and the response he received: What I noticed was that some recruiters and interviewers missed the detail [of my gap] entirely and thought I was still working. So it gave me a foot in the door to talk with them before they filed away my resume. Im not sure it is a strategy I would recommend but it is what felt right to me. I think some of my interviewers (in particular women) were impressed by the decision I made to be a stay-at-home dad. During my interviews I conveyed my passion for coaching, teaching and mentoring   with examples of my  involvement in youth sports, school, church and scouting. This passion was a key factor in my prior success as an HR professional and was still fresh and current. Winslow also did address his gap in his cover letter. Following a convincing account of his experience and qualifications, he added this as his second-to-last sentence: At the end of 2003 I voluntarily left the workforce in order to devote more time to my family. I am now resuming my HR career. Winslow did not apologize for his choice and he did not hide it. His strategy worked. As he said, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to a resume gap. But if you’ve been trying something that hasn’t been working, you might want to give Winslow’s strategy a try! Again, a central part of this strategy was asking everyone he knew whom they knew who could help him. It’s unlikely he would have found a position without having an inside lead on what became his new job. Success Story #2: Not-So-Passive Job Seeker Paul Elsass, according to his article The Day Apple Called Me to Interview, was minding his own business on LinkedIn when a recruiter from Apple called him to interview for a job. The next thing he knew, he was flying to Cupertino on Apple’s dime to talk to them about being the Lead Evangelist for the Apple Watch. He did not get that job, as Apple chose a candidate with better-matched experience. But it wasn’t long before another recruiter, whom he knows personally, tapped him for his current position at ShapeUp, which he calls â€Å"the best job I ever had†! Here’s Paul’s advice for getting your dream job (see The Day Apple Called Me to Interview): Expand your network beyond just the expected type of profiles you would normally look for. You might be surprised how folks with a variety of backgrounds can make great connections. Never rule out new discussions with people, even if it seems like it may be nothing that would immediately benefit your job or career. Keep in mind that conversations are about more than â€Å"what can it do for me?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦maybe it’s about what you can do for someone else. After you talk with new connections, store that information in your mental file cabinet. I cannot tell you how many times I have had past conversations, from years prior, resurface and become valuable in a current need. Keep your profile polished and up to date. You never know what phone call you might get tomorrow! I asked Paul some more questions and found out that the Apple recruiter also liked that Paul was publishing content regularly on LinkedIn Publisher. So don’t ignore the opportunity to put your ideas and writing out to the LinkedIn community! Success Depends on You What phone call would you like to get tomorrow? Are you doing everything in your power to get it? And do you have a job search success story to share? Please tell us all about it!

Sauroposeidon - Facts and Figures

Sauroposeidon - Facts and Figures Name: Sauroposeidon (Greek for Poseidon lizard); pronounced SORE-oh-po-SIDE-on Habitat: Woodlands of North America Historical Period: Middle Cretaceous (110 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 100 feet long and 60 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Extremely long neck; massive body; small head About Sauroposeidon For years, pretty much all we knew about the fancifully named Sauroposeidon derived from a handful of cervical vertebrae (neck bones) unearthed in Oklahoma in 1999. These arent just your garden-variety vertebrae, thoughjudging by their massive size and weight, its clear that Sauroposeidon was one of the largest herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaurs that ever lived, outclassed only by the South American Argentinosaurus and its fellow North American cousin Seismosaurus (which may well have been a species of Diplodocus). A few other titanosaurs, like Bruthathkayosaurus and Futalongkosaurus, may also have outclassed Sauroposeidon, but the fossil evidence attesting to their size is even more incomplete. In 2012, Sauroposeidon underwent a resurrection of sorts when two other (equally poorly understood) sauropod specimens were synonymized with it. The scattered fossils of Paluxysaurus and Pleurocoelus individuals, discovered near the Paluxy River in Texas, were assigned to Sauroposeidon, with the result that these two obscure genera may one day be synonymized themselves with the Poseidon Lizard. (Ironically, both Pleurocoelus and Paluxysaurus have served as the official state dinosaur of Texas; not only may these be the same dinosaur as Sauroposeidon, but all three of these sauropods may also have been the same as Astrodon, the official state dinosaur of Maryland. Isnt paleontology fun?) Judging from the still-limited evidence available, what set Sauroposeidon apart from other enormous, elephant-legged, small-brained sauropods and titanosaurs was its extreme height. Thanks to its unusually long neck, this dinosaur may have towered 60 feet into the skyhigh enough to peek into a sixth-floor window in Manhattan, if any office buildings had existed during the middle Cretaceous period! However, its unclear if Sauroposeidon actually held its neck to its full vertical height, as this would have placed enormous demands on its heart; one theory is that it swept its neck and head parallel to the ground, sucking up low-lying vegetation like the hose of a giant vacuum cleaner. By the way, you may have seen an episode of the Discovery Channel show Clash of the Dinosaurs stating that Sauroposeidon juveniles grew to huge sizes by eating insects and small mammals. This is so far from accepted theory that it seems to have been completely made up; to date, theres absolutely no evidence that sauropods were even partly carnivorous. There is, however, some speculation that prosauropods (the distant Triassic ancestors of the sauropods) may have pursued omnivorous diets; perhaps a Discovery Channel intern got his research mixed up! (Or perhaps the same TV network that enjoys making up facts about Megalodon simply doesnt care whats true and whats false!)

Journal Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Journal Summary - Essay Example These needs imply the needs for self-preservation and economic independence. These are the needs for being free from physical danger, threat and deprivation. Man is a social animal. He therefore wants association, belonging, friendship, love and affection. These are the need to seek affiliation and affection of one’s fellow beings. People form informal groups to seek meaningful association, companionship. This implies ‘a desire to become more and more of what one is, to become everything that one is capable of.’ It involves self-fulfilment or achieving what one considers to be his mission in life. It urges an individual to realize his full potential for continued self development and for being creative in the broader sense of the world. Maslow pointed out that the first three categories are lower level needs. The remaining two are higher order needs. He states that the needs have a definite sequence of priority. They arise in certain order of preference and not randomly. Safety needs do not dominate behaviour until physiological needs are satisfied. Man is a wanting animal. He always continues to want something or the other. He is never satisfied. If one need is satisfied, another takes its place. If one need is satisfied it ceases to be a motivating factor. Thus, if lower level needs are satisfied an individual can be motivated only by satisfying his higher level needs. Physiological and security needs are finite while the other needs are to a large extent infinite. Maslow suggests that the various needs levels are interdependent and overlapping, each higher level need emerging before the lower level need has been completely satisfied. Finally, Maslow points out that an individual may jumble the order and importan ce of the needs according to his preference. Motivation theory is concerned with the employee’s needs and preferences. Frederick Herzberg and his associates conducted

Benefits Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Benefits - Research Paper Example tended sick and vacation days, medical plan, profit sharing, stock option plans, pensions, IRA, 401k, maternity leave, paternity leave, wellness programs, flexible time, and telecommuting. A trend in the medical plans companies offer to its employees is increased costs. In 2013 medical costs in the United States are expected to increase by 5% (Mercer, 2012). Companies have to keep track of the medical profession since the government in the future might implement a universal health plan that would put the burden of the nation’s medical costs on the government, instead of the private industry. In the 21st century employees care a lot about having a work-life balance. A benefit that can help employees achieve that goal is flexible time. Flexible time is a work arrangement that gives the employees the ability to set their own hours during the workweek. Telecommuting is also a hot trend. Telecommuting involves having employees perform work from their homes. Telecommuters communicate and upload work tasks by connecting to the company’s information system using the internet. Some important factors to consider when designing a benefit plan are composition of lab or force, size of workforce, and budget allocated for employee

Leadership, Attitude, Emotions and Issues Related to Employee Assignment

Leadership, Attitude, Emotions and Issues Related to Employee Satisfaction - Assignment Example He has a little â€Å"concern for Employees†. At this stage, it becomes important for Suprana to sit back and rethink her approach. She needs to make herself as a diplomat and need to increase her concern for employees. Aziz however, needs to be consistent and keep on trying. He needs to find other ways to increase his motivational level and try to voice his opinion to the top management. According to the financial reports of 2008, Google has revenues of more than 21.796 billion US dollars. Without any doubts, Google stands amongst the top organizations, when it comes to growth, profitability, brand image, brand recall and brand equity (Honeyman, pp. 19-21, 1982). Experts of organizational behavioral studies suggest employee pleasure as the prime reason for this outstanding performance of Google. The efforts it has been doing for outclassing employee satisfaction has raised the operating cost of Google like anything, but it seems that Google is not even bothered a bit by the increased costs. An uncountable amount of chef is prepared every day at the Google office. State of art Gym, volleyball court, lap pools, onsite car washes, saloons, dry cleaning shops, free on-site medical checkups and free transportation facilities are just some of the facilities that the employees enjoy at Google. Except for these, Google offers to its worker's benefits like parental leaves, automatic life insurance, tuition reimbursements etc. Google management understands that by all these efforts they can shape the attitudes of their employees that in turn results in desired behaviors from them. On the other hand, this will create employee satisfaction and satisfied employees create satisfied customers (Robbins et al, pp. 259-299, 2009). For the past few decades, organizations have diverted their attention towards studying concepts of employee attitudes and emotions, employee satisfaction and leadership issues.

Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Essay Example for Free

Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Essay A tell-tale heart – essay The gradual descent into insanity is a common characteristic of Edgar Allan Poe as an auteur. This being one of Poe’s shortest stories separates itself from his other literature as it draws its focus onto the irony of the stalking, and confession of the murder of an old man. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ explores the mind of a mentally unstable and delusional individual on his descent to madness. In doing so the short story touches upon the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ presents two physical settings. It is clear from the narrator’s perspective that there is a change of setting. â€Å"Observe how healthily – how calmly I can tell you the whole story†, the narrator then continues, â€Å"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain†. This passage indicates that the story that is narrated, is told in retrospect. The passage can be interpreted as being the narrator attempting to justify his murder and convince the reader that he is not mad as he can tell the story calmly and sanely. The passage can also be perceived as being directed towards the police officers that are introduced at the end of the story. In doing so the narrator might also try to convince the police officers that his deed was justified and necessary. The theme of insanity is shown through the narrators descend into madness. The narrator states that â€Å"very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man† which marks the beginning of his descent. It is made clear to the recipient of the story that the narrator believes he is sagacious in his lurking. However, the narration gives the impression that he is a madman. The narrator says â€Å"I undid the lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously – cautiously† and also says â€Å"I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily† and â€Å"you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily†. The narrator’s reiterations present a sort of vocal tic which adds to his characteristic of being mentally unstable and mad. The story explores the contrasts between the rational and irrational. The theme of rationality is shown through the narrator’s attempts to rationalize his actions. The premise of the narrator’s suffocation of the old man is the ‘evil eye’ he has. Whenever the narrator gazes at the â€Å"dull blue† eye he experiences chills through â€Å"the very marrow† in his bones. This suggests that the old man’s eye terrifies him. It does, however, seem very unlikely that the old man has an inhuman eye â€Å"no human eye – not even his†. The rational explanation for the appearance of the eye that the narrator is fixated about, is that the old man is suffering from cataract. The disease bears a close resemblance to the eye of a vulture. This is proven by the narrator’s very similar description of the eye’s â€Å"pale blue, with a film over it† and â€Å"a dull blue, with a hideous veil†. This can also explain why the old man is never woken up or is disturbed by having the light shone into his â€Å"evil eye†. This is because he might be lacking vision in one eye. The narrator attempts to convince the reader that he is cunning and wise when observing the old man in his bed. The narrator’s irrational nature is emphasized in this passage where he very slowly enters the bedroom with only his head and lantern â€Å"It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed†. The use of irony in the short story adds to the narrator’s complete unawareness of his own instability expressed through his lack of rational perception. The narrator contradicts himself implicitly. He states that he â€Å"loved the old man† and that â€Å"he had never wronged me†. This implies that he had no quarrels with the old man and therefore had no motivation for murdering him. He then contradicts himself by being excited by the old man’s â€Å"uncontrollable terror†. The theme of irony is also shown when the narrator hears the old man’s â€Å"groan of mortal terror† and recognizes the feeling. The narrator â€Å"knew the sound well†, he had experienced them himself being â€Å"welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me†. This can be interpreted as the narrator explaining that he suffers from terrors which indicates that he has been or is feeling fear to the marrow of his bones and has experienced something horrific. This is also supported by the symbolism of the narrator burying the old man underneath the floorboards, which can be interpreted as him repressing his emotions and hiding them and then eventually being welled up when he confesses the murder. However, it is vaguely explained and remains a mystery to the readers. This corresponds well with the characteristic of the narrator which is only described implicitly. The narrator’s gender is not revealed. This might be because the gender of the narrator is not important to the story and that Edgar Allan Poe has written the story in such a way that the common reader assumes the gender of the narrator to be male. The most prominent ironic situation is the narrator’s own sagaciousness and over-acuteness that end up being the reasons for his confession to the police officers. His own hypersensitivity betrays him. This also supports his irrationality as he had confirmed the death of the old man when he felt his heart. He is however still convinced that the beating heart belongs to the â€Å"stone dead† man. This also shows his descent into madness as he perceives the noise as being a ringing in his ears, but then convinces himself that it is â€Å"the beating† of the old man’s â€Å"hideous heart†. He contradicts himself in this passage where he has previously described himself as cunning but is unable to correctly identify the source of the beating heart. ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a story that largely focuses on the inability of the narrator to judge his own state of sanity. This is further supported by the narrator frequently being deceived by his own senses and even contradicting himself which diminishes his reliability. The topic of repressed emotions and the border between sanity and insanity is addressed by interpreting the narrator’s behavior and actions. This determines that the narrator is indeed a madman.