In Search for an Agile Epistemology: Implicit Conceptions in Research

Luana Bruno; Alejandro Iborra Cuéllar

doi:10.18778/2450-4491.20.07

Auteurs

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

Mots-clés :

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

Résumé

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.

Biographies des auteurs

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.

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