Compare and contrast Research Approaches and Methods from text Assignment

Compare and contrast Research Approaches and Methods from text - Assignment Example By comparing and contrasting historical methods with other methodologies, a substantive theory can be developed to form a conceptual framework. Such a framework can create a significant bridge between records characteristically produced by historians and the statistical and experimental models typically brought forward by high theorists. Historical research method versus other approaches Historical research can mean collecting information from conditions that have already taken place and carrying out statistical analysis on this information. One major difference between a historical research and other methodologies is majorly on the manipulation of data. Given that historical method depends on data from the past, it cannot be manipulated in any way. For example, studying older students’ data and those of younger ones may give some insight into the dissimilarities between the varying research methods, but it is impossible to manipulate the work experience. Therefore, historical research may often result in current experiments that try to look at what happened in the past. Apart from the variations, historical research method shares some similarities with other methods, most specifically utilized in business research. Historical Research versus Qualitative Methods Although there are differences between these two approaches, there are similarities as well. Historical research focuses on the narration and interpretation of past events. On the other hand, qualitative studies are focused on ongoing or current events. In historical research method, data sources are similar to those utilized in a number of qualitative studies. They include records, oral histories, documentaries, and eyewitnesses. History links a profession with its legacy and offers a sense of identity, both professionally and personally. However, it does not generally center on identifying social values. For instance, although nursing’s relationship to the whole world is described by his tory, it accomplishes this in an overall sense instead of ascertaining the meaning of the world for an individual (Clarke & Harsh, 2009). The neo-positivistic or positivistic discipline of historical research attempts to trim down history to universal laws. Innovation, verification, and classification of data are used to analyze information as well as an attempt to show cause-effect relations. Researchers in this historical research discipline though they use similar forms of analyzing data like those of the qualitative researchers, come out with very different conclusions (Harris & Brown, 2010). Some statistical analyses and survey methods may also be utilized to improve presentation of objective proof and in this sense too, historical work deviates from pure qualitative methods. The idealist school entirely uses experience and intuition as elements for interpretation. From this point of view, historical researchers perceive it is essential to get the occurrence and reorganize the thought of the inventor relating to the time in context and conditions to make sufficient historical interpretations. In a comparative point of view, one can consider that historical research interprets events in the past while qualitative research examines current events, putting in mind the impacts of history on the context. The interpretations of history and its impacts by the participants such as focus groups, however, are essential to the