ASSIGNMENT
RESEARCH METHOD IN EDUCATION: (8604)
PROGRAMME: B.ED
(1.5)
ALLAMA IQBAL
OPEN UNIVERSITY
Question No:1
Describe
different sources of knowledge and mention their use in daily life which one is
more authentic in your opinion and why?
Answer:
SOURCE
OF KNOWLEDGE
1.1
Introduction:
Doubtless to say that
the secret of our cultural development has been research, pushing back the areas
of ignorance by discovering new truths, which in turn, lead to better ways of
doing things and better products. There is no alternative to truth and,
therefore, to research. To research is to get nearer to truth. Likewise, the human knowledge works at two
levels. At the primary level it functions as the basis of useful human
activities, as when a teacher solves mathematical problems for the students or
as when a doctor uses his knowledge to cure diseases. At the secondary level,
knowledge is employed to obtain increments in the existing knowledge.
The activity that produces this new
knowledge is known as research. All research is an advance on existing
frontiers of knowledge. It takes us beyond the frontiers of present knowledge.
Both are breaking fresh ground and improving existing knowledge and the proper
functions of research.
However, the research
adds to the existing knowledge in an orderly way. This orderliness is to be
particularly emphasized. Mere aimless and confused grouping for new knowledge
does not stand for research. The knowledge which accrues from research is
verified and verifiable by anybody who may like to do so.
The process by which it has been
derived is replicable i.e. it can be repeated and the stated results confirmed.
It is objective and capable of 'third party' verification. However, people have always tried to
understand, discuss, explain and control the things and events around them.
Sense perception, reason, tradition, authority, metaphysics, magic, expert
opinion, personal experience, deduction and induction and science are among the
system that have been used to acquire the knowledge.
Effort has been made in this unit to
highlight all the sources of knowledge.
.
1.2
Sense Perception:
The earliest
understanding of the environment probably came through sense perception. It
ranges from practical judgments and experiences in everyday life. The sense
perception may be defined as a connected series of concepts that help people to
make sense out of a chaotic environment and to function more effectively in
it. Although sense perception
conclusions have been and can be valuable, let they can be wrong. For example,
early observations of the learning process by educators and psychologists led
to the sense perception conclusion that practice enhances learning i.e.
“practice makes perfect”. Observations of highly skilled individuals such as
musicians and artists who practise a great deal to perfect their abilities, probably
contributed to this belief. As a result, students have been repeatedly asked to
recite the alphabet and multiplication tables and to complete large homework
assignments. We can quote here the renowned theorist Thorndike (1930) who
argued that the results may not always be positive. According to him, he
consequences of practice determine at least, in part, the effectiveness of
practice.
1.3
Tradition:
The dependence on
tradition or custom is also necessary. We often refer to custom and tradition
in the event of solving a problem. In many activities and situations this ready
reckoner serves the purpose very well. It largely determines bur mode of facing
the situations and mode of making adjustments. The comb ne customs and
traditions specify for us our food, clothes, speech, dealings etc. Ordinarily
we obey the customs and traditions and avoid violating them. We try to seek
explanations of the phenomena through the media of traditions and customs.
1.4
Authority:
When a crisis
arises due to unforeseen situation or even in terms or storm, calamities and
conflict, man often finds the tradition inadequate. He normally coma out of his
complacency and to look for newer and better modes of behaviour. The savage
tribal wise man appeals, to his gods in times of crises. The tribal chief
remained the supreme authority for many centuries and his subjects considered
him as an all-knowing and allcompetent superman. They looked to him for
guidance and adevise in their social, religious, economic, political and even
private affairs.
Similarly, the example of a
religious scholar can be cited who assumed the role of authority. The followers
turned to the religious leader for knowledge, advice, explanation of the
phenomena, domestic problems and medical treatment.
Moreover, the expert or the scholar
is a centre of authority to whom we look in times of crisis still. The
scholars, philosophers, economists or scientists are the most dependable
interpreters of the existing knowledge, evidence as well as the sources of new
ideas, innovations and inspirations. The expert of discipline is considered to
have a solution for every problem of the area concerned. Finally, authority is
a valuable source of knowledge but it does have a major weakness. An authority,
whether a political figure, parent, religious leader or scholar can be wrong.
Consequently, it is dangerous to rely solely on a single source of knowledge.
1.5
Expert:
Opinion Sometimes in
search of knowledge one can take the testimony of experts who, because of their
intellect, training, expert experience or aptitudes, are better informed than
other people. Contacts and discussions with experts are also helpful to get
knowledge. The participation of researchers in conferences, seminars and
workshops and listening to the learned experts are very helpful in getting
knowledge and locating research problems.
However, an effort must
be made to find out whether the experts are recognized by other authorities in
the field and whether they are in a position to-know the facts about the
particular problems under consideration. For further details of sense
perception, tradition, customs, authority, expert opinion, please read the
below referred materials. Fred N. Kerlinger (1983) Foundations of Behavioral Research, 2nd ed.
Delhi, Surjeet Publications, pp. 2–6. 1.1
Deobold B.Van Dalen, (1973) Understanding Educational Research, 3rd ed.
New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, pp. 2–5.
1.6
Rationality:
Rationalism
is a system by which knowledge is gained by reason and not experiencing the
world. It is also called metaphysics. It is a national approach knowledge of
ultimate causation and reality. It deals with the causes and principles of
existing things, not with experience.
Rationalism regards human reason as
the only reliable guide to knowledge. Rationalists do not believe that it is
necessary to verify knowledge either by faith experience. Finally rationality
can provide a valuable means of knowing.
1.7
Magic:
Another way an individual can gain knowledge
and control the world is through magic. According to Craig (1985, P.6) whenever
magic occurs in is unadulterated form it assumes that in nature one event
follows another, necessarily and invariably, without intervention. There are
two broad classes of magic. One is imitative magic and other is
contagious. In imitative magic people attempt to produce a
desired effect by imitating that effect. On the other hand, contagious magic is
based on associations between objects or events.
1.8
Scientific Method:
According
to Kerlinger science is the systematic, controlled, not critical investigation
of hypothetical propositions about presumed relations among natural phenomena.
However, science is based on the assumption that the universe is uniform and
orderly and governed by cause-and-effect laws. On the other hand, scholars are
unhappy with the weakness of existing ways of-knowing, learned to integrate the
strengths of these ways of knowing into a new approach--i.e. scientific method.
Of particular importance is that deductive and inductive reasoning were
incorporated into the scientific method.
More authentic knowledge that is use in daily life:
In induction, observed facts are
used to generate theories or hypotheses that are consistent with those facts.
Similarly, in deduction, specific implications are derived from a theory.
Sometimes, both inductive and deductive methods are used to acquire knowledge.
However, in order to comprehend
further the rationality, magic and scientific method is
more authentic that is use in daily life.
Question NO: 2
Differentiate different types of research on the basis
of their purpose explaining their use in life.
Answer:
2.1 Types
of research
Basic
Research:
This type of research is
also regarded as fundamental/pure research. It builds up broad generalizations,
principles and theories of education. It results in the discovery of useful
concepts such as those of motivation, reinforcement, concept formation etc. It
is not concerned with day to day problems.
The basic research has the following
characteristics. 1. It aims at developing educational theories and principles
that will be applicable to a broad population. 2. It requires expert training.
3. It makes use of a wide range of methods to locate the research problem. 4.
Highly specific hypothesis are developed. 5. It involves careful attention so
that error is reduced to the minimum. 6. It calls for a complex analysis of
data. 7. The generalizations usually remain confined to books and research
reports. William Wiersma (1986, P.13)
has very rightly stated that a sound theory increases the fruitfulness of
research by providing significant leads for inquiry, by relating seemingly
discrete findings by means of similar underlying processes and by providing an
explanation of observed relationship.
However, this research
is done by the outstanding experts with the help of desired facilities. It
demands higher level of problems, procedures, tools, controls, analysis etc. It
is expected to be more expert as it has far reaching consequences. J.C. Aggarwal (1991, pp. 25-37) has discuss
the classification of research in the below mentioned book. Please read for
full comprehension. J. C. Aggarwal,
(1991) Educational Research: An Introduction; New Delhi, Arya Book Depot, pp.
25–37 2.1
2.
Applied Research:
This type of research is also called
functional research. Education like Medicine is an applied science. Walter R.
Borg (1987,P.11) has stated, “The primary function of research in education as
in medicine--is to find improvements for education or medicine both to be
understood as fields of human actions, not as fields of knowledge.”
Applied research does not aims at
solving the practical problems which are faced by the teachers, educational
planners, administrators, curriculum specialists etc. Applied research deals
with problems of practical value. Applied research is less rigorous than the
basic research.
Applied research involves both the
classroom teacher and the research specialist. The comparison of applied versus
basic research is discussed as under:
It is argued
that in a country having limited resources, research should be given a
practical orientation. Researches that do not shave apparent relevance to the
solution of practical problems are considered an unnecessary luxury. The
contrary point of view asserts that in the absence of sound analytical concepts
there are obvious limitations to the extent to which applied research is
possible. Not only will the lack of conceptual refinement improvise analysis
and limit methodological sophistication, it will also result in a constricted
perception of cause and effect relationships.
Unless applied research is taken to
mean the publication of facts through simplistic tables of percentages and
averages, a job which can be done on the existing capital of the social
sciences in Pakistan, there is no gainsaying the fact that basic research is an
essential base for the development of applied research. Apart from the fact
that basic research does not have application as its immediate goal, the two
are deeply interrelated, particularly in the case of the social sciences whose
concepts and theories derive from the analysis of social reality as an on-going
process. A research designed to diagnose social reality and to introduce
correctives for the achievement of goals uses a theoretical base no less than
it helps enrich it.
For
Example:
The difference
between basic and applied research is not as sharp as that between the applied
and theoretical social scientist. To illustrate, survey research can be taken
as an example of 'pure' applied
research. However, a few survey researches do not lend themselves to
generalizations germane to theory building. Whether such attempts are actually
made depends upon the training and professional orientation of the researcher.
In such areas of organizational performance, intergroup conflicts or the
administration of and response to social change, the opportunities for testing
hypothesis and for theory building are enormous. Perhaps the seriousness with
which the distinction between theoretical and applied research is made will be
lost as more and more Pakistanis social scientists acquire components in
quantitative research methodology. Both basic and applied research have an
important part in the development of the social sciences and must be
supported.
However, it would be of great
interest to quote what William Wiersma (186, p13) has stated regarding basic
and applied research, “The relation of theory and research is one of mutual
contribution. Theory can point to areas in which research is likely to be
fruitful, can summarize the findings of a number of specific studies, and can
provide a basis for explanation and prediction. Research findings, on the other
hand, can test theories which have been worked out, can clarify theoretical
concepts and can suggest new theoretical formulations or extend old ones.
Moreover, the process of reciprocal contributions is a continuing, one,
research stimulated by theoretical considerations may raise new theoretical
issues, which in turn lead to further research and so on,... To conduct
research without theoretical interpretation or to theorize without research is
to ignore the essential function of theory as a tool for achieving economy of
thought.
5 Action Research:
The process by which practitioners
attempt to study their problems scientifically in order to guide, correct and
evaluate their decisions and actions is called action research. There is no doubt that research work done by
professional students of educational research is seldom noticed by the workers
in the actual field of action. Now it is increasingly being realized that the
practitioners of education must be involved in research work. Action research
is a step ahead of common sense approach. A good teacher does not merely depend
upon tradition, or experience of others or recommendations of expert bodies. In
action research he is deliberately more systematic and scientific in dealing
with the problem.
A useful definition of 'Action Research'
is the research a person conducts in order to enable him to achieve his
purposes more effectively. A teacher conducts action research to improve his
own teaching. A school administrator conducts action research to improve his
administrative behaviour.
Some people differentiate action
research from applied research in as much as the former is confined to
classroom situations and the latter probes into practical problems of greater
complexity and wider applicability. There are eight aspects of the process of
action research. These include the following:
1.
Self-dissatisfaction. The teacher
feels dissatisfied with the situation.
2.
Identification of the problem. The
teacher pinpoints the problem.
3. Defining the
problem. After identifying the problem, the
teacher defines the problem.
4. Problem
analysis. The teacher then locates the
causes of the weakness. 5. Action hypothesis. Action hypothesis is formed.
6. Use of
tools. The teacher decides about the
research tools to be used.
7. Action
programme. The teacher works out the
experiment.
8. Evaluation. The teacher finds out the difference in the result.
Moreover, the Action Research has
the following advantages.
1. The person must improve if the
problem is to be solved is active in, the changed process from the beginning.
2. Facts and evidences are stressed which keep
the changed process anchored more continuously to reality. The approach is
experimental and tentative rather than dogmatic.
4. An integral part of action
research is the experiment which actually is changedevaluated. 5. Action
research emphasizes a desirable decentralization of decision making and
action.
The main functions of action
research in the field of distance education are:
1. Action research will powerfully and rapidly
develop the technique of teaching.
2. Action research assists in
vitalizing and dignifying the work of the teacher.
3. Action research assists in
developing professional experiences, open-eyed and open-minded scientific
spirit enquiry.
4. Action research assists in
creating new interest and new confidence in the ability of the individual
teacher.
Sources
of problems for Action Research are given below:
The first important source for locating
and electing problems for an experiment or project or research is the classroom
itself.
For example
A teacher who finds that the
performance of the students in mathematics in his class is poor. He may think
that perhaps it is because of his method of teaching which is not helpful in
developing mathematical abilities or it is because the students are not making
use of the instructional material or it is because the students 'of the class
lack speed of calculations.
The second source for identifying problems for an experiment or
research is the staff meeting of the school.
The third
source is the chairman of department or
regional director who can suggest students problems for enhancing the classroom
efficiency.
The institution library seems to be
an important source for locating problems for research. Sometimes the ministry
of education or some national agencies dealing with education throw out some
new problems for experimenting in the institution, e.g. a department may conduct
an experiment to see whether the suggestive activities in the new syllabus are
effective to achieve the desired outcomes.
However, Action Research has the
following drawbacks:
1. Action research is relatively of
poor quality.
2. The applicability of the findings of action
research to another school in the event of teacher transfer is questionable.
3. The classroom teacher does not
have enough time to conduct action research.
Question NO:3
Discuss
different designs of experimental research and their use n education for
improvement.
Answer:
3.1 Experimental
Research:
J.W. Best (1992, P.110) describes experimental research as the
description and analysis of what will be or what will occur, under carefully
controlled conditions.
According to carter V. Good, and
Douglas E. Scates (1954, P.809) "Experimentation is the name given to the
type of educational research in which the investigator controls the educative
factors to which a child or group of children is subjected during the period of
inquiry, and observes the resulting achievements." S.P. Sukhia, P.V. Mehrotra and R.N. Mehrotra
(1991, P.227) describe the experimental method as the application and
adaptation of the classical method of the science laboratory. It is most
exacting and difficult of all methods and also the most important from the
strictly scientific point of view.
The essence of an
experiment may be described as observing the effect on a dependent variable of
the manipulation of an independent variable. However, the experimentation in
education is useful to determine and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of
educational aims and objectives through the measurement of outcomes. It serves
as basis for the formulation, execution and modification of educational
policies and programmes. It is further used to ascertain the effects of any
change in the normal educational programmes and practice. An experiment calls for the satisfaction of
three basic interrelated conditions i.e. Control, Randomization and
Replication.
1. Control is the basic element in
experimentation. The influence of extraneous factors that are not included in
the hypothesis are prevented from operating and confusing the outcome which is
to be appraised.
Three types of controls are
exercised in an experiment.
These include:
i)
Physical
controls.
ii)
Selective controls.
iii)
Statistical
controls.
2. Randomization is a very difficult
to exercise complete control, efforts are made to assign cases in the
experimental and control groups randomly.
3. Replication implies conducting a
number of sub-experiments within the framework of an overall experimental
design.
Experimentation in education is not
a perfectly precise method. There are many variables in education which are
extremely difficult or even impossible to control. The basic condition of other
things being equal' is difficult for fulfillment in educational research. All
experiments in education are ultimately experiments with children who for
ethical reasons must not be subjected to conditions that may harm them. There
are boundaries of a moral character for experimentation which must not be
infringed.
There are many areas in which
experimental studies in education can approximate strictly empirical research.
For example, the teaching of spelling through different methods, difference
between the effect of the authoritarian and the democratic set up in education
are problems which have been handled in a scientific way through the
experimental approach.
The following .are the major steps
in experimental research.
1. Planning the experiment.
2. Conducting the experiment.
3. Reporting the results.
Furthermore, the experimental
designs are classified as Single Design, Parallel Design and Rotational Method.
The details of all such designs are discussed below:
1.
Single Design.
This type of
experiment is carried in comparing the growth of a single individual or group
under' two sets of conditions. The experimenter observes the performance of the
individual or the group before and after the introduction of the experimental
variable. Let us say the experimenter is interested in evaluating the reading
speed of a group of sixth class students as affected by training. He will adopt
the steps like test the group, allow for a period of transition and test the
group again.
2.
Parallel or Equivalent Group Design:
In this two or more groups of subjects equivalent in all significant
aspects are selected. One of these groups serves as the 'control group' and the
other as 'experimental group'.
3.
Rotation Group Experimentation:
This method
involves the rotation of 'instructional factors of the experimental and control
groups Pt equal intervals. This method is used to obtain control of pupil
factors when groups cannot be thoroughly equated. It also neutralizes the
teacher variable. Of the three designs of educational experimentation, this is
the most valid and at the same time most complicated.
Question NO:4
What
are historical sources? Keeping in mind them, discuss historical criticism in
detail.
Answer:
Historical sources
Research The use of historical sources and techniques in the field of
educational research is known as historical research method. Historical
research justifies itself when used to find out the solutions of the present
day problems on the basis of the experiences of the past.
A large number of historical sources
are used in research. These sources have been classified in a number of ways.
Some of these classifications are given below:
4.1
Classification No. 1
A classification of sources
appropriate for history as well as other social fields is as follows:
a.
i)
Physical remains: Historic sites, roads, pyramids, fortifications, buildings,
furniture.
ii) Human remains: Clothing, food, utensils,
pottery, implements, weapons, machinery, industrial processes, fine arts and
museum pieces of many kinds.
b. Orally transmitted material: Folklore,
legends, ballads, tales, anecdotes, traditions, customs, manners, burials,
ceremonials, social institutions and languages.
c. More elementary and durable kinds of
representative or artistic materials not written in the ordinary sense such as
inscriptions baked upon clay, stones, monuments, stamped coins, vases, portrait
sculptures, historic paintings, and portraits.
d. Handwritten material (sometimes
in print) including papyri, vellum or parchment manuscripts and such more
recent documents as biographies and diaries.
e. Printed books, papers, and literature.
Action picture film, microfilm and recordings, including radio and television.
f. Personal observation by the writer or by the people he interviewed.
4.2 Classification
No. 2
Another classification of historical
sources is comparatively simpler i.e. documents and remains or relics or the
records kept and written by actual participants in or witnesses of an event.
These sources are produced for the purpose of transr4itting information to be
used in future.
Documents: Documents are the reports of events consisting of impressions made
on some human brain by past events and consciously or deliberately recorded for
the purpose of transmitting information. The observer's eye witness impression
of the event is illustrated by such documents as the opinion of adjudge,
minutes prepared by the Secretary of a Board of Education, a Superintendent's
annual report, the Director's report of a school survey, a college catalogue
prepared by a Dean or a course of study developed by the Chairman of a
particular curriculum committee. (Good:123)
Remain; or relics are physical objects produced without the conscious
intention of imparting connected information. Through documentary s6urces one
sees not the event of the past but what the eye witness thought, the act was In
remains and relics, one sees the actual objects as handed down from the past
Sometimes man more nearly reveals the truth unconsciously through these
physical objects or remains than through the documents that he deliberately
records. (Good:124-4) In brief remains or, relics are associated with a person,
group or period. (Best:103)
The difference between the documents
and remains can be clarified with the help of an example. A school, master may
write, in his annual report or diary, about the human and kindly methods of
discipline employed. These reports or diaries will serve as the documents. The
remains or the relics will be the actual devices used by the teacher for the
physical punishment. These may include the whip or the ruler, etc. There
remains may reveal the truth or the inaccuracy of the documentary source.
A list of these sources (i.e.
documents and remains) used in educational history is presented below.
Documents
a.
Legislative acts such as constitutions, laws, charters.
b. Court decisions.
c. Executive and other official
records: i) Proceedings of administrative officers and
bodies. - Minutes of the Board of education. - Reports and orders of
Principals. - Reports of committees including recommendations for executive
actions. - Systems of student records and salary lists. ii) Proceedings of
deliberative bodies such as University Academic Staff Association, Pakistan
Lecturers Association, Anjuman-e-Fazaleen, Tanzeeme-Asateza, Pakistan. iii)
Reports of commissions such as report of the Commission on National Education
1959, Nur Khan's Proposals for a New Education Policy 1969,
The New Educational Policy, 1972-80,
National Education Policy, 1978, the documents on Education in 89 and
thereafter if any. iv) Reports of school surveys. v) Courses of studies and
curricula outlines. vi) Catalogues,
prospectuses, advertisements.
d. Newspapers and periodicals. i)
Articles. ii) New notices. iii) Advertisements.
e. Personal materials. i)
Autobiographies, memoirs and biographies. ii) Histories written by actors in
the events narrated. iii) Letters. iv) Legal instructions executed by
individuals in personal capacity, wills, contracts and deed. v) Legal
instructions conferring powers upon individuals, for example; certificates. vi)
Lecture notes.
Remains
a. School buildings and their
furnishings.
b. Photographs of buildings or furnishings or
of children, teachers, parents engaged in educational activities.
c. Forms of diplomas, attendance,
and certificates.
d. Various physical devices of the school for
teaching, punishment, exercise or health.
e. Textbooks, manuscripts, exercise-books made
by pupils and pupils maps and drawings.
f. Under certain conditions all
kinds of written materials, if the problem is to observe what people
unconsciously reveal about themselves rather than to determine what they
consciously or deliberately say about themselves.
In the writing of history physical
remains usually have been considered more valuable for social and economic
history than for political history and more useful for descriptive than
analytical, phases of history.
Some remains or relics are called
"memorials" with characteristics of both remains and documents. A
gravestone including only a name is a relic, but with the addition of dates of
birth and death, and possibly other information, it becomes a memorial. The
cornerstone of a school building, including identifying dates, architect or
school board, has the characteristics of both remains and documents.
The same source at different times
may be classified as a document or remain, when Used for different purposes.
For example, when letters written by different people are studied to determine
variations in spellings; rather than the message recorded in the letter, these
letters' serve the purpose of remains and are classified as such. If the historian
searches the same letters to identify the attitudes of writer towards public
education and the message recorded in the letter is emphasized; the letter
serves the purpose of 'document and is categorized as such. A printed diploma,
certificate or report card in blank is a remain, but when the name of the pupil
and his attainments are entered in the proper blanks, the source presents a
message and becomes a document. School text-books are remains as they do not
deliberately or consciously record information concerning school practice or
teaching procedure although they throw light on such problems for particular
period of time. Author's preface in text-bow comments on certain curricula is a
documentary source. The report of a researcher about the test-books used in the
schools during a particular period of time will be a documentary source as it
is a deliberate effort to transmit information about the text-books.
4.3 Classification No. 3
Under this system all sources for
the collection of data are classified as primary or secondary. The definitions
of primary and secondary sources are as follows:
a) Primary
sources:
Primary sources for the collection of data are the original documents or remains,
the first witness to the event, with only the mind of observer or eye witness
coming between the original event or the user of the source. (Good: 126) They
are the eye-witness accounts. They are reported by an actual observer of
participant in an event.
b) Secondary
Sources: Secondary sources are accounts of
an event that were not witnessed by the reporter. He may have t 1kM with the
actual observer or read an account written by an observer, but his testimony is
not that of an actual participant or observer, (Best:82) The writer of the
secondary source was not on the scene of the event but surely reports what the
person who was there said or wrote.
HISTORICAL
CRITICISM :
The historian does not often use the firsthand knowledge based on his
own observations. It is impossible for the historian to repeat the past
occurrences as it can be done in the case of experiments in natural sciences,
where the occurrences can be repeated at will. Since the historian gets most of
his data from the reports of those who participated in these occurrence or
witnessed those events, the information he uses in his researches Issicondaty
or secondary to secondary; thus his information is second-hand. The historian,
therefore, analyses this knowledge carefully to sift the true from the false
and relevant from the irrelevant Thus he gets the usable, trustworthy,
authentic and genuine data, which are known as historical evidence and which is
derived from the historical data by the process of criticism. This criticism is
of two types, i.e., external and internal.
1.
External Criticism (authenticity)
External
criticism deals with the genuineness of the document i.e. whether the document
is what ii seems to be & reads true to the original (Good: 136). This
criticism establishes the authenticity of the data and tries to establish
whether a document or relic is true and not a forgery. (Best--104) Through external
criticism the historian checks the genuineness, authenticity or textual
integrity of the source material - whether it is what it appears or claims to
be - to determine whether it is admissible as evidence.
To discover the origin of the source
materials, the historian asks many questions. When and where was the document
produced? Who was the creator or author? Did the credited author or creator
produce it? Is this an original or accurate copy of the author's work? From
what sources were the contents derived and how dependent upon them was the
author? (Van Dalen:167).
The problem of establishing age or
authorship of documents may involve intricate tests of signature, handwriting,
script, types, spelling, language usage, documentation7 knowledge available at
the time and consistency. It may involve physical and chemical tests of ink,
paint, paper, parchment, cloth, stone, metals or wood. Are these elements
consistent with known facts about the person, the knowledge available and the
technology of period in which the remain or the document originated? Problems
of external criticism, in testing the genuineness of a document or remain,
involve questions about the characteristics of the author and his
qualifications, factors or conditions that may have influenced the production
of the document such as time, place, purpose and circumstances of composition,
and the extent to which the document and its parts read true to the original.
The work of external criticism has
been greatly facilitated through the development of science, printing and
photography especially in dealing with the sources. A partial list of the
important aux lary aids or fields includes, anthropology, archaeology,
astronomy, chemistry, chronology, diplomatics, economics, education, epigraphy,
exact science, geography, geology, historical method and philosophies,
language, law literature, military affairs, natural history, pcho1ogy,
politics, pre-history and philosophy. Before the invention of printing, when
manuscripts were copied by hand, there were frequent errors in the form of
unintentional errors, omission or insertions or deliberate changes in the text.
During recent years microphotography has made it possible to reproduce and
transmit entire books, bulky records, newspapers and other manuscript for
projection in some distant library or research centre, thus obviating the type
of error that arises in copying.
Although there may not be any great incentive to do frauds and forgeries
in the modern literature of social fields and in education likewise, there is
ill the question of authorship (External criticism) in determining the extent
to which chairman of a committee has written the report rather than the other
members of that committee or other assistants whose names were not mentioned in
the report. The motives for deception in the preparation of older documents
were the use of well know name to increase the sales or prestige of the
manuscript, enhancement of the reputation of prominent person and use of
pseudonyms to stimulate the curiosity of the public.
Establishing authorship and the data
and place of publication are common tests performed by a historian. Some
documents do not carry the name of the, writer, conceal his identity with a
pseudonym or present a man as the author also who wrote little or none of the
work. In Pakistan, Commissions on Education, Committees on Curriculum
Development, reports on educational issues and reports by the Vice-Chancellors,
heads and deans sometimes do not reveal the names of the actual authors and
contributors who helped in the compilation of the documents. Although the
committee members sign the report, only one of them may have written the
report. To ascertain the authorship of the Report of the Commission on National
Education - 1959 in Pakistan, for example, a historian may have to investigate
several things.
Did the chairman of the commission
write it, or was it a compilation of report made by the heads of various
sub-committees. If the Chairman used the material provided by the
sub-committees, did he alter, correct, omit, suppress or expand Parts of their
reports?
2.
Internal Criticism (Credibility):
Internal criticism deals with the meaning and
trustworthiness of statements remaining within the document in other words it
weighs the testimony of document in relation to the truth. After the
authenticity (external criticism) of a historical document or relic has been
established, there is still a problem of evaluating its accuracy or worth.
i)
Although
it may be genuine, does it reveal a true picture?
ii)
What
about the writer?
iii)
iii) Was he competent, honest, unbiased and
actually acquainted with the facts or was he too antagonist or too sympathetic
to give a true picture?
iv)
iv) Did he have any motive for distorting the
accounts?
v)
v)
Was he subject to pressure, fear or vanity?
vi)
vi)
How long alter the event did he made record of his testimony?
vii)
vii) Was he able to remember accurately what
happened?
viii)
viii)
Was he in agreement with other competent witnesses?
These questions are difficult to
answer, but the historian must be sure that his data are authentic and accurate
before he introduces them as historical evidence, worth;' of serious
consideration (Best:105)
These questions of accuracy and
value of the statements made (credibility) normally come in sequence after
questions of a) authorship, b) genuineness, c) time, d) place, and e) actual
language or text of the original document, have been answered through the
process of external criticism. The shift of emphasis in internal criticism is
from document (Good:137). f) There is no sharp dividing line between the
external and internal phases of historical criticism and the two processes may
progress simultaneously, with a considerable amount of overlapping. Internal
criticism may confirm external evidence concerning authorship or ti.ve and
place of writing, and in determining the truthfulness and accuracy of the statements
made in the document. The terms external or internal refer to the purpose of
the criticism and not to the looks within or without the document for evidence
to complete the particular purpose.
Question No:5
Write note on followings:
a) Survey
Studies b) Interrelationship Studies
A:
SURVEY STUDIES
5.1
What is Survey?
According to Carter V Good, the
purpose of a descriptive survey study may be:
i)
to
secure evidence concerning and existing situation or current conditions.
ii)
ii) to identify standards or norms with which
to compare present conditions.
iii)
iii)
to determine how to make the next step (Having determined where we are and
where we wish to go).
This means that researchers who are
trying to solve problem in educational organizations by conducting surveys
collect detailed descriptions of existing Phenomena with intent employing the
data to justify current conditions and practices or to make plans for improving
them. Their objective may be to ascertain status as well as to determine the
adequacy of comparing it with selected or established standards.
The
survey studies collect data from a number of cases at a particular period of
time. These are not related with the characteristics of individuals but their
main concern is to make generalizations which are based on the data collected
from a number of cases. Surveys may be broad or narrow in scope. They may
encompass several countries or may be confined to one region, city or so other
unit. Survey data may be gathered from every member of a population or from a
carefully selected sample. Data may be collected concerning a large number of
related factors or a few selected items. The scope and depth of the study
depends primarily upon the nature of the problem.
A survey study is essentially a
research and is dearly distinguished from a general report. But for this
purpose a survey study should fulfill the following criteria:
a) The research report usually has
distinctive form, with definite-attention given to describing the methodology,
the sources, the population, the trait being studied, and other appropriate
methodological or technical details.
b) Presumably original observations are taken.
c) Each step in the work proceeds
with meticulous care and with due consideration for the large plan and purpose
of the work. The data are verified and evaluated.
d) The data are resolved, or
organized into certain more general terms, and are sometimes related to a
single, overall thesis. Certainly the data will be summarized in some form or
other, as systematically as possible. What is done with the data is a definite
part of the contribution of the study.
e) The background, sensitivity, and general
competence of the investigator, as well as the spirit with which he works, are
vital elements. As to whether a study must have more or less than the qualities
in this list, probably no definite rule can be stated. These qualities vary in
degree; various types of research have their own criteria. One should aim, In
doing his own research, not at the minimum requirements of research, but at a
fairly full-bodied attach.
Although the survey researchers make
an effort to come up to the above mentioned criteria but there are certain
limitations of survey studies which arise In most cases because of the nature
of data used in these studies. Some of these limitations are as follows:
i)
Information
that is not known to 'the respondent cannot be obtained in survey.
ii)
ii) Information that is not significant to the
respondent cannot be obtained in a reliable way.
iii)
iii) The information provided by the
respondents may not be accurate in case it is about the aspects which the
respondents intend to hide, although an assurance is given to the respondent
about its remaining secret.
iv)
iv)
Information about activities shared by a very small proportion of population
cannot be obtained in a reliable way in cross-section surveys.
v)
v) Data that can be obtained only with high
sampling error do not constitute proper topics for sample surveys:
vi)
vi)
Information obtained from a single survey is less reliable than trend data
derived from two or more consecutive surveys carried out by the same methods.
vii)
vii) Survey cannot be aimed at obtaining exact
quantitative forecasts of things to come.
2. INTERRELATIONSHIP STUDIES :
Educationists collect facts to
obtain an accurate description of existing status as they make an effort to
trace interrelationship between facts that will provide a deeper insight into
the phenomena. According to Van Dalen, three types of studies are included in
this type of descriptive research. These are:
i) Case studies ii) Casual Comparative studies
iii) Correlation Studies.
Given below is a detailed discussion
on each of the three types of studies.
1.
Case Study:
When the focus of attention is directed towards a single case or a
limited number of cases, the process is personalised and such researches are
included in the Case Study method of descriptive research. This study is
extended to include any relatively detailed description and analysis of a
single person, event, institution or community. This type of study is said to
be 'idiographic', that is, it attempts to understand the behaviour or attitudes
of the individuals without attempting to generalize these findings to other
persons or groups. Here the emphasis is not upon the individual representing a
type but upon the Jndivj4ual as a unique personality with his own problems and
needs.
The case studies in research can be
undertaken for the following purposes:
i.
Uto
provide the investigator with hypotheses that might be difficult to study in
other context.
ii.
ii. a case study may provide the investigator
unique situation that can be used to test hypotheses:
iii.
iii.
the case study may provide new insights, help modify pie existing beliefs and
point out gaps in knowledge;
iv.
iv.
the case study may be useful in demonstrating how a theoretical model can be
exhibited in a concrete model.
Case study data may come from
various sources. The researcher may ask the subjects to recall the past
experience or to express present situation interviews and questionnaires.
Personal documents such as diaries, letters and various physical, psychological
or sociological measurements may yield valuable information.
A case study is similar to a survey
but instead of gathering data concerning a few factors from a large number of
social units, an intensive study of a limited number of representative cases is
made. It is narrower in scope but more exhaustive in nature than a survey.
Let as discuss an example to clarify
the concept of case study.
Suppose an EPM student was to
determine if the programmes offered by EPM Department of the Allama Iqbal Open
University are really meeting the objectives of providing training to the educational
planners and managers in the country will carry out a case study of the EPM
Department. For this case study he gives a detailed background and history of
the Department, its aims and bobjeclivesland the details of academic programmes
offered. He also discusses the admission procedures and the methods of students
evaluation. Discussion is also made abiat the feeding areas of the Department
and the areas where EPM graduates can go to serve. The future programmes are
also critically analysed and recommendations made by the researcher about the
overall functioning, of the department keeping in view the existing situation
of the Department.
This case
study may provide new insights and would be helpful in modifying the existing
programmes in the Department. It may point out the weaknesses or drawbacks in
the functioning of the Department. Thus it can help in diagnosing the
weaknesses or strengths of the Department so that it is better able to fulfill
the aim of giving training to educational planners and managers in the
country:
Though a case study does not aim at
generalization, it may provide insight into a phenomenon and help in the
formulation of some hypothesis. The existence lip of a particular condition in a
unique case may suggest a factor to look for in other cases. An in – depth case
study of the Mohammad brothers (Hanif, Mushtaq, etc.) and the Khan family of
squash (Roshan, Jahahgir, etc.,) may indicate presence of some condition in the
family environment that helps raising of sportsmen. Similarly there are
families in Pakistan which have produced many outstanding civil servants, army
officers, businessmen or professional. Case studies of these
individuals/families could also be fruitful.
3.
Causal Comparative:
Studies Some researchers, while carrying out descriptive research not
only try to discover what a phenomenon is, but also how and why it occurs. They
try to determine what factors, or circumstances, certain events or practices
accompany the occurrence of the phenomenon. In social sciences, where it is
difficult to control various variables, causal comparative method is employed
instead of experimental research. It is not always possible for an educational
planner to select, control and manipulate the factors necessary to study cause
and effect relationship. So this method enables a researcher to analyse what
happens in a natural rather than laboratory situation. In an experiment, the
researcher may hypothesize; ‘If observed’. He then manipulates independent
variable and exposes an experimental group to experience A, while withholding
the experience from a control group and observers the result In a causal'
comparative study, the researcher observes phenomena B and searches back
through a rnultimplicity of possible causes for the factors-independent
variables-that are related to or contributed to the occurrence of the phenomena
B.
For
example:
A researcher wants
to determine the causes of riots in an, educational institution. He cannot set
up a control group to test whether certain factors will cause a riot. He will
compare the institutions where riots occurred with other institutions which had
no riots. He will study the likeness and difference between the two situations
and will determine the factors that appear to account for the riots in one
instance and for its lack in the other.
This type of research has some limitations. Lack of control is the
greatest weakness of this method. Suppose a researcher observes phenomenon B
and hypothesizes that A caused B. The data may show that A is related to B but
without controlling A, he cannot be certain that some other factor a C, D or
did not cause the occurrence of B. So we can that causal comparative studies do
not produce precise reliable knowledge that an experimental study can do. But
they provide a way to probe problems that cannot be probed in a laboratory
situation.
4.
Correlation Studies:
Descriptions of phenomena are sometimes made
by employing correlation technique, which help in ascertaining the extent to
which two variables are related or the extent to which variations in one
factors correspond with variations in another factor. The investigator in these
types of studies does not manipulate the independent variable but he merely
makes observations of both the 'independent' as well as the 'dependent'
variable as these occur in natural setting.
For example:
A researcher studying the relationship between
I.Q. and achievement, randomly selects some group and measures both the I.Q and
the achievement through some tests. The two variables in this type of research
maybe closely related, moderately related or completely unrelated. Generally,
the magnitude of the correlation depends upon the extent to which an increase
or decrease in one variable is accompanied by an increase or decrease in the
other variable whether in the same direction or opposite direction. For
example, a high positive correlation exists if a high rank in one set is
accompanied by a high rank in the other (high I.Q. High achievement test score)
and a low rank in one set is accompanied by a low rank in the other. A high
negative correlation exists of in general a high rank in one set of scores
corresponds with a low rank in the other (high I.Q, low achievement test
score). No or little correlation exists If a high score in one set is just as
likely to correspond with a low as with a high score in the other set
Correlations, therefore, range over a scale which extend from a perfect
negative correlation, to no correlation and to perfect positive
correlation.*
The correlation technique is a
valuable research tool but a coefficient of correlation merely quantifies the
extent to which two variables are related and it does not imply that
cause-effect relationship necessarily exists. The meaning of the relationship
is interpreted by logical analysis rather than statistical computations. This
Interpretation has all the limitations to which causal-comparative studies are
subjected.
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