NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF

MEXICO
IZTACALA HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY
OPEN EDUCATION AND DISTANCE EDUCATION
SYSTEM (SUAYED)
DISTANCE EDUCATION COORDINATION
PSYCHOLOGY

UNIT VI. BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF

RESEARCH FROM THE INTERPRETIVE
PERSPECTIVE
SUMMARY

ALEJANDRA JIMENA GALVEZ ESCOTO - 306079245

GRENADOS VILLAGRÁN MONTSERRAT - 312091790
MARTINEZ MARTINEZ VANESSA ANELIS - 423149430

MODULE 0202: SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY

TUTOR: BRENDA ESTELA HERNANDEZ LIMA
GROUP 9237

NOVEMBER 12, 2023

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Introduction
Interpretive research and qualitative research are intrinsically related, as they
share the objective of understanding reality from the perspective of individuals,
investigating meanings, interpretations and experiences.

The purpose of the following work is to cover the topic of interpretive research by
addressing topics such as the concept of reality in the context of interpretive
research, the subject-object researcher-reality relationship, the research objectives
or narrative records: survey, interview or reflection diary, research techniques:
participant observation-field notes, credibility of the method and data transfer, the
most significant characteristics of research reports and, finally, a brief answer will
be given regarding whether or not interpretive research and qualitative research
are related.

Interpretive research and the concept of reality.

According to Pérez Serrano (1994), “reality is something that is given to us, what
exists, the environment in which man's life develops and everything with which it is
related. It involves knowing where you are, where you want to go and how to get
there," we can then argue that in the context of qualitative research an interpretive
perspective is used where we seek to understand it from a perspective that
focuses on people and their way of interpreting their environment.
The analysis of reality requires a methodological process, and must also be
considered a systematic and planned activity, the purpose of which is to provide
information for decision-making with a view to improving or transforming reality,
facilitating the means to carry it out (Pérez Serrano, 1994).
According to Ricoy (2006), within the Social Sciences there are the following
approaches to carry out a research process to carry out the analysis of reality:
- A quantitative approach, which performs a controlled and objective
measurement and within this approach we can conceive the positivist paradigm
that is classified as rationalist, empirical-analytical, systematic managerial and
scientific-technological.
- A qualitative approach, this type of approach, uses processes such as
uncontrolled observation (naturalistic) and is characterized by the interest in
understanding human behavior from the perspective of the person who is the actor.
It is based on the reality of the subject, it is exploratory, descriptive, interpretive
and inductive. Within this approach, we can locate the interpretive paradigm that is
characterized by being humanistic, naturalistic and is also considered interpretive-
symbolic.
The interpretive paradigm means studying or investigating the topic from the
perspective of the individual actors and from their own frame of reference. Sayago
(2003) explains that this paradigm begins with the individual and tries to
understand the interpretations of the world; the theory must be placed in the
particular situations of the individual and therefore, the researcher must work
directly with the experience and understanding that the actors have of the theory.
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According to Ricoy (2006), the most important characteristics of the interpretive

paradigm are:
- Reality is made up of facts that are observable and external, as well as the
interpretation and meaning that the subject gives it through the interaction he or
she has with others within a given context.
It is proposed to understand the processes from personal experiences,
beliefs, reflections and individual values.
- He considers that knowledge is not a neutral and unique knowledge, but
rather it is relative and depends on the interpretation that the subjects give it; the
interpretive paradigm attempts to understand reality from this point.
- The qualitative nature of the interpretive paradigm allows for a detailed
description of the context, deepening the research and creating open designs.

The relationship between subject - research object - reality

According to Pérez Serrano (1994), the subject-object relationship is one of
interaction, especially when the object of study is the human person.
Some points we can take to understand the interaction between the subject and
the object are:
Researcher:
- He is an active participant in the research process.
- There is a researcher's perspective and it is understood that it can influence
the research.
Object (reality):
- Reality is socially constructed and understood through interpretations.
We can then say that the relationship between the subject (researcher) and the
object (reality) is interactive since it is based on the understanding of reality
through the subjective interpretation of the researcher, that is, the active
participation of the researcher is valued.

Objectives of qualitative-interpretive research

The objective of qualitative or interpretive research is to develop concepts that help
to understand reality (social phenomena) in its nature, giving importance to the
intentions, interpretations, experiences, as well as the opinions of the subjects
(Martínez, 2013), as well as developing schemes and models that focus on giving
meaning to individual experience.

Research strategies or narrative records: survey, interview or reflection

journals
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Since data collection is crucial within the qualitative approach, narrative records
that help collect all the observations and data collected from the phenomena being
studied are essential for qualitative researchers (Chiner, 2011; Hernández-
Sampieri, 2012).
Surveys, given their flexibility, are widely used in the social sciences, and they
also allow us to respond to very important information related to what, who, how
and why; they usually consist of a questionnaire or interview guide, which are
applied in different contexts: in-person interviews, by electronic means such as
websites and emails, in groups, etc. These are responsible for systematically
collecting data from a large number of individuals in order to describe, compare,
understand or explain this population or universe that they represent, by collecting
data that has to do with their attitudes, preferences, beliefs, opinions, knowledge,
motivations, emotions, living conditions, among many other issues (Hernández
Sampieri, 2012).
For their part, interviews in the social context are essential for the interpretation of
meanings, and are used as a technical instrument that tends to take the form of a
more colloquial dialogue and is known as a semi-structured interview, and which is
complemented with other information gathering techniques according to the
particular requirements of the research to be carried out. These tend to be more
flexible (they adapt to the norms and language of the interviewee), intimate,
natural, open and deep, and through questions and answers they manage to
establish communication and construction of meanings, by obtaining experiences,
perspectives and opinions (Hernández Sampieri, 2012; Martínez, 2004).
While the reflection diaries are defined as an account of everything that happens
during the stay in the field, and which contains initial and subsequent descriptions
of the environment (places, people, events, relationships), maps, diagrams and
schemes with a chronological sequence of events, people involved, as well as
opinions or analyses that have been carried out on certain situations; it is a type of
personal diary; in general it allows one to convert one's own experience into an
object of reflection. Regarding these logs or diaries, it is important to know that
they can also be requested to be kept by participants in the study, resorting to
periodic reviews of these (Hernández-Sampieri, 2012; Bardají, 2008).

Research techniques: participant observation - field notes

According to Martínez (2004), there are different examples of techniques, but for
the qualitative researcher, his best and main instrument will always be observation,
so, in this section, we will focus on talking about the technique of participant
observation and field notes.

Participant observation, according to Martínez (2004), is the classical and primary

technique most used to acquire information by qualitative researchers; in order to
be used, it is necessary that the participant lives as much as possible with the
people or groups he or she wishes to investigate, that is, share their customs, uses
and lifestyles, of course with prior acceptance. Specifically, seeking to delve into
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participatory observation aims to answer the questions what, who, where, how
and why a particular action is carried out, so it is crucial to consider all possible
details when carrying it out.
This consists of, by observing everything that happens in the environment,
collecting data on daily activities, the most significant data that allows us to answer
the questions posed above, in order to subsequently make an interpretation as
close as possible to the observed realities. For this, it is also important to take into
consideration the testimonies and experiences that have to do with their stories,
anecdotes, myths and special events, since these make up their social, cultural
and ideological background and determine what is and is not important to them.
These data that are collected must be noted at the scene as soon as possible, as
well as reviewed and completed periodically, so that, if necessary, a certain
observation can be reiterated; when we talk about the above, we refer to field
notes, which are defined as these records and annotations that allow us to express
feelings and behaviors in our own words, and even preserve phrases that are
relevant in a textual form. They help to remember and point out the importance of
the observation made, documenting the description of the environment,
interactions, experiences and impressions (Hernández-Sampieri, 2012; Martínez,
2004).

Credibility of the method (triangulation) and transferability of data

Credibility within qualitative research tells us whether there is a correspondence
between how the participant(s) involved perceive the concepts and the way in
which the researcher can approach and portray this point of view; it is called
"maximum validity", since a determining point is to be able to corroborate whether
the researcher was able to fully and deeply capture the true meaning of the
participants' experiences, particularly those that are linked to the statement of the
problem (Hernández-Sampieri, 2012).

In this same sense, triangulation, which generally refers to the combination of

different data sources, theories, researchers or methods in the study of a social
phenomenon (Forni, 2020), is especially useful in relation to the credibility that we
mentioned a moment ago; specifically, we talk about data triangulation, which
through the consideration of various sources of information and methods to collect
data and analyze information, helps to identify, within the research, certain
contradictions that may exist, and to discover the permanences and unstable
states within it (Hernández-Sampieri, 2012).

Finally, it is important to mention that the search for this credibility has a lot to do
with its use in other contexts, or in other words, that as far as possible it can
approach a greater transfer of data, that is, a greater determination of the degree
of similarity between the context in which the study was carried out and the context
of the user who reads and consults the research and carries out this transferability
assessment (Hernández-Sampieri, 2012); to achieve this, it is then necessary for
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the sample to be diverse, as well as the topics, data sources, methods, theoretical
perspectives (triangulation), always keeping in mind that the transfer will never be
total.

Research reports.
After completing the analysis and interpretation of the data, the preparation of the
research report or report follows, which must be disseminated to other researchers
in the most objective, precise and concise manner (Gallardo, 2017).

The research report is a document that contains the results that have been
obtained throughout the research, which aims to communicate to the reader in an
objective, clear and concise manner the results of the research work (Gallardo,
2017)

According to Tejada (2002), different authors agree that research reports contain
four macro sections, whose characteristics vary according to the case:

1. Conceptual framework
2. Theoretical framework
3. Results
4. Conclusion

The Conceptual Framework aims to introduce the reader to the research problem,
which includes sections with introductory content and previous contributions.
These sections are the introduction-justification (it justifies the topic of study, sets
out the objectives, as well as mentioning specific instruments and proposing
alternatives to specific situations), Review of previous contributions (theoretical
framework) (it allows us to understand the problem of study with the field of
knowledge, it clarifies the theoretical and practical foundations, the relationship
with other research, the fundamental theory, etc.) and hypothesis (once the above
is completed, the hypotheses of solution to the problem are raised, which will be
affirmed or refuted.

Once the above is completed, the practical framework of the study begins, that is,
the Methodological Framework. This section aims to describe in detail the
development of the research, so that other researchers can carry it out. The
following are highlighted: variables involved (the nature, function, instruments,
control system and measurement scale that will be used for each one of them must
be specified), the method (the rejection or confirmation of the hypothesis/s is
carried out through a methodology), the sample population (the population that is
intended to generalize is defined, as well as the sampling system that will be used),
the instruments (the content of the instruments used is described, as well as the
construction and validation process (if applicable)) and the data collection (the
entire data collection process and the procedures used are described, as well as a
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description of possible unforeseen or imponderable events that could have

occurred).

Next, the Results section begins, in which the results are presented and, where
applicable, the presentation of statistical analyses performed. Raw results should
not be presented, but rather a description of these, which should include summary
tables and representative graphs, since the statistical analyses will be included in
the annexes.

Finally, the Discussion-Conclusion section begins, which aims to interpret the

results obtained in the research, as well as verify the hypotheses and new
research.

Likewise, Tejada (2002) mentions other aspects of the report, such as: title, brief
summary, bibliographies and annexes.

On the other hand, Gallardo (2017) mentions that there is a wide variety of reports
and different models according to the research developed and its paradigm:
qualitative and quantitative. According to Hernández-Sampieri et. Al (2014, cited in
Gallardo 2017), the quantitative research report contains: cover, indexes,
summary, key terms, body of the document or work, references and appendices.
On the other hand, according to Lincoln and Guba (1985, cited in Gallardo, 2017)
they are organized as follows: introduction, theoretical-practical bases of the
research, research context, research process and conclusions.

Finally, it should be considered that the writing of research reports is written

according to the publication style that indicates how to cite references,
bibliography, tables, figures, equations and other elements. Gallardo (2017)
mentions the best-known manuals: APA, Vancouver, Harvard, Chicago and MLA.

Are interpretive and qualitative research related? Because?

Interpretive research and qualitative research are related, and it can even be said
that they are complementary.

According to Kwan and Alegre (2023), qualitative research is a humanistic

approach that aims to understand human behavior. In this sense, the researcher
gives meaning to the feelings, thoughts and actions of the participants within a
certain context. On the other hand, according to Gutiérrez, Pozo and Fernández
(2002), interpretive research is a young field of inquiry that is interested in
explaining, describing, understanding, characterizing and interpreting social
phenomena, as well as individual meanings. From this perspective, we can see
that the relationship between both concepts is very close, both approaches seek to
explore the meaning of social and individual relationships, from the experience and
interpretation of the world around them.
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Qualitative research aims to understand the world as it is, without falling into
subjectivity. Interpretive researchers claim that reality can only be reached through
interpretive analysis. On the other hand, qualitative researchers are based on the
theory of interpretive research, since we can consider its foundations as a map to
understand the research point where the researcher is located, allowing to
formulate specific questions that will help him/her to understand more deeply the
behavior of the participants (Kwan and Alegre, 2023). Likewise, both interpretive
and qualitative research consider that phenomena must be observed in their
context and cannot be reduced to isolated variables.

In this sense, we can affirm that the interpretive paradigm allows qualitative
researchers to understand how social meanings are constituted, being the basis of
qualitative research (Herrera, 2017, cited in Kwan and Alegre, 2023), allowing a
deeper vision of what happens in the environment, time and social context.

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