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3.1 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY

A research paradigm is a way of explaining a set of beliefs that the researcher has at a philosophical level shared as a conceptual framework within the research community. Each element of the framework provides models for examining problems and finding solutions. Evaluating the philosophies helps to reflect and identify the most suitable approach at a practical level. Flick (2009) categorised paradigms into three philosophies; positivism, interpretivism and critical postmodernism each offering guidance and support within qualitative research.

Fig 3.1: Underlying philosophical assumptions (Flick, 2009)

All research has a basic set of beliefs or orientations around these underlining assumptions that will help inform a piece of research, interpretive philosophies fit with this research and will be discussed and justified to put into a professional context.

3.1.1 INTERPRETIVISM AND THE INTERPRETIVISTS

The ontological position of interpretivism is relativism. Relativism is the view that reality is subjective and differs from person to person (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p.110). Interpretive researchers believe that the reality consists of people’s subjective experiences of the external world; thus, they may adopt an inter-subjective epistemology and the ontological belief that reality is socially constructed (Blanche et al., 2006). This paradigm places

observation and interpretation at its heart with the aim of collecting information about events through observation. As events take place attempts are made to interpret and make

meaning by drawing inferences or by judging the match between the information and some abstract pattern (Mcneil and Chapman, 2005). Interpretivism attempts to understand phenomena through the meanings that people have within a context or setting. The paradigm puts the analysis in context and is primarily concerned with understanding the

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world as it is from subjective experiences of individuals and aims to explain the subjective meanings that lie behind social action.

Interpretive researchers start out with the assumption that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness and shared meanings (Myers, 2008). The philosophical base of interpretive research has many examples of methodology include, case studies (in-depth study of events or processes over a prolonged period), phenomenology (the study of direct experience without allowing the interference of existing preconceptions), hermeneutics (deriving hidden meaning from language), and ethnography (the study of cultural groups over a prolonged period).

3.1.2 INTERPRETIVISM IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

The students drive the research and the researcher uses the interprevist paradigm to observe experiences as the construct mobile tests put into a context on the module. The interpretive paradigm is concerned with understanding the world as it is from subjective experiences of individuals (Mcneil and Chapman, 2005; Blanche et al., 2006). The

interprevist uses meaning (versus measurement) oriented methodologies for example; focus groups, interviews or participant observation. The meaning based methods assess the subjective relationship between the researcher and subjects, in this case the students. This research requires observational methods which will take place in context in a social

phenomena i.e., lab, natural, quasi or field settings. This requires a level of interpretivism specifically empirical interpretivism whereby interpretions of social influences and their actions support the philosophy and methods needed. Interpretive researchers assume that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings, and instruments (Myers, 2008). Interpretivism provides a level of flexibility allowing the observation of student experiences and actions a particularly common activity in social science and educational research.

The context of a mobile test that takes place in a natural setting is very different to traditional lab conditions with so many influences on the tester and the user of the mobile device

(Johnson, 1998; Lindroth et al., 2001; Kjeldskov et al., 2004; Lee & Grice, 2004; Oulasvirta & Nyyssonen, 2009; De-Sa & Carrico, 2011). These influences are what interpretivists coin multiple realities, which “cannot exist outside social contexts that create them, realities vary in nature and are time context bound” (Pickard 2012: p7). The realities within this research are determined by student interpretation of mobile test design within natural context.

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Investigating these experiences embedded in the context of a Bachelor degree course “is time and context bound” to the module where mobile tests take place.

The course structure and the delivery of the module provide observable events, timescales and settings, Darke et al., explain, that “to gain a deep understanding of the phenomena being investigated and acknowledge their own subjectivity as part of this process” (1998: p276). In normal circumstances the researcher (as a lecturer) would not be present at a mobile field test so being present provides a deeper understanding of the phenomena (i.e., user mobility, influence of social and physical contexts as participants interact with their applications). Focusing on what Mcneil and Chapman (2005) explain, as “how the real world is interpreted by people who inhabit it” is appealing, interpretivists attempt to observe

multiple viewpoints. In the case of this research, it is from the student perspective as they interpret and apply mobile tests, these realities would not normally be observed.

Interpretivists advocate interaction with research participants to generate outputs in contrast to the positivist who test hypotheses. Considering and observing the core stages the in test design from inception as lab pilots to the field will give the researcher a deep insight into the phenomena and how this been interpreted and applied. To help to contexulise these mobile testing events and how these are interpreted, the research will also seek to finding meaning, meaning of events as they happen in context.

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3.2 RESEARCH APPROACHES