This document discusses different ways of knowing and acquiring knowledge. It describes six common forms of human knowledge acquisition, including tenacity, intuition, and authority, which are considered "low level" epistemological methods because they involve accepting existing knowledge rather than developing new knowledge through rigorous analysis. Science is presented as the "high level" epistemological method because it uses both rationalism through logic and empiricism through observation to develop and verify new knowledge in a systematic way. The key characteristics and processes of the scientific method are then outlined.

1. 11
Instructional Design
Epistemological Development
English Study Program
April 2013

2. 22
Ways of knowing
• So, we have a set of research questions…
how do we know the answers to the
questions?
• Epistemology: the division of philosophy
that investigates the nature and origin of
knowledge.
• Six common forms of human knowledge
acquisition and formation

3. 33
Low level epistemological methods
•Tenacity
•Intuition
•Authority

4. 44
Ways of knowing: Tenacity
• Tenacity
– “The way it has always been.”
– We accept the answer (knowledge) because
it has survived over time.
– Little rigor possible in analysis of the
knowledge
– Examples of knowledge via tenacity:
• cultural customs, norms, traditions
• foods eaten on particular holidays

5. 55
Way of knowing: Intuition
• Intuition
– “It feels right.”
– Extra-sensory source, gut feelings, so on
– Again, less rigor in the analysis of the
knowledge, because it is not readily
analyzable

6. 66
Ways of knowing: Authority
• Authority
– answers, knowledge gained from a trusted
source
– burden of analysis is mostly on the credibility
of the source

7. 77
Ways of knowing: Science
• Science: the development of knowledge through
a combination of rationalism and empiricism.
– Mind (logic) + Senses (observation)
– Rational empirical method: another name for science
• Rationalism
– Development of knowledge through the application of
the rules of logic
• Empiricism
– Development and confirmation of knowledge through
the observation of events using human senses

8. 88
Ways of knowing: Science (cont.)
• Rationalism: knowing through logic
• deductive logic:
– apply general principles to a case to draw conclusions
– syllogism
• inductive logic:
– from specific case, generalize to principles
– Basis for hypothesis testing
• analogical logic:
– from a specific case, apply to another case
– Based on similarities between the cases
• casual logic :
– cause and effect link between events
• Three requirements for establishing a causal link (see later)

9. 99
Advantage of science over the
other methods of knowing?
• able to develop new knowledge, find new
answers, beyond accepting existing answers, by
applying logic
• able to verify newly established knowledge by
objectively relying on one’s own senses
– What is the key difference between “Low level
epistemological methods” and “high level
epistemological method”?
• Develop vs. Accept

10. 1100
Characteristics of science
– Logical
• Adherence to the rules of logic
– Empirical
• Objects/phenomena being investigated should be observable.
– Problem oriented
• Begins with a problem statement then ends with other problems
– Procedure driven
• To keep objectivity
– Community-Based
• Exchange of ideas and procedures
– Replicable
• This is what a method section is for
– Self critiquing
• What you do at the end of a study (discussion section)
– Evolutionary
• Grows day by day
– Creative
• Revolutionary findings!; beyond the normal application of logic!

11. 1111
Fundamental Scientific Activities
• Theory development
– What is theory?
• A set of interrelated constructs, definitions, and
propositions that presents a systematic view of
phenomena by specifying relations among
variables, with the purpose of explaining the
phenomena.
• Causal statement with boundary conditions
• Observation
– Observation follows research methods
(survey, experiment, content analysis,
naturalistic observation, etc.)

12. 1122
Evaluation of Theory
• Clarity
• Parsimony
• Validity
– Is it empirically true?
• Testability
• Scope
– How big is it?
• Flexibility
– Can it adopt to explain new related observations?
• Predictability
– What can we predict based on this?
• Utility
– for explanation, generation of new knowledge, prediction, etc.

13. 1133
Procedures of the scientific method
– Problem development
– Methodological design
– Data collection
– Data analysis
– Interpretation of findings, generalizing of
principle, developing theories

14. 1144
A note on causality
• Tendency to “prove” causal relationships
is very strong in science and in life
• Need to consider the criteria for causality
– Temporal ordering: cause precedes effect in
time
– Meaningful correlation: must have a
theoretical foundations for observed
correlations
– No competing hypotheses: correlation cannot
be explained by other factors

15. 1155
A note on causality (cont.)
• Exercises in alternative hypotheses

16. 1166
End of Slides
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