<p>Denna uppsats undersöker den kvantitativa och den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden ur ett kunskapsteoretiskt och ett vetenskapsteoretiskt perspektiv. I fråga om kvalitativ forskning har metoderna hermeneutik och fenomenologi studerats särskilt grundligt. Uppsatsen argumenterar för att kunskapsteoretiska och vetenskapsteoretiska antaganden måste vara gemensamma för de båda typerna av metod, om man anser att båda typerna ska betraktas som vetenskapliga. Vidare hävdas att de kvalitativa metoderna är sammankopplade med en rad problem beträffande objektivitet, generaliserbarhet, rättfärdigande av kunskap och teoriers empiriska stöd. I många fall utger sig dessa metoder för att leva upp till de krav man ställer på vetenskaplig forskning i dessa avseenden i lika hög grad som kvantitativ metod, men en av uppsatsens teser är att de misslyckas med detta. I uppsatsen hävdas att vetenskapens mål är att generera generaliserbar kunskap. På grund av de kunskapsteoretiska problem kvalitativ forskning stöter på, kan sådan forskning inte ensam nå detta mål och således inte ha någon självständig plats i vetenskapen, utan kan endast tjäna ett förvetenskapligt syfte, genom att, i vissa fall, formulera frågor och hypoteser som sedan besvaras respektive testas av kvantitativ forskning.</p> / <p>This paper examines the quantitative and the qualitative research methods with respect to both epistemology and the philosophy of science. With regards to qualitative research, the paper takes a closer look at the hermeneutic and the phenomenological methods in particular. The paper argues that the different types of method must have the same epistemological assumptions, if it is held that both types ought to be considered scientific. It is further claimed that the qualitative methods are connected to several problems concerning objectivity, generalizability, the justification of knowledge and the empirical support of theories. In many cases, these methods purport to live up to the requirements that are made on scientific research in these respects to the same degree as the quantitative method, but one of the theses of this paper is that they fail to do this. In the paper, it is maintained that the goal of science is to generate generalizable knowledge. Due to the epistemological problems qualitative research are faced with, such research cannot reach that goal alone and thus cannot hold an independent position in science, but can only serve a prescientific purpose, by, in some cases, drawing up questions and hypotheses which are then answered and tested respectively, by quantitative research.</p>

A number of philosophical questions, all connected to modern research in quantum gravity, are discussed in this dissertation. The goal of research in quantum gravity is to find a quantum theory for gravitation; the other fundamental forces are already understood in terms of quantum physics. Quantum gravity is studied within a number of different research programmes. The most popular are string theory and loop quantum gravity; besides these a number of other approaches are pursued. Due to the lack of empirical support, it is relevant to assess the scientific status of this research. This is done from four different points of view, namely the ones held by: logical positivists, Popper, Kuhn and Lakatos. It is then argued that research in quantum gravity may be considered scientific, conditional on scientists being open with the tentative and speculative nature of their pursuits. Given the lack of empirical progress, in all approaches to quantum gravity, a pluralistic strategy is advised. In string theory there are different theoretical formulations, or dualities, which are physically equivalent. This is relevant for the problem of underdetermination of theories by data, and the debate on scientific realism. Different views on the dualities are possible. It is argued that a more empiricist view on the semantics of theories, than what has been popular lately, ought to be adopted. This is of importance for our understanding of what the theories tell us about space and time. In physics and philosophy, the idea that there are worlds or universes other than our own, has appeared in different contexts. It is discussed how we should understand these different suggestions; how they are similar and how they are different. A discussion on, how and when theoretical multiverse scenarios can be empirically testable, is also given. The reliability of thought experiments in physics in general and in quantum gravity in particular is evaluated. Thought experiments can be important for heuristic purposes, but in the case of quantum gravity, conclusions based on thoght experiments are not very reliable.

Denna uppsats undersöker den kvantitativa och den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden ur ett kunskapsteoretiskt och ett vetenskapsteoretiskt perspektiv. I fråga om kvalitativ forskning har metoderna hermeneutik och fenomenologi studerats särskilt grundligt. Uppsatsen argumenterar för att kunskapsteoretiska och vetenskapsteoretiska antaganden måste vara gemensamma för de båda typerna av metod, om man anser att båda typerna ska betraktas som vetenskapliga. Vidare hävdas att de kvalitativa metoderna är sammankopplade med en rad problem beträffande objektivitet, generaliserbarhet, rättfärdigande av kunskap och teoriers empiriska stöd. I många fall utger sig dessa metoder för att leva upp till de krav man ställer på vetenskaplig forskning i dessa avseenden i lika hög grad som kvantitativ metod, men en av uppsatsens teser är att de misslyckas med detta. I uppsatsen hävdas att vetenskapens mål är att generera generaliserbar kunskap. På grund av de kunskapsteoretiska problem kvalitativ forskning stöter på, kan sådan forskning inte ensam nå detta mål och således inte ha någon självständig plats i vetenskapen, utan kan endast tjäna ett förvetenskapligt syfte, genom att, i vissa fall, formulera frågor och hypoteser som sedan besvaras respektive testas av kvantitativ forskning. / This paper examines the quantitative and the qualitative research methods with respect to both epistemology and the philosophy of science. With regards to qualitative research, the paper takes a closer look at the hermeneutic and the phenomenological methods in particular. The paper argues that the different types of method must have the same epistemological assumptions, if it is held that both types ought to be considered scientific. It is further claimed that the qualitative methods are connected to several problems concerning objectivity, generalizability, the justification of knowledge and the empirical support of theories. In many cases, these methods purport to live up to the requirements that are made on scientific research in these respects to the same degree as the quantitative method, but one of the theses of this paper is that they fail to do this. In the paper, it is maintained that the goal of science is to generate generalizable knowledge. Due to the epistemological problems qualitative research are faced with, such research cannot reach that goal alone and thus cannot hold an independent position in science, but can only serve a prescientific purpose, by, in some cases, drawing up questions and hypotheses which are then answered and tested respectively, by quantitative research.

The Stories of Environmental Ethicists in Word and Image captures the spirit of three local people: John B. Cobb, Jr., Rosemary Radford Ruether, and Dean Freudenberger. As teachers, writers, activists, and members of the progressive retirement community Pilgrim Place, they’ve had a significant influence on the global environmental movement. The photographs and small essays in this project highlight who they are and what they’ve done, and how they continue to shape contemporary intellectual discourse. An analysis of how portrait photographers use images to tell stories and how they incorporate text in their photographic collections to create fuller, more robust pictures of their subjects provides context. An epilogue explains a mixed-media artwork I created that evolved out of my conversations with Cobb, Ruether, and Freudenberger. A three-dimensional rendering of transformations currently happening in California’s landscape, it visualizes rural and urban spheres converging within the state. It shows how boundaries separating what we’ve traditionally categorized as “country” and “city” are eroding, and how the landscape is becoming simultaneously rural and urban. New spatial forms are springing up and integrating in ways we’ve never seen before. As green areas get grayer, gray areas get greener. The mixed-media installation attempts to bring people’s attention to various environmental shifts happening now in California and all over the world, and to ask us to question the implications of such changes.

This thesis scrutinizes modern metaphysics through a specific reading and critique of Cartesian Philosophy. In the study, the concepts of metaphysics, ideology, modernity, subject and modern science are re-examined in their relations among them and in that the peculiarity of modern metaphysics is attempted to be revealed. At the core of the thesis, Descartes&rsquo / understanding of subject is inquired to be modern subject, and its role in the transformations happened in Western world with the advent of modern age is studied. Also, the two main axes of the critique of subject, subject as substance and subject as effect, are questioned in their difference or similarity regarding in essence their matter of inquiry, by modeling the Cartesian Subject.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore research assistants&rsquo / opinions regarding the courses they take during their graduate study in terms of improving their science perception and research skills. The research questions include research assistants&rsquo / assessments about the effectiveness of graduate courses on research skills and science perception, their evaluation of the graduate programs in terms of improving science perception, and their suggestions on the improvement of the quality of the graduate program regarding science perception and research skills. The sample for the present study contains 12 interviewees from four different v institutes of Middle East Technical University. The interviewees are all PhD candidates at METU. The sample was chosen by using purposive sampling. In this study, the data collection instrument was a semi-structured interview guide designed by the researcher. There were 8 main questions and 9 sub-questions. The collected data was analyzed through content analysis. The results of the study are presented under four main themes, which were derived from the research questions. First theme was the assessment of research skills which was about usefulness of courses, competence about research methods, reasons for not taking courses, problems because of not taking them. The second theme was the assessment of science perception which was about contributions of courses, reasons for not taking courses. The third theme was the evaluation of the graduate programs which consisted of should-be-developed and positive aspects. The last theme was about suggestions which could be realized by university administration and by personal efforts. In conclusion, the findings revealed that the research assistants are aware of the importance of research methods course for enhancing research skills, and of effectiveness of history and philosophy of science course regarding the improving of science perception. In this respect, based on literature review and the research assistants&rsquo / views it is suggested that history and philosophy of science course utilizing explicitly-reflective inquiry approach should be included curriculum of graduate programs.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2008. / Vita. Advisor : Paul Buhle. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 421-427).

This thesis explores changes in experimental reporting during the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. In particular, I examine and compare some of the works of Count Lorenzo Magalotti, namely the Saggi di Naturali Esperienza or Essays on Natural Experiments and the Relazione d'Inghilterra. In 1667, as secretary of the Accademia del Cimento – the Tuscan experimental academy founded in 1657 – Magalotti (1637-1712) authored the Saggi, a collection of experimental reports. These reports included extensive written descriptions of experiments along with dozens of engravings depicting the instruments custom-made for the experiments. Magalotti also served as ambassador and agent of the Tuscan court and in the same year he traveled to England to offer a copy of the Saggi to King Charles II. While in England, Magalotti corresponded extensively with Prince Leopold and with the future grand duke, Cosimo III, reporting his observations of the English court: descriptions of political, military, and intellectual life at the court of Charles II. Magalotti’s account of his experience was compiled as Relazione d'Inghilterra in 1669. My work shows that the Saggi and the Relazione, although different in their content, emerged from the same historical context. I argue that the way information was conceived and organized, whether it originated from experimental practices (Saggi) or diplomatic actions (Relazione), changed over the course of the seventeenth century. Experimental reporting, like political reporting, became parceled into small, discrete units suited for high rates of information exchange.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

During the 1990's an increased debate concerning a new way of funding, organising and doing research is discernible. Characteristic elements in this are: collaboration between university and industry, context of application, user orientation and interdisciplinarity. A parallel development related to the environmental issues can also be distinguished, where the discourse of sustainable development has become the dominating political vision. How these changing contexts affect and influence a funding agency is analysed in this thesis. The source for the analysis is the Foundation of strategic environmental research, Mistra. Mistra was established in 1994 aiming at a renewal of Swedish environmental research, in which contributing to the vision of sustainable development is a central goal. Other characteristic objectives in Mistra are: solution orientation, user involvement, interdisciplinarity, and contributing to the competitiveness of Sweden. The main purpose of the thesis is to analyse ideas and notions about science and knowledge concerning the environmental problematic as viewed in Mistra. A specific interest is also directed to views and notions of the role of science in contemporary society. The main conclusion concerns awareness of epistemological issues in Mistra regarding different forms of knowledge and ways of doing research. This is especially apparent in the discussion related to evaluation of research, interdisciplinary, social sciences and user involvement. Moreover, I stress that this tendency also could be recognized in theories of knowledge production. Understanding Mistra as an example of contemporary knowledge production the post-positivist notions of knowledge, which is particularly argued for in theory of Mode 2, is therefore questioned. Consequently, issues of prerequisites and conditions of the occurrence of reflexivity and post-positivist epistemological thoughts are stressed and epistemological notions mirrored in contemporary knowledge production are discussed using the two concepts of unreflected ambivalence.