Research in education and the humanities: Between objectivity and humanism

This book, titled "e;Research in Education and the Humanities: Between Objectivity and Subjectivity,"e; is a serious, sincere, and honest attempt to clarify many scientific research concepts that a reader might not find compiled in a single volume. It also sheds light on the validity and reliability of research in education and the humanities in light of the nature of human knowledge. The book is divided into five chapters. The first chapter discusses all the fundamental concepts of scientific research, beginning with the concept of scientific research itself, followed by research methodology, the research problem, types of samples and methods of selection, research variables, and other concepts that represent the keys to knowledge necessary for scientific research. Chapter Two discussed the concept of knowledge, epistemology, the knowing subject, knowledge as an intellectual product and cultural asset, methods of seeking knowledge within the positivist, hermeneutic, and pragmatic frameworks, and the importance of knowledge in defining research terms, its limits, and its significance. Chapter Three highlighted quantitative scientific research methodologies (experimental, descriptive, and historical) and qualitative ones (ethnographic research, phenomenological research, theory-building research, document analysis research, discourse analysis research, action research, and case studies). Chapter Four examined scientific research between positivism, represented in the natural sciences, and normativity, represented in the humanities and social sciences, clarifying both the positivist and normative approaches in educational and social research in terms of theory, types of knowledge, and their sources. Chapter Five addressed the validity and reliability of research. The concept of validity and reliability was discussed, methods of verifying validity were examined, then the concept of reliability between subjectivity and objectivity, and between the probability and certainty of knowledge, and then the internal and external validity of scientific research.