Basic methodological preconditions for high quality research

Abstract

The paper considers basic methodological preconditions for the qualitative oriented research, in other words, the approaches which in the study of social phenomena rely on theoretical and methodological as well as epistemological premises of a new scientific paradigm. The paper draws special attention to the discussion of criteria of verifiability in qualitative research, which are significantly different from the criteria of positivist approaches. Interpretative research paradigms in social studies have a long history and numerous sources and the very concept of "interpretative shift" consists of a number of different research approaches unified under the name of qualitative methodology. The aim of the paper is not to prove that traditional and new paradigms and quantitative and qualitative research approaches based on them are incompatible in the process of discovering pedagogical reality. The intention is to demonstrate that the complexity of social phenomena requires a complex methodology meaning a complementary use of methods and techniques from both research approaches. The study of qualitative methodological approaches and their application in research, discovery and change of pedagogical reality are particularly important because they may provide new insights into pedagogical reality and a new view of old problems.

U radu se razmatraju osnovne metodološke pretpostavke kvalitativnih istraživačkih pristupa, dakle, onih pristupa koji se u proučavanju društvenih fenomena oslanjaju na teorijsko-metodološke i epistemološke pretpostavke nove naučne paradigme. Posebna pažnja u radu posvećena je diskusiji o kriterijumima naučnosti koji važe za ova istraživanja, a koji se značajno razlikuju od kriterijuma pozitivistički orijentisanih pristupa. Nova ili interpretativna istraživačka paradigma u društvenim naukama ima dugu istoriju i brojne izvore, a sâm pojam "interpretativni zaokret" sastoji se od niza različitih istraživačkih pristupa, objedinjenih nazivom kvalitativna metodologija. Cilj rada nije da pokaže da su tradicionalna i nova paradigma, i na njima zasnovani kvantitativni i kvalitativni istraživački pristupi, međusobno isključujući u procesu saznavanja pedagoške stvarnosti. Namera je da se ukaže na to da složenost društvenih fenomena zahteva složenu metodologiju, odnosno komplementarno korišćenje metoda i tehnika iz oba istraživačka pristupa. Proučavanje kvalitativnih metodoloških pristupa i njihova primena u istraživanju, saznavanju i menjanju pedagoške prakse, posebno je značajno jer stvara mogućnosti da se dobiju novi uvidi u pedagošku stvarnost, kao i da se stari problemi sagledaju na nov način.