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A Presentation for the Annual

CILD Seminar
Gardner-Webb University
July 27, 2015
Dr. Steven Bingham
Associate Professor of
Education

Disciplined Inquiry
An Introduction

Agenda
What Sources of Knowledge?
Why Disciplined Inquiry?
What Are Guiding Principles?
Where Do We Go Next?

How have you


learned about the
world around you?

What is your source of


knowledge?
Think about a time when you needed to learn
something new. How did you go about it?
What is the role of experience?
Why does expert opinion matter?
Where does reason fit in?
What are the shortcoming of each source so far?

Why Disciplined Inquiry?


Our predilection for premature
acceptance and assertion, our aversion to
suspended judgment, are signs that we
tend naturally to cut short the process of
testing. We are satisfied with superficial
and immediate short-visioned applications.
. . Science represents the safeguard of the
human race against these natural
propensities and the evils which flow from
them. It consists of the special appliances
and methods . . . slowly worked out in
order to conduct reflection under
conditions whereby its procedures and
results are tested.
John Dewey (1916)

What Are Guiding


Principles?
1. Pose significant questions that can be
investigated empirically

2. Link research to relevant theory


3. Use methods that permit direct
investigation of the question

4. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of


reasoning
5. Replicate and generalize across studies
6. Disclose research to encourage
professional scrutiny and critique

The formulation of a
problem is often more
essential than its
solution, which may
be merely a matter of
mathematical or
experimental skill. To
raise new questions,
new possibilities, to
regard old questions
from a new angle,
requires creative
imagination and
marks real advance in
science. Einstein (1938)

1. Pose significant questions that


can be investigated empirically
Fill a gap in existing knowledge
Seek new knowledge
Identify the cause of some phenomenon

Describe the phenomenon


Solve a practical problem
Test a hypothesis

2. Link research to relevant theory


Theory is a tentative explanation.
Theories come as families, each one with a
worldview.

Positivism. Uncover the right variables


that determine best outcomes.
Interpretivism. Search for patterns of
meaning.
Critical theory. Examine, expose, and/or
overturn hidden relations of power.

3. Use methods that permit direct


investigation of the question
The link between question and method must
be clearly explained and justified.
Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method
are overarching approaches.
Methods include sampling, measurement,
data collection, and data analysis.

4. Provide coherent, explicit chain of


reasoning
Could another researcher replicate the
study?
Is the study persuasive to a skeptical reader?
What assumptions are made?
How is evidence judged to be relevant?
How are alternative explanations handled?
How are links between data and theoretical
or conceptual framework made?

5. Replicate and generalize across


studies
Do findings generalize from one program or
person to another, from one setting to
another?

How reliable are the findings?


Quantitative studies use statistics to
determine if findings are beyond chance.
Qualitative studies use triangulation,
analytic induction, and comparative
analysis.

6. Disclose research to encourage


professional scrutiny and critique
Knowledge accretes.
Researchers belong to a community.
Researchers publish to enable peer review and
invite criticism.
Researchers strive for an open society where
unfettered debate advances the field.
Toward advancing the field, your dissertation is
a collaborative effort.

Where Do We Go Next?

Resources
Boutin, D. W.. (2010). The Education dissertation: A Guide for
practitioner scholars. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Foss, S. K. & Waters, W. (2007). Destination dissertation: A
Travelers guide to a done dissertation. New York: Rowman
& Littlefield.
Johnson, B., & Christensen, L. (2000). Educational research:
Quantitative and qualitative approaches. Boston: Allyn &
Bacon.
National Research Council. (2001). Scientific inquiry in education.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

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