Confounding the Grim Reaper: An Evaluation of Some Criticisms of Educational and Social Science Research
Keywords:
educational research, social science research, hermeneutics, naturalistic inquiry, interpretive research, research methodologyAbstract
According to a school of thought that has been gaining ground for about a century, the social sciences are best conceived as styles of humanistic inquiry akin to hermeneutics rather than as branches of naturalistic inquiry paralleling the natural or physical sciences. In the past decade or so, advocates of this position have been active in providing critiques of educational research. It is argued that, although the case has some merit, the prognosis is mistaken—traditional naturalistic inquiry in education and the social sciences will continue to have an important and strong role.
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