The legal framework for such education varies by locality, and determines any obligation to conform with mainstream standard tests and grades.
Alternative pedagogical approaches may include different structures, as in the open classroom, different teacher-student relationships, as in the Quaker and free schools, and/or differing curricula and teaching methods, as in the Waldorf and Montessori schools.
Synonyms for "alternative" in this context include "non-traditional"
and "non-conventional". Alternative educators use terms such as "holistic".
Cultural critics such as John Caldwell Holt, Paul Goodman, Frederick Mayer and George Dennison have examined education from individualist, anarchist, and libertarian perspectives. Other writers, from Paulo Freire to American educators Herbert Kohl and Jonathan Kozol, have criticized mainstream Western education from the viewpoint of liberal
and radical politics. The argument for an approach catering to the
interests and learning style of an individual is supported by research
suggesting that a learner-responsible model is more effective than a
teacher-responsible one. Ron Miller has identified five elements common to educational alternatives:
In modern times, at least in some localities, the legal right to
provide educational alternatives has become established alongside a duty to provide education for school age children.
Alternative education in Canada stems from two philosophical educational points of view, Progressive and Libertarian.
According to Levin, 2006 the term "alternative" was adopted partly to
distinguish these schools from the independent,
parent-student-teacher-run "free" schools that preceded them (and from
which some of the schools actually evolved) and to emphasize the boards'
commitment to options within the public school system. Progressive
educational tradition places emphasis on both the need to incorporate
curriculum and teaching to match the stages of child development and the
gradual integration of the child into adult society through planned
experiential learning. The sources of stimulus would be from the
philosopher John Dewey in the United States, from post WW1 New Schools
in Great Britain and the Steiner/Waldorf schools in Europe. The
Libertarian tradition focuses on the rights of the parents and children
to make their own educational and life choices. As noted by Levin "It is
rooted in the belief to uphold the individual freedom and the innate
goodness of the child against institutional and social conformity and
the corrupting influences of modern society."
School types
The
1980s saw a shift to special schools and/or programs for those students
that excelled in academia, were artistically talented, or through
programs linking schooling with the workplace in a co-operative venture.
It might be considered as a natural evolution of education to offer
options and not a regimented one size fits all approach. Most
alternative high schools falling under public jurisdiction offered
independent study programs, basic-skills programs, and were mini-high
schools with a mixture of conventional and nonconventional courses, and
schools with an arts focus. They also offered smaller classes, closer
and more informal relations with teachers, and greater flexibility in
course selection and timetabling. The most recent development within
alternative education in Canada may be to follow the United States in
their "Charter School" movement. In the US specific states have passed
legislation permitting their departments of education or local school
boards to issue "charters" directly to individual schools wishing to
operate autonomously. Alberta is the first province that has already
embraced this model.
Since the early 20th century, educators have discussed and implemented alternative forms of education, such as Rabindranath Tagore's Visva-Bharati University, Sri Aurobindo's Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education, Jiddu Krishnamurti Schools. Traditional learning in India involved students living in gurukulas, where they received free food, shelter and education from a guru ("teacher" in Sanskrit).
Progress was based on tests given by the gurus, and the system aimed to
nurture students' creativity and personality development. Although
mainstream education in India is based on the system introduced by Lord Macaulay, a few projects aim to rejuvenate the earlier method. Some students in these (and similar) projects conduct research in Sanskrit studies, Vedic studies, Vedic science, yoga and ayurveda. Others, after completing their education in a gurukula, enter mainstream higher education.
Japan
Japanese education is a nationwide, standardized system under the Ministry of Education.
The only alternative options have been accredited, private schools with
more freedom of curricula (including textbook choice; public schools
are limited to government-approved textbooks), teaching methods and
hiring guidelines. Nearly all private schools require a competitive
entrance examination and charge tuition, with few scholarships available. Interest in alternative education was sparked during the 1980s by student violence and bullying, school refusal, social anxiety disorder and, in the worst cases, suicide; the desire to enable young people to keep up with a globalized economy is an additional impetus.
A free school is a non-profit group (or independent school) which
specializes in the care and education of children who refuse to attend
standard schools. The first democratic school
was founded in 1985 as a shelter for children avoiding the school
environment, and a number of other such schools have been established.
In 1987 the first of seven Waldorf schools in Japan was founded, and
other alternatives include a growing homeschooling movement.
In 1992 Dr Shinichiro Hori, formerly Professor of Education at
Osaka City University, founded the first, Kinokuni Children's Village in
Wakayama Prefecture, of several alternative, democratic schools. In all
he created six schools in Fukui prefecture, Kitakyushu, and Yamanashi
prefecture. As friend and Japanese translator of A.S. Neill his work has been inspired by Summerhill School.
In 2003 Japan introduced Special Zones for Structural Reform (構造改革特別区域), based on China's Special Economic Zone
policy, which enable the opening of government-accredited schools
providing alternative education. Two years later, the first such school
was founded.
Despite the schools' high tuition, some parents send their children to international schools
to acquire fluency in a foreign language (usually English). Although
international schools are not certified by the Japanese government, many
are approved by their native country (the U.S., Canada, Germany,
France, Korea and China) and some offer an International Baccalaureate program.
Founded after the lifting of martial law in Taiwan, the Forest School [zh] (森林小學)
was the first alternative education school in Taiwan. It seeks to
diverge from traditional Chinese education methodology and requires
parents of their students to not hit or scold their children. The term
'forest school' has become a generalized term used by schools with
alternative education approaches. There is also the case of the
Caterpillar, which – like the Forest School – is housed in an
unconventional campus and follows a creative and more fluid curriculum. Both these schools charge expensive tuition fees but more personalized instruction.
There is also alternative education that caters to learners with special needs such as the Taipei County's Seedling Elementary School, which opened in 1994.
This school caters to native students, who need a different and less
stressful learning environment. It integrates traditional courses with
strategies that focus on enhancing the learner's bond with nature and
aboriginal culture.
Another example is the so-called "third-way" education that serves the
needs of students that are not local but also not foreign such as the
Taipei American School,
which provides instruction to Taiwanese students with family in the
United States or those with occupations that took them, including their
children, abroad.
United Kingdom
In 2003, there were about 70 schools in the United Kingdom offering education based on philosophies differing from that of the mainstream pedagogy, about half of which are Steiner-Waldorf schools. Summerhill School, established by A.S. Neill in 1921, was the first democratic school; most have since closed, except for Summerhill, Sands School, Hebden Bridge School and democratic schools for children and young people. Though most alternative schools were until recently all fee-paying, state-funded Free Schools were introduced in 2011, only two of which alternative education: the Steiner Academy Frome, Somerset, and the Steiner Academy Hereford.
The United Kingdom also has alternative provision schools and
centres, designed to prevent exclusions from mainstream school, or
improve behavioural problems so that students can re-access mainstream
education. Since 1993, some of the centres have been referred to as Pupil Referral Units (PRU). These units are run by the local authority.
In recent years, in addition to Pupil Referral Units, many
privately funded units (operated by businesses or charities) have set up
versions of PRUs. These are known as private providers of alternative
provision.
The influx of private businesses entering the sector has led to concerns being raised by Ofsted and the Department for Education
in relation to so called illegal schools operating. Illegal schools
refer to alternative provision centres providing students with a full
time education without first registering properly as a school. Operating
in this way means that providers avoid inspection by Ofsted.
United States
A variety of educational alternatives exist at the elementary, secondary and tertiary level in four categories: school choice, independent schools and home-based education. The U.S. Department of Education's document State Regulation of Private Schools reports on the legal requirements that apply to K-12
private schools in each of the states, including any curriculum
requirements. The report states that it is intended as a reference for
public and nonpublic school officials and state policy-makers.
The report confirms that similar areas of education are approached in a
variety of ways. Trade schools and vocational colleges are also an
alternate route to four year traditional college programs.
Public-school alternatives in the U.S. include separate schools,
classes, programs and semi-autonomous "schools within schools". Public
school-choice options are open to all students, although some have
waiting lists. Among these are charter schools, combining private initiatives and state funding, and magnet schools, which attract students to a particular program (such as the performing arts).
Families seeking alternatives for educational, philosophical or
religious reasons, or if there is no nearby educational alternative may
opt for home-based education. A minor branch is unschooling,
an approach based on interest rather than a curriculum. Others enroll
in umbrella schools which provide a curriculum. Homeschool courses give
students in-depth, personal attention in any subject with which they
struggle or excel. Some homeschool families form a cooperative, where
parents with expertise in a subject may teach children from a number of
families while their children are taught by other parents. There is
great variation amongst families who homeschool, from parents who set up
in-home "classrooms" and hold class for a set amount of time each day,
to families that focus on experiential learning opportunities.
Self-directed inquiry is recognized at all levels of education, from
the "unschooling" of children to the autodidacticism of adults, and may
occur separately from (or with) traditional forms of education.
Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to controlling sources of bias and error.
These activities are characterized by accounting and controlling for
biases. A research project may be an expansion of past work in the
field. To test the validity of instruments, procedures, or experiments,
research may replicate elements of prior projects or the project as a
whole.
A researcher is a person who conducts research, especially in order to discover new information or to reach a new understanding. In order to be a social researcher or a social scientist,
one should have enormous knowledge of subjects related to social
science that they are specialized in. Similarly, in order to be a
natural science researcher, the person should have knowledge of fields
related to natural science (physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, zoology and so on). Professional associations provide one pathway to mature in the research profession.
The word research is derived from the Middle French "recherche", which means "to go about seeking", the term itself being derived from the Old French term "recerchier," a compound word from "re-" + "cerchier", or "sercher", meaning 'search'.[5] The earliest recorded use of the term was in 1577.
Definitions
Research has been defined in a number of different ways, and while
there are similarities, there does not appear to be a single,
all-encompassing definition that is embraced by all who engage in it.
Research, in its simplest terms, is searching for knowledge and
searching for truth. In a formal sense, it is a systematic study of a
problem attacked by a deliberately chosen strategy, which starts with
choosing an approach to preparing a blueprint (design) and acting upon
it in terms of designing research hypotheses, choosing methods and
techniques, selecting or developing data collection tools, processing
the data, interpretation, and ending with presenting solution(s) of the
problem.
Another definition of research is given by John W. Creswell,
who states that "research is a process of steps used to collect and
analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue".
It consists of three steps: pose a question, collect data to answer the
question, and present an answer to the question.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines research more
generally to also include studying already existing knowledge: "studious
inquiry or examination; especially: investigation or
experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts,
revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts, or
practical application of such new or revised theories or laws".
Forms of research
Original research
"Original research" redirects here. For the Wikipedia prohibition against user-generated, unpublished research, see Wikipedia:No original research.
Original research, also called primary research, is
research that is not exclusively based on a summary, review, or
synthesis of earlier publications on the subject of research. This
material is of a primary-source character. The purpose of the original research is to produce new knowledge rather than present the existing knowledge in a new form (e.g., summarized or classified).
Original research can take various forms, depending on the discipline
it pertains to. In experimental work, it typically involves direct or
indirect observation of the researched subject(s), e.g., in the
laboratory or in the field, documents the methodology, results, and conclusions of an experiment or set of experiments, or offers a novel interpretation of previous results. In analytical
work, there are typically some new (for example) mathematical results
produced or a new way of approaching an existing problem. In some
subjects which do not typically carry out experimentation or analysis of
this kind, the originality is in the particular way existing
understanding is changed or re-interpreted based on the outcome of the
work of the researcher.
The degree of originality of the research is among the major criteria for articles to be published in academic journals and usually established by means of peer review. Graduate students are commonly required to perform original research as part of a dissertation.
Scientific research is a systematic way of gathering data and harnessing curiosity. This research provides scientific information and theories for the explanation of the nature and the properties
of the world. It makes practical applications possible. Scientific
research may be funded by public authorities, charitable organizations,
and private organizations. Scientific research can be subdivided by discipline.
Generally, research is understood to follow a certain structural process.
Though the order may vary depending on the subject matter and
researcher, the following steps are usually part of most formal
research, both basic and applied:
Observations and formation of the topic:
Consists of the subject area of one's interest and following that
subject area to conduct subject-related research. The subject area
should not be randomly chosen since it requires reading a vast amount of
literature on the topic to determine the gap in the literature the
researcher intends to narrow. A keen interest in the chosen subject area
is advisable. The research will have to be justified by linking its
importance to already existing knowledge about the topic.
Hypothesis: A testable prediction which designates the relationship between two or more variables.
Operational definition: Details in regards to defining the variables and how they will be measured/assessed in the study.
Gathering of data:
Consists of identifying a population and selecting samples, gathering
information from or about these samples by using specific research
instruments. The instruments used for data collection must be valid and
reliable.
Analysis of data: Involves breaking down the individual pieces of data to draw conclusions about it.
Data Interpretation: This can be represented through tables, figures, and pictures, and then described in words.
A common misconception is that a hypothesis will be proven (see, rather, null hypothesis).
Generally, a hypothesis is used to make predictions that can be tested
by observing the outcome of an experiment. If the outcome is
inconsistent with the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is rejected (see falsifiability).
However, if the outcome is consistent with the hypothesis, the
experiment is said to support the hypothesis. This careful language is
used because researchers recognize that alternative hypotheses may also
be consistent with the observations. In this sense, a hypothesis can
never be proven, but rather only supported by surviving rounds of
scientific testing and, eventually, becoming widely thought of as true.
A useful hypothesis allows prediction and within the accuracy of
observation of the time, the prediction will be verified. As the
accuracy of observation improves with time, the hypothesis may no longer
provide an accurate prediction. In this case, a new hypothesis will
arise to challenge the old, and to the extent that the new hypothesis
makes more accurate predictions than the old, the new will supplant it.
Researchers can also use a null hypothesis, which states no relationship
or difference between the independent or dependent variables.
Research in the humanities
Research in the humanities involves different methods such as for example hermeneutics and semiotics.
Humanities scholars usually do not search for the ultimate correct
answer to a question, but instead, explore the issues and details that
surround it. Context is always important, and context can be social,
historical, political, cultural, or ethnic. An example of research in
the humanities is historical research, which is embodied in historical method. Historians use primary sources and other evidence
to systematically investigate a topic, and then to write histories in
the form of accounts of the past. Other studies aim to merely examine
the occurrence of behaviours in societies and communities, without
particularly looking for reasons or motivations to explain these. These
studies may be qualitative or quantitative, and can use a variety of
approaches, such as queer theory or feminist theory.
Artistic research
Artistic research, also seen as 'practice-based research', can
take form when creative works are considered both the research and the
object of research itself. It is the debatable body of thought which
offers an alternative to purely scientific methods in research in its
search for knowledge and truth.
The controversial trend of artistic teaching becoming more
academics-oriented is leading to artistic research being accepted as the
primary mode of enquiry in art as in the case of other disciplines. One of the characteristics of artistic research is that it must accept subjectivity as opposed to the classical scientific methods. As such, it is similar to the social sciences in using qualitative research and intersubjectivity as tools to apply measurement and critical analysis.
Artistic research has been defined by the School of Dance and Circus (Dans och Cirkushögskolan, DOCH), Stockholm
in the following manner – "Artistic research is to investigate and test
with the purpose of gaining knowledge within and for our artistic
disciplines. It is based on artistic practices, methods, and
criticality. Through presented documentation, the insights gained shall
be placed in a context." Artistic research aims to enhance knowledge and understanding with presentation of the arts. A simpler understanding by Julian Klein defines artistic research as any kind of research employing the artistic mode of perception. For a survey of the central problematics of today's artistic research, see Giaco Schiesser.
According to artist Hakan Topal,
in artistic research, "perhaps more so than other disciplines,
intuition is utilized as a method to identify a wide range of new and
unexpected productive modalities".
Most writers, whether of fiction or non-fiction books, also have to do
research to support their creative work. This may be factual,
historical, or background research. Background research could include,
for example, geographical or procedural research.
The Society for Artistic Research (SAR) publishes the triannual Journal for Artistic Research (JAR), an international, online, open access, and peer-reviewedjournal for the identification, publication, and dissemination of artistic research and its methodologies, from all arts disciplines and it runs the Research Catalogue (RC),a searchable, documentary database of artistic research, to which anyone can contribute.
Patricia Leavy addresses eight arts-based research (ABR) genres:
narrative inquiry, fiction-based research, poetry, music, dance,
theatre, film, and visual art.
In 2016, the European League of Institutes of the Arts launched The Florence Principles' on the Doctorate in the Arts. The Florence Principles relating to the Salzburg Principles and the Salzburg Recommendations of the European University Association
name seven points of attention to specify the Doctorate / PhD in the
Arts compared to a scientific doctorate / PhD. The Florence Principles
have been endorsed and are supported also by AEC, CILECT, CUMULUS and SAR.
German historian Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886), considered to be one of the founders of modern source-based history
The historical method
comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use
historical sources and other evidence to research and then to write
history. There are various history guidelines that are commonly used by
historians in their work, under the headings of external criticism,
internal criticism, and synthesis. This includes lower criticism
and sensual criticism. Though items may vary depending on the subject
matter and researcher, the following concepts are part of most formal
historical research:
Research is often conducted using the hourglass model structure of research.
The hourglass model starts with a broad spectrum for research, focusing
in on the required information through the method of the project (like
the neck of the hourglass), then expands the research in the form of
discussion and results. The major steps in conducting research are:
Specification of a conceptual framework, sometimes including a set of hypotheses
Choice of a methodology (for data collection)
Data collection
Verifying data
Analyzing and interpreting the data
Reporting and evaluating research
Communicating the research findings and, possibly, recommendations
The steps generally represent the overall process; however, they
should be viewed as an ever-changing iterative process rather than a
fixed set of steps. Most research begins with a general statement of the problem, or rather, the purpose for engaging in the study. The literature review identifies flaws or holes in previous research which provides justification for the study. Often, a literature review is conducted in a given subject area before a research question
is identified. A gap in the current literature, as identified by a
researcher, then engenders a research question. The research question
may be parallel to the hypothesis.
The hypothesis is the supposition to be tested. The researcher(s)
collects data to test the hypothesis. The researcher(s) then analyzes
and interprets the data via a variety of statistical methods, engaging
in what is known as empirical research. The results of the data analysis in rejecting or failing to reject the null hypothesis are then reported and evaluated. At the end, the researcher may discuss avenues for further research.
However, some researchers advocate for the reverse approach: starting
with articulating findings and discussion of them, moving "up" to
identification of a research problem that emerges in the findings and
literature review. The reverse approach is justified by the
transactional nature of the research endeavor where research inquiry,
research questions, research method, relevant research literature, and
so on are not fully known until the findings have fully emerged and been
interpreted.
Rudolph Rummel
says, "... no researcher should accept any one or two tests as
definitive. It is only when a range of tests are consistent over many
kinds of data, researchers, and methods can one have confidence in the
results."
Plato in Meno
talks about an inherent difficulty, if not a paradox, of doing research
that can be paraphrased in the following way, "If you know what you're
searching for, why do you search for it?! [i.e., you have already found
it] If you don't know what you're searching for, what are you searching
for?!"
Research methods
The research room at the New York Public Library, an example of secondary research in progressMaurice Hilleman, the preeminent vaccinologist of the 20th century, is credited with saving more lives than any other scientist in that time.
The goal of the research process is to produce new knowledge or
deepen understanding of a topic or issue. This process takes three main
forms (although, as previously discussed, the boundaries between them
may be obscure):
There are two major types of empirical research design: qualitative
research and quantitative research. Researchers choose qualitative or
quantitative methods according to the nature of the research topic they
want to investigate and the research questions they aim to answer:
Qualitative research refers to much more subjective non-quantitative,
use different methods of collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting
data for meanings, definitions, characteristics, symbols metaphors of
things. Qualitative research further classified into the following
types: Ethnography: This research mainly focus on culture of
group of people which includes share attributes, language, practices,
structure, value, norms and material things, evaluate human lifestyle.
Ethno: people, Grapho: to write, this disciple may include ethnic
groups, ethno genesis, composition, resettlement and social welfare
characteristics. Phenomenology: It is very powerful strategy for
demonstrating methodology to health professions education as well as
best suited for exploring challenging problems in health professions
educations. In addition, PMP researcher Mandy Sha argued that a project management approach is necessary to control the scope, schedule, and cost related to qualitative research design, participant recruitment, data collection, reporting, as well as stakeholder engagement.
This involves systematic empirical investigation of quantitative
properties and phenomena and their relationships, by asking a narrow
question and collecting numerical data to analyze it utilizing statistical methods. The quantitative research designs are experimental, correlational, and survey (or descriptive).
Statistics derived from quantitative research can be used to establish
the existence of associative or causal relationships between variables.
Quantitative research is linked with the philosophical and theoretical
stance of positivism.
The quantitative data collection methods rely on random sampling and
structured data collection instruments that fit diverse experiences into
predetermined response categories. These methods produce results that
can be summarized, compared, and generalized to larger populations if
the data are collected using proper sampling and data collection
strategies.
Quantitative research is concerned with testing hypotheses derived from
theory or being able to estimate the size of a phenomenon of interest.
If the research question is about people, participants may be
randomly assigned to different treatments (this is the only way that a
quantitative study can be considered a true experiment).
If this is not feasible, the researcher may collect data on participant
and situational characteristics to statistically control for their
influence on the dependent, or outcome, variable. If the intent is to
generalize from the research participants to a larger population, the
researcher will employ probability sampling to select participants.
In either qualitative or quantitative research, the researcher(s) may collect primary or secondary data.
Primary data is data collected specifically for the research, such as
through interviews or questionnaires. Secondary data is data that
already exists, such as census data, which can be re-used for the
research. It is good ethical research practice to use secondary data
wherever possible.
Mixed-method research, i.e. research that includes qualitative
and quantitative elements, using both primary and secondary data, is
becoming more common.
This method has benefits that using one method alone cannot offer. For
example, a researcher may choose to conduct a qualitative study and
follow it up with a quantitative study to gain additional insights.
Big data
has brought big impacts on research methods so that now many
researchers do not put much effort into data collection; furthermore,
methods to analyze easily available huge amounts of data have also been
developed.
Types of Research Method
1. Observatory Research Method
2. Correlation Research Method
Non-empirical research
Non-empirical (theoretical)
research is an approach that involves the development of theory as
opposed to using observation and experimentation. As such, non-empirical
research seeks solutions to problems using existing knowledge as its
source. This, however, does not mean that new ideas and innovations
cannot be found within the pool of existing and established knowledge.
Non-empirical research is not an absolute alternative to empirical
research because they may be used together to strengthen a research
approach. Neither one is less effective than the other since they have
their particular purpose in science. Typically empirical research
produces observations that need to be explained; then theoretical
research tries to explain them, and in so doing generates empirically
testable hypotheses; these hypotheses are then tested empirically,
giving more observations that may need further explanation; and so on.
See Scientific method.
A simple example of a non-empirical task is the prototyping of a
new drug using a differentiated application of existing knowledge;
another is the development of a business process in the form of a flow
chart and texts where all the ingredients are from established
knowledge. Much of cosmological research is theoretical in nature. Mathematics research does not rely on externally available data; rather, it seeks to prove theorems about mathematical objects.
The discipline is most developed in medical research. Beyond the issues of falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism that arise in every scientific field, research design in human subject research and animal testing are the areas that raise ethical questions most often.
Meta-research is the study of research through the use of research
methods. Also known as "research on research", it aims to reduce waste
and increase the quality of research in all fields. Meta-research
concerns itself with the detection of bias, methodological flaws, and
other errors and inefficiencies. Among the finding of meta-research is a
low rates of reproducibility across a large number of fields. This widespread difficulty in reproducing research has been termed the "replication crisis."
Methods of research
In many disciplines, Western methods of conducting research are predominant. Researchers are overwhelmingly taught Western methods of data collection and study. The increasing participation of indigenous peoples as researchers has brought increased attention to the scientific lacuna in culturally sensitive methods of data collection.
Western methods of data collection may not be the most accurate or
relevant for research on non-Western societies. For example, "Hua Oranga" was created as a criterion for psychological evaluation in Māori
populations, and is based on dimensions of mental health important to
the Māori people – "taha wairua (the spiritual dimension), taha
hinengaro (the mental dimension), taha tinana (the physical dimension),
and taha whanau (the family dimension)".
Bias
Research is often biased in the languages that are preferred (linguicism)
and the geographic locations where research occurs.
Periphery scholars face the challenges of exclusion and linguicism in
research and academic publication. As the great majority of mainstream
academic journals are written in English, multilingual periphery
scholars often must translate their work to be accepted to elite
Western-dominated journals.
Multilingual scholars' influences from their native communicative
styles can be assumed to be incompetence instead of difference.
For comparative politics, Western countries are over-represented
in single-country studies, with heavy emphasis on Western Europe,
Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Since 2000, Latin American countries
have become more popular in single-country studies. In contrast,
countries in Oceania and the Caribbean
are the focus of very few studies. Patterns of geographic bias also
show a relationship with linguicism: countries whose official languages
are French or Arabic are far less likely to be the focus of
single-country studies than countries with different official languages.
Within Africa, English-speaking countries are more represented than
other countries.
Generalization is the process of more broadly applying the valid results of one study.
Studies with a narrow scope can result in a lack of generalizability,
meaning that the results may not be applicable to other populations or
regions. In comparative politics, this can result from using a
single-country study, rather than a study design that uses data from
multiple countries. Despite the issue of generalizability,
single-country studies have risen in prevalence since the late 2000s.
Publication peer review
Peer review
is a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession
within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain
standards of quality, improve performance, and provide credibility. In
academia, scholarly peer review
is often used to determine an academic paper's suitability for
publication. Usually, the peer review process involves experts in the
same field who are consulted by editors to give a review of the
scholarly works produced by a colleague of theirs from an unbiased and
impartial point of view, and this is usually done free of charge. The
tradition of peer reviews being done for free has however brought many
pitfalls which are also indicative of why most peer reviewers decline
many invitations to review.
It was observed that publications from periphery countries rarely rise
to the same elite status as those of North America and Europe, because
limitations on the availability of resources including high-quality
paper and sophisticated image-rendering software and printing tools
render these publications less able to satisfy standards currently
carrying formal or informal authority in the publishing industry.
These limitations in turn result in the under-representation of
scholars from periphery nations among the set of publications holding
prestige status relative to the quantity and quality of those scholars'
research efforts, and this under-representation in turn results in
disproportionately reduced acceptance of the results of their efforts as
contributions to the body of knowledge available worldwide.
Influence of the open-access movement
The open access movement assumes that all information generally
deemed useful should be free and belongs to a "public domain", that of
"humanity".
This idea gained prevalence as a result of Western colonial history and
ignores alternative conceptions of knowledge circulation. For instance,
most indigenous communities consider that access to certain information
proper to the group should be determined by relationships.
There is alleged to be a double standard in the Western knowledge
system. On the one hand, "digital right management" used to restrict
access to personal information on social networking platforms is
celebrated as a protection of privacy, while simultaneously when similar
functions are used by cultural groups (i.e. indigenous communities)
this is denounced as "access control" and reprehended as censorship.
Future perspectives
Even though Western dominance seems to be prominent in research, some scholars, such as Simon Marginson, argue for "the need [for] a plural university world". Marginson argues that the East Asian Confucian model could take over the Western model.
This could be due to changes in funding for research both in the
East and the West. Focused on emphasizing educational achievement, East
Asian cultures, mainly in China and South Korea, have encouraged the
increase of funding for research expansion.
In contrast, in the Western academic world, notably in the United
Kingdom as well as in some state governments in the United States,
funding cuts for university research have occurred, which some say may lead to the future decline of Western dominance in research.
Neo-colonial approaches
Neo-colonial research or neo-colonial science, frequently described as helicopter research, parachute science or research, parasitic research, or safari study, is when researchers from wealthier countries go to a developing country, collect information, travel back to their country, analyze the data and samples, and publish the results with no or little involvement of local researchers. A 2003 study by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences found that 70% of articles in a random sample of publications about least-developed countries did not include a local research co-author.
Frequently, during this kind of research, the local colleagues might be used to provide logistics support as fixers but are not engaged for their expertise or given credit for their participation in the research. Scientific publications
resulting from parachute science frequently only contribute to the
career of the scientists from rich countries, thus limiting the
development of local science capacity (such as funded research centers) and the careers of local scientists.
This form of "colonial" science has reverberations of 19th century
scientific practices of treating non-Western participants as "others" in
order to advance colonialism—and critics call for the end of these extractivist practices in order to decolonize knowledge.
This kind of research approach reduces the quality of research because
international researchers may not ask the right questions or draw
connections to local issues. The result of this approach is that local communities are unable to leverage the research to their own advantage. Ultimately, especially for fields dealing with global issues like conservation biology which rely on local communities to implement solutions, neo-colonial science prevents institutionalization of the findings in local communities in order to address issues being studied by scientists.
In several national and private academic systems, the professionalisation of research has resulted in formal job titles.
In Russia
In present-day Russia, and some other countries of the former Soviet Union, the term researcher (Russian: Научный сотрудник, nauchny sotrudnik)
has been used both as a generic term for a person who has been carrying
out scientific research, and as a job position within the frameworks of
the Academy of Sciences, universities, and in other research-oriented establishments.
The following ranks are known:
Junior Researcher (Junior Research Associate)
Researcher (Research Associate)
Senior Researcher (Senior Research Associate)
Leading Researcher (Leading Research Associate)
Chief Researcher (Chief Research Associate)
Publishing
Cover of the first issue of Nature, 4 November 1869
Academic publishing is a system that is necessary for academic scholars to peer review
the work and make it available for a wider audience. The system varies
widely by field and is also always changing, if often slowly. Most
academic work is published in journal article or book form. There is
also a large body of research that exists in either a thesis or
dissertation form. These forms of research can be found in databases
explicitly for theses and dissertations. In publishing, STM publishing
is an abbreviation for academic publications in science, technology, and
medicine.
Most established academic fields have their own scientific journals and other outlets for publication, though many academic journals
are somewhat interdisciplinary, and publish work from several distinct
fields or subfields. The kinds of publications that are accepted as
contributions of knowledge or research vary greatly between fields, from
the print to the electronic format. A study suggests that researchers
should not give great consideration to findings that are not replicated
frequently.
It has also been suggested that all published studies should be
subjected to some measure for assessing the validity or reliability of
its procedures to prevent the publication of unproven findings. Business models
are different in the electronic environment. Since about the early
1990s, licensing of electronic resources, particularly journals, has
been very common. Presently, a major trend, particularly with respect to
scholarly journals, is open access.
There are two main forms of open access: open access publishing, in
which the articles or the whole journal is freely available from the
time of publication, and self-archiving, where the author makes a copy of their own work freely available on the web.
Most funding for scientific research comes from three major sources: corporateresearch and development departments; private foundations; and government research councils such as the National Institutes of Health in the US and the Medical Research Council
in the UK. These are managed primarily through universities and in some
cases through military contractors. Many senior researchers (such as
group leaders) spend a significant amount of their time applying for
grants for research funds. These grants are necessary not only for
researchers to carry out their research but also as a source of merit.
The Social Psychology Network provides a comprehensive list of U.S. Government and private foundation funding sources.
"Health 2.0" is a term introduced in the mid-2000s, as the subset of health care technologies mirroring the wider Web 2.0
movement. It has been defined variously as including social media,
user-generated content, and cloud-based and mobile technologies. Some
Health 2.0 proponents see these technologies as empowering patients to
have greater control over their own health care and diminishing medical paternalism. Critics of the technologies have expressed concerns about possible misinformation and violations of patient privacy.
History
Health 2.0 built on the possibilities for changing health care, which started with the introduction of eHealth in the mid-1990s following the emergence of the World Wide Web. In the mid-2000s, following the widespread adoption both of the Internet and of easy to use tools for communication, social networking, and self-publishing,
there was spate of media attention to and increasing interest from
patients, clinicians, and medical librarians in using these tools for
health care and medical purposes.
Early examples of Health 2.0 were the use of a specific set of Web tools (blogs, email list-servs, online communities, podcasts, search, tagging, Twitter, videos, wikis, and more) by actors in health care including doctors, patients, and scientists, using principles of open source
and user-generated content, and the power of networks and social
networks in order to personalize health care, to collaborate, and to
promote health education.
Possible explanations why health care has generated its own "2.0" term
are the availability and proliferation of Health 2.0 applications across
health care in general, and the potential for improving public health in particular.
Current use
While the "2.0" moniker was originally associated with concepts like collaboration, openness, participation, and social networking, in recent years the term "Health 2.0" has evolved to mean the role of Saas and cloud-based
technologies, and their associated applications on multiple devices.
Health 2.0 describes the integration of these into much of general
clinical and administrative workflow in health care. As of 2014,
approximately 3,000 companies were offering products and services
matching this definition, with venture capital funding in the sector exceeding $2.3 billion in 2013.
Public Health 2.0
Public Health 2.0
is a movement within public health that aims to make the field more
accessible to the general public and more user-driven. The term is used
in three senses. In the first sense, "Public Health 2.0" is similar to
"Health 2.0" and describes the ways in which traditional public health
practitioners and institutions are reaching out (or could reach out) to
the public through social media and health blogs.
In the second sense, "Public Health 2.0" describes public health
research that uses data gathered from social networking sites, search
engine queries, cell phones, or other technologies.
A recent example is the proposal of statistical framework that utilizes
online user-generated content (from social media or search engine
queries) to estimate the impact of an influenza vaccination campaign in
the UK.
In the third sense, "Public Health 2.0" is used to describe public health activities that are completely user-driven. An example is the collection and sharing of information about environmental radiation levels after the March 2011 tsunami in Japan. In all cases, Public Health 2.0 draws on ideas from Web 2.0, such as crowdsourcing, information sharing, and user-centered design.
While many individual healthcare providers have started making their
own personal contributions to "Public Health 2.0" through personal
blogs, social profiles, and websites, other larger organizations, such
as the American Heart Association (AHA) and United Medical Education (UME), have a larger team of employees centered around online driven health education,
research, and training. These private organizations recognize the need
for free and easy to access health materials often building libraries of
educational articles.
Definitions
The "traditional" definition of "Health 2.0" focused on technology as an enabler for care collaboration:
"The use of social software t-weight tools to promote collaboration
between patients, their caregivers, medical professionals, and other
stakeholders in health."
In 2011, Indu Subaiya redefined Health 2.0 as the use in health care of new cloud, Saas, mobile, and device technologies that are:
Adaptable technologies which easily allow other tools and
applications to link and integrate with them, primarily through use of
accessible APIs
Focused on the user experience, bringing in the principles of user-centered design
Data driven, in that they both create data and present data to the user in order to help improve decision making
This wider definition allows recognition of what is or what isn't a
Health 2.0 technology. Typically, enterprise-based, customized
client-server systems are not, while more open, cloud based systems fit
the definition. However, this line was blurring by 2011-2 as more
enterprise vendors started to introduce cloud-based systems and native
applications for new devices like smartphones and tablets.
In addition, Health 2.0 has several competing terms, each with its own followers—if not exact definitions—including Connected Health, Digital Health, Medicine 2.0, and mHealth.
All of these support a goal of wider change to the health care system,
using technology-enabled system reform—usually changing the relationship
between patient and professional.:
Personalized search that looks into the long tail but cares about the user experience
Communities that capture the accumulated knowledge of patients, caregivers, and clinicians, and explains it to the world
Intelligent tools for content delivery—and transactions
Better integration of data with content
Wider health system definitions
In
the late 2000s, several commentators used Health 2.0 as a moniker for a
wider concept of system reform, seeking a participatory process between
patient and clinician: "New concept of health care wherein all the
constituents (patients, physicians, providers, and payers) focus on
health care value (outcomes/price) and use competition at the medical
condition level over the full cycle of care as the catalyst for
improving the safety, efficiency, and quality of health care".
Health 2.0 defines the combination of health data and health
information with (patient) experience, through the use of ICT, enabling
the citizen to become an active and responsible partner in his/her own
health and care pathway.
Health 2.0 is participatory healthcare. Enabled by information,
software, and communities that we collect or create, we the patients can
be effective partners in our own healthcare, and we the people can
participate in reshaping the health system itself.
Definitions of Medicine 2.0
appear to be very similar but typically include more scientific and
research aspects—Medicine 2.0: "Medicine 2.0 applications, services and
tools are Web-based services for health care consumers, caregivers,
patients, health professionals, and biomedical researchers, that use Web
2.0 technologies as well as semantic web and virtual reality tools, to
enable and facilitate specifically social networking, participation,
apomediation, collaboration, and openness within and between these user
groups.
Published in JMIR Tom Van de Belt, Lucien Engelenet al. systematic review found 46 (!) unique definitions of health 2.0
Overview
A model of Health 2.0
Health 2.0 refers to the use of a diverse set of technologies including Connected Health, electronic medical records, mHealth, telemedicine, and the use of the Internet by patients themselves such as through blogs, Internet forums, online communities, patient to physician communication systems, and other more advanced systems.
A key concept is that patients themselves should have greater insight
and control into information generated about them. Additionally Health
2.0 relies on the use of modern cloud and mobile-based technologies.
Much of the potential for change from Health 2.0 is facilitated
by combining technology driven trends such as Personal Health Records
with social networking —"[which] may lead to a powerful new generation
of health applications, where people share parts of their electronic
health records with other consumers and 'crowdsource' the collective
wisdom of other patients and professionals." Traditional models of medicine had patient records (held on paper or a proprietary computer system) that could only be accessed by a physician or other medical professional.
Physicians acted as gatekeepers to this information, telling patients
test results when and if they deemed it necessary. Such a model operates
relatively well in situations such as acute care, where information
about specific blood results would be of little use to a lay person, or in general practice where results were generally benign. However, in the case of complex chronic diseases, psychiatric disorders,
or diseases of unknown etiology patients were at risk of being left
without well-coordinated care because data about them was stored in a
variety of disparate places and in some cases might contain the opinions
of healthcare professionals which were not to be shared with the
patient. Increasingly, medical ethics deems such actions to be medical paternalism, and they are discouraged in modern medicine.
A hypothetical example demonstrates the increased engagement of a
patient operating in a Health 2.0 setting: a patient goes to see their primary care physician with a presenting complaint, having first ensured their own medical record
was up to date via the Internet. The treating physician might make a
diagnosis or send for tests, the results of which could be transmitted
directly to the patient's electronic medical record. If a second
appointment is needed, the patient will have had time to research what
the results might mean for them, what diagnoses may be likely, and may
have communicated with other patients who have had a similar set of
results in the past. On a second visit a referral might be made to a
specialist. The patient might have the opportunity to search for the
views of other patients on the best specialist to go to, and in
combination with their primary care physician decides whom to see. The
specialist gives a diagnosis along with a prognosis and potential
options for treatment. The patient has the opportunity to research these
treatment options and take a more proactive role in coming to a joint
decision with their healthcare provider. They can also choose to submit
more data about themselves, such as through a personalized genomics
service to identify any risk factors
that might improve or worsen their prognosis. As treatment commences,
the patient can track their health outcomes through a data-sharing
patient community to determine whether the treatment is having an effect
for them, and they can stay up to date on research opportunities and clinical trials for their condition. They also have the social support of communicating with other patients diagnosed with the same condition throughout the world.
Level of use of Web 2.0 in health care
Partly
due to weak definitions, the novelty of the endeavor and its nature as
an entrepreneurial (rather than academic) movement, little empirical evidence
exists to explain how much Web 2.0 is being used in general. While it
has been estimated that nearly one-third of the 100 million Americans
who have looked for health information online say that they or people
they know have been significantly helped by what they found, this study considers only the broader use of the Internet for health management.
A study examining physician practices has suggested that a
segment of 245,000 physicians in the U.S are using Web 2.0 for their
practice, indicating that use is beyond the stage of the early adopter with regard to physicians and Web 2.0.
The following are examples of uses that have been documented in academic literature.
Purpose
Description
Case example in academic literature
Users
Staying informed
Used to stay informed of latest developments in a particular field
Podcasts, RSS, and search tools
All (medical professionals and public)
Medical education
Use for professional development for doctors, and public health
promotion for by public health professionals and the general public
How podcasts can be used on the move to increase total available educational time or the many applications of these tools to public health
All (medical professionals and public)
Collaboration and practice
Web 2.0 tools use in daily practice for medical professionals to find information and make decisions
Google searches revealed the correct diagnosis in 15 out of 26 cases (58%, 95% confidence interval 38% to 77%) in a 2005 study
Doctors, nurses
Managing a particular disease
Patients who use search tools to find out information about a particular condition
Shown that patients have different patterns of usage depending on if
they are newly diagnosed or managing a severe long-term illness.
Long-term patients are more likely to connect to a community in Health
2.0
Public
Sharing data for research
Completing patient-reported outcomes and aggregating the data for personal and scientific research
Disease specific communities for patients with rare conditions
aggregate data on treatments, symptoms, and outcomes to improve their
decision making ability and carry out scientific research such as
observational trials
All (medical professionals and public)
Criticism of the use of Web 2.0 in health care
Hughes et al. (2009) argue there are four major tensions represented in the literature on Health/Medicine 2.0. These concern:
the lack of clear definitions
issues around the loss of control over information that doctors perceive
safety and the dangers of inaccurate information
issues of ownership and privacy
Several criticisms have been raised about the use of Web 2.0 in health care. Firstly, Google has limitations as a diagnostic tool for Medical Doctors (MDs), as it may be effective only for conditions with unique symptoms and signs that can easily be used as search term. Studies of its accuracy have returned varying results, and this remains in dispute.
Secondly, long-held concerns exist about the effects of patients
obtaining information online, such as the idea that patients may delay
seeking medical advice or accidentally reveal private medical data. Finally, concerns exist about the quality of user-generated content leading to misinformation, such as perpetuating the discredited claim that the MMR vaccine may cause autism. In contrast, a 2004 study of a British epilepsy online support group suggested that only 6% of information was factually wrong. In a 2007 Pew Research Center
survey of Americans, only 3% reported that online advice had caused
them serious harm, while nearly one-third reported that they or their
acquaintances had been helped by online health advice.
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