Books and Resources for this Week 1 PSY 7110
Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology
Week 1 Assignment: Examine the Differences Between Constructivist and Post-Positivist Approaches to Research
Instructions
After reviewing this weeks resources, explain, in your own words, the differences between constructivist and post-positivist approaches to research. In particular, include the following in your written analysis:
Identify and document constructivists views.
Identify and document post-positivists views.
Provide an example of a study (other than that given by Mertens) that uses a constructivist approach. (You can use examples from a study you have come across in previous courses)
Provide an example (other than that given by Mertens) that uses a post-positivist approach. (You can use an example of a study you have come across in previous courses)
Reflect on these two approaches. Do you think the approaches are antagonistic (i.e., you can only believe in doing research one way and not the other) or are the approaches just different ways of answering different research questions? There is no right or wrong answer for this.
