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In a world driven by experience, the quest to find the best method and approach to scientific and psychological studies continues. Mcgartland and Polgar (1994) contend that psychology can be clearly seen to have two distinct methods of investigation- 1) The empirical- mathematical and 2) the culture interpretive method. In recognizing this, it is still often the empirical-mathematical approach that is dominantly used and the commitment to this method has, according to Mcgartland & Polgar (1994) not been successful in advancing the discipline of psychology, instead creating conceptual confusion. Rather then relying solely on one method it is suggested that in place must be a neat combination of both the quantitative and the qualitative that govern inquiry. The aim of this is to give rise to all aspects of the person being studied with the integration of the culture- interpreting method seeking knowledge about people in natural settings, revealing the context out of which personal meanings can arise in the everyday settings and the empirical-mathematical that reduces human nature to specific, operationally defined variables, the level of which can be objectively and consensually observed or measured. (p 21) Kuhn (1970 in Mcgartland & Polgar, 1994) questions whether scientific discoveries may be the source of the paradigm shifts that define the reinterpretation and restructuring of the discipline that makes it difficult to predict what will next lend form and direction to theoretical formulations and research findings of psychology.
Engel (1992) also pays close attention to the notion of paradigm shifts, and in doing so argues that while medicine has made many advances since the 17 th century they are still however bound by the school of thought in which scientists as objective observers are to regard nature as independent from themselves and unaffected by their act of observation (p 335). This is in accordance with the predominantly used empirical-mathematical methodology in psychology. Under the 20 th century paradigm characterized by Einstein and Heisenberg in Engel (1992) science is defined, as what is being studied is inseparable from the scientist, who devises mental constructs of his / her experiences with it as a means of characterizing his / her understanding of its properties and behaviour (p 336). The scientific worlds somewhat unwillingness to adapt this approach is at the heart of Engels argument.
This I foresee is more widely appropriate model, with the observational component (the measurable and categorical that is evidently in plain view e. g. hair colour) working concurrently with the relational. The relational mode is much more complex and hence gains less notoriety. The relational mode deals with language, symbolism and thoughts and feelings expressed that serve to clarify the meaning and accuracy of information gathered. Much like Mcgartland & Polgar's two methods approach this allows for concrete empirical evidence as well as the thoughts and feelings of clients being taken into account.
Strangely however I found, that whilst the observational method is afforded scientific status, the relational mode due to its attention to thought and feeling is not. Surely how one is feeling is just as relevant as the symptoms/ conditions they are presenting? One would think the two would be interdependent on each other to provide an accurate all round picture for diagnosis yet in the eyes of the scientific community, sadly I am mistaken. Perhaps it is nave of me to invest in such views, that the concrete and observational be integrated like that, which Mcgartland & Polgar put forth, but I believe it would make way for clearer conceptual ideas rather than the confusion that already exists.
Introducing a two-method model I foresee would clarify experience above all else. Isnt that what science is all about? Sources: Engel, G. (1992) How much longer must medicines science be bound by a seventeenth century world view? Family Systems Medicine, 10: 333 - 346. Mcgartland, M. & Polgar, S. (1994) Paradigm Collapse in Psychology: The Necessity for a Two Methods Approach; 29 (1): 21 - 28.
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Research essay sample on Mcgartland Amp Polgar Mcgartland Amp Polgar 1994 Method
