Slides for Week 2 of DPC's Fall 2020 section of PUAD 6289 Research Design. Topics include epistemic traditions, critical (theory) research, and research ethics. Programs of Public Affairs, Dept of Political Science, University of Utah.

1. Epistemic Approaches, Critical Research,
& Research Ethics
Research
Design
PADMN 6289// WEEK 2

2. Research Ethics
03
Critical Research
02
Epistemic Approaches
01
This
Videocast

3. Epistemic
Approaches
Assumptions and understandings about the
nature, origins, and limits of human
knowledge
01

4. —Norma M. Riccucci
Conflict and dissonance arise...over the relevancy of the
diverse epistemic traditions that have evolved in public
administration. Should the field be regarded as a
“science”? Or should public administration be predisposed
to at least the tools of science?

5. Epistemic
Approaches
Empiricism/Positivism
Interpretivism
Critical Theory
Postpositivism
Rationalism

6. Knowledge is derived from
interpretations
Knowledge can be acquired
through measurement
(empiricism) and
verification of hypotheses
(positivism)
Knowledge is acquired through
social construction
Interpretivism
Empiricism/Positivism
Critical Theory
Epistemic
Approaches

7. Qualitative
Ethnography, case studies,
content & narrative analysis
Knowledge can be acquired
through measurement
(empiricism) and
verification of hypotheses
(positivism)
Knowledge is acquired through
social construction
Interpretivism
Empiricism/Positivism
Critical Theory
Epistemic
Approaches

8. Qualitative
Ethnography, case studies,
content & narrative analysis
Qualitative/Quantitative
Case studies, small/medium/
large-n interview or survey-
based studies, secondary
data analysis
Knowledge is acquired through
social construction
Interpretivism
Empiricism/Positivism
Critical Theory
Epistemic
Approaches

9. Qualitative
Ethnography, case studies,
content & narrative analysis
Epistemic
Approaches
Qualitative/Quantitative
Case studies, small/medium/
large-n interview or survey-
based studies, secondary
data analysis
Qualitative
Literary criticism, discourse
analysis, historical analysis,
field research
Interpretivism
Empiricism/Positivism
Critical Theory

10. Critical
Research
The study of various types of power relations within myriad aspects of
culture. Instead of studying social phenomena through a general (i.e.
dominant) lens, critical research recognizes the various hegemonies
created and maintained by and over the various identity groups in society.
02

11. Critical
Research
Postcolonial theory, queer theory, critical
race theory, intersectional feminism,
critical theories of ableism & fatness, etc.
e.g.

12. What explains the persistence of residential segregation amid growing
ethnic diversity in the United States ?

13. Awareness of the social location
from which research is
conducted
Awareness of intersecting and
overlapping systems of
oppression
Awareness of how researcher
impacts data collection/
knowledge
Situated knowledge
Intersectionality
Reflexivity
Critical
Research
Research implications for both
understanding and
addressing inequality
Research is Political

14. Understanding and appreciating
the power differentials/
dynamics between
researcher and research
participants/ subjects
Power in Research

15. Ethics in
Research
03

16. Ethics
Participants are knowledgeable
about the research and
voluntarily agree to
participate
Informed Consent
E.g. Are research participants/
subjects being exploited
for benefits that they are
unlikely to enjoy?
Dilemmas of Power
E.g. Does researcher presence
expose individuals to
social, financial, physical,
political (etc) risk?
Dilemmas of Proximity
E.g. Consider the information
that is being released and
the various manners in
which all potential readers
might use that information
Dilemmas of Publication

17. ̶ Lee Ann Fujii
If scholars and graduate students are uncomfortable with
navigating the many ethical challenges that arise when
conducting research with human beings, we must remind
ourselves that to enter another’s world as a researcher is
a privilege, not a right.
”

18. Epistemic Approaches, Critical Research,
& Research Ethics
Research
Design
PADMN 6289// WEEK 2