Unit of analysis ...
DGeorgiou who-is-at aol.com
Fri, 18 Sep 1998 21:43:18 EDT
Within this paradigm, the goal of the researcher (who considers himself an
aspect of the observed event) is to describe and understand patterning and
form of events ( emphasis on "formal causes"); there is an openness to seeking
general principles (as in the organismic perspective), but the primary
interest is in accounting for the event and in an openness to emergent
explanatory principles. So, it seems to me that the unit of analysis is
"simply rooted in the phenomenon [historical event] and approach
[contextual/transactional paradigm]," rather than "relative to the purpose of
analysis," as is usually the case in positivistic paradigms.
I tend to agree that there is no such thing as "right" or "wrong" unit of
analysis in general. However, I would think that all units of analysis, just
like all perspectives, are not equal. I would think that, in both cases, some
are "better" than others, if for no other reason, because they are less
reductionistic and, therefore, give us a fuller picture (though still not
complete) of the phenomenon or event.
Doris.