In Search for an Agile Epistemology: Implicit Conceptions in Research

Luana Bruno; Alejandro Iborra Cuéllar

doi:10.18778/2450-4491.20.07

Authors

Luana Bruno University of Alcalá https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7052-7228
Alejandro Iborra Cuéllar University of Alcalá https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8373-8622

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2450-4491.20.07

Keywords:

implicit conceptions, tacit knowledge, researcher identity, epistemological flexibility, interdisciplinary research

Abstract

This theoretical article explores the role of implicit conceptions in scientific research, focusing on how these hidden frameworks influence the design, execution, and interpretation of studies. Drawing on the concept of tacit knowledge (Polanyi 1966; Malik 2023), it examines how researchers’ intuitive and non-verbalizable understandings shape their theoretical, methodological, and collaborative practices. The discussion is structured around four dimensions: tacit knowledge as an epistemological foundation, researcher identity, contextual influences, including paradigmatic and epistemological tensions, and the assessment and monitoring of implicit conceptions. The article emphasizes the need for epistemological flexibility, encouraging researchers to navigate positivist, interpretative, and critical paradigms based on the phenomenon under study. It critiques the “publish or perish” logic, advocating for prioritizing quality and knowledge advancement over market pressures. By adopting interdisciplinary and transversal approaches, researchers can address complex phenomena more comprehensively. Finally, the article highlights the importance of lifelong and cross-disciplinary training to equip researchers for contemporary scientific challenges while fostering innovation and adaptability.

Author Biographies

Luana Bruno, University of Alcalá

Luana Bruno, a Doctor of Education and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Alcalá, has an extensive career in research and teaching. She is a co-creator, alongside Dr. Iborra and Dr. Lindquist, of the free emotional management app EMOTONGUE. Currently, she is researching emotional development and change, as well as migration and gender studies. She participates in international projects on migration and affective-sexual relationships in adolescents. As a lecturer, she has taught at the Faculty of Education Sciences in Primary and Early Childhood Education programs, and postgraduate courses such as the Master’s in University Teaching and the Master’s in Secondary Education Teacher Training. She holds international certificates in Collaborative Practices and Systemic Therapy. From March 2017 to May 2021, she was a researcher in the FPU program at the Department of Education Sciences at the University of Alcalá. She has conducted research stays in the U.S., Germany, Poland, and Italy.

Alejandro Iborra Cuéllar, University of Alcalá

Alejandro Iborra Cuéllar is a Doctor of Psychology from the University of Valencia and an Associate Professor at the University of Alcalá since 2002. He served as the Head of the Department of Education Sciences from 2013 to 2019 and currently coordinates the Doctoral Program in Education and directs the Daisaku Ikeda Education and Development Institute (IEDDAI). His training includes studies in Integrative Gestalt Therapy, Remodeled NLP, and Systemic Therapy, and he has extensively published on personal identity formation and collaborative-experiential-transformational learning. He has taught in Psychopedagogy, Primary Education, and postgraduate programs such as the Master’s in University Teaching and the Master’s in Secondary Education Teacher Training. He has carried out research stays at universities in the United States, England, and the Netherlands, and participated in international educational projects in Equatorial Guinea, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

References

Bergman M. M. (2010) On Concepts and Paradigms in Mixed Methods Research, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, nr 4(3), s. 171–175, https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689810376950
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689810376950

Brew A., Saunders C. (2020) Making Sense of Research-Based Learning in Teacher Education, Teaching and Teacher Education, nr 87, 102935, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102935
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102935

Brown B. A., Ryoo K. (2008) Teaching Science as a Language: A “Content-First” Approach to Science Teaching, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, nr 45(5), s. 529–553, https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20255
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20255

Bruno L., Iborra A. (w druku) Unheard Voices: Emotional Exclusion of Migrant Students in Spain’s Schools through Poetic Inquiry, Culture and Organization.
Google Scholar

Call-Cummings M., Hauber-Özer M., Dazzo G. (2019) Examining Researcher Identity Development within the Context of a Course on PAR: A Layered Narrative Approach, The Qualitative Report, nr 24(9), s. 2178–2196, https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3950
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3950

Castelló M., McAlpine L., Sala-Bubaré A., Inouye K., Skakni I. (2020) What Perspectives Underlie ‘Researcher Identity’? A Review of Two Decades of Empirical Studies, Higher Education, nr 81, s. 567–590, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00557-8
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00557-8

Chan K. Y. K., Wheeler J. D. (2023) Common Interests Without Common Expertise: Reflections on Early-Career Experiences in Cross-Disciplinary Research, Integrative and Comparative Biology, nr 63(6), s. 1543–1554, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad035
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icad035

Ellis C., Adams T. E., Bochner A. P. (2011) Autoethnography: An Overview, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung: Qualitative Social Research, nr 12(1), https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-12.1.1589
Google Scholar

Faulkner S. L. (2020) Poetic Inquiry: Craft, Method and Practice, New York, NY – London, Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351044233
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351044233

Gill D. (2011) Beyond the Qualitative–Quantitative Dichotomy: Notes from a Non-Qualitative Researcher, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, nr 3, s. 305–312, https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2011.607184
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2011.607184

Guba E., Lincoln Y. S. (1989) Fourth Generation Evaluation, Newbury Park, CA, Sage Publications.
Google Scholar

Holbrook J. B. (2013) What is Interdisciplinary Communication? Reflections on the Very Idea of Disciplinary Integration, Synthese, nr 190(11), s. 1865–1879, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-012-0179-7
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-012-0179-7

Kiley M., Mullins G. (2005) Supervisors’ Conceptions of Research: What Are They?, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, nr 49(3), s. 245–262, https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830500109550
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830500109550

Kuhn T. S. (1962/1996) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 3rd ed., Chicago, IL – London, University of Chicago Press.
Google Scholar

Lattuca L. R., Voigt L. J., Fath K. Q. (2004) Does Interdisciplinarity Promote Learning? Theoretical Support and Researchable Questions, The Review of Higher Education, nr 28(1), s. 23–48, https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2004.0028
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2004.0028

Leavy P. (2015) Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice, 2nd ed., New York, NY, Guilford Press.
Google Scholar

Long P. R. (2016) Living Alongside: A Narrative Inquiry Into the Impact of Reflective Practice Training in Real Life [doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee], https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3718/ (dostęp: 1.12.2024).
Google Scholar

Malik A. (2023) Tacit Knowing: What It Is and Why It Matters, Episteme, nr 20(2), s. 349–366, https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2021.41
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2021.41

Matthiesen N., Wegener C. (2019) The Discomfort of Writing in Academia, [w:] L. Tateo (red.), Educational Dilemmas: A Cultural Psychological Perspective, London, Routledge, s. 112–125, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315101095-7
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315101095-7

McGannon K., Schweinbenz A. (2011) Traversing the Qualitative–Quantitative Divide Using Mixed Methods: Some Reflections and Reconciliations for Sport and Exercise Psychology, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, nr 3(3), s. 370–384, https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2011.607187
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2011.607187

Meyer J. H. F., Shanahan M. P., Laugksch R. C. (2005) Students’ Conceptions of Research. I: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, nr 49(3), s. 225–244, https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830500109535
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830500109535

Osbeck L. M., Nersessian N. J. (2017) Epistemic Identities in Interdisciplinary Science, Perspectives on Science, nr 25(2), s. 226–260, https://doi.org/10.1162/posc_a_00242
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/POSC_a_00242

Polanyi M. (1966) The Tacit Dimension, Garden City, NY, Doubleday.
Google Scholar

Prendergast M. (2009) Poetic Inquiry: An Overview of a Burgeoning Field, Rivista di Psicologia Clinica, nr 1, s. 183–193.
Google Scholar

Prendergast M., Leggo C., Sameshima P. (red.) (2009) Poetic Inquiry: Vibrant Voices in the Social Sciences, Leiden – Boston, MA, Brill, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087909512
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087909512

Pitcher R. (2011) Doctoral Students’ Conceptions of Research, The Qualitative Report, nr 16(4), s. 971–983, https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1116
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2011.1116

Rathbone A. P., Jamie K. (2016) Transferring from Clinical Pharmacy Practice to Qualitative Research: Questioning Identity, Epistemology, and Ethical Frameworks, Sociological Research Online, nr 21(2), s. 1–9, https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3888
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.5153/sro.3888

Readdy T., Raabe J., Harding J. (2014) Student-Athletes’ Perceptions of an Extrinsic Reward Program: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Self-Determination Theory in the Context of College Football, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, nr 26, s. 157–171, https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2013.816801
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2013.816801

Repko A. F. (2008) Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications.
Google Scholar

Rowbottom D. P. (2011) Kuhn vs. Popper on Criticism and Dogmatism in Science: A Resolution at the Group Level, Synthese, nr 178(1), s. 111–119, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2010.11.031
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2010.11.031

Saldaña J. (2011) Ethnodrama: An Anthology of Reality Theatre, New York, NY – Toronto – Oxford, AltaMira Press.
Google Scholar

Sandoval W. A. (2005) Understanding Students’ Practical Epistemologies and Their Influence on Learning through Inquiry, Science Education, nr 89(4), s. 634–656, https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20065
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20065

Sparkes A. (2002) Telling Tales in Sport and Physical Activity: A Qualitative Journey, Champaign, IL, Human Kinetics.
Google Scholar

Sparkes A. C. (2015) Developing Mixed Methods Research in Sport and Exercise Psychology: Critical Reflections on Five Points of Controversy, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, nr 16, s. 49–59, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.014
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.014

Sparkes A. C., Smith B. (2013) Qualitative Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health: From Process to Product, London, Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852187
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203852187

Szulevicz T., Lund P. C., Lund R. L. (2022) Social Normativity of Research Methods and the Methodological Discrepancy Between Mainstream Psychological Research and Danish Psychology Students’ Master’s Thesis Projects, Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, nr 56(4), s. 863–878, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-021-09612-0
Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-021-09612-0