Re: qual-quant differences and the difference it makes.....

Katherine Goff (Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu)
Tue, 18 Nov 1997 09:17:11 -0700

xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu,External writes:
>Is it too much to ask that the
>possibility be considered that people explore alternatives to
>empirical-analytic inquiry because they genuinely believe that this
>paradigm of inquiry is a flawed way to investigate human phenomena?
>That
>doesn't mean you have to accept the reasoning, just acknowledge that
>there
>IS reasoning behind the choice, rather than people being stupid or mad.

I have taken statistics courses and learned to use statistical analyses
quite successfully. I am now studying ethnographic methodology with
Margaret Eisenhart. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are
difficult: just in different ways.

I think the critique of mathematics is fascinating because I see quite
a bit of movement in the field towards qualitative, descriptive,
non-predictive approaches. One of my interests is chaos theory and I
use it as a tool to understand how to approach my research. I am
including a couple of exerpts from one of my papers.

Chaotic systems are bounded: they do not expand out to infinity but
remain confined to the close neighborhood of some attractor (Kellert,
1993, p. 33). This attractor can not be predicted, nor explained in
terms of causal relationships, but it can be observed and described. In
a sense, the strange attractor identifies the unique character of the
system. Thus mathematics, traditionally viewed as a quantitative
science, depends upon the qualitative methods of observation and
description to understand chaotic systems.

and

We have learned to perceive squares, circles, and parallel lines in a
rough and uneven world. Given sufficient time, we will learn to see
chaotic processes in clouds, ferns, and crystals. Geometry provided
useful paradigms for the fields of philosophy, music, astronomy, and
politics for hundreds of years. By introducing a model that is
sensitive to context and complexity while allowing for some
determinism, chaos theory suggests a process through which curriculum
development might influence student learning.

Kellert, S. (1993) . In the wake of chaos. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press

Kathie

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Katherine_Goff who-is-at ceo.cudenver.edu
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