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UID:pretalx-2022-3YFXZ7@conferences.acspri.org.au
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DESCRIPTION:This paper describes and evaluates the application of an explic
 itly critical realist methodology to a quantitative doctoral research proj
 ect on the causes of family homelessness in Australia. It focuses on how I
  applied the abstract philosophy of critical realism as a concrete and pra
 ctical framework for empirical research. Therefore\, it profiles the criti
 cal realist-informed methodological and analytical process I used to move 
 from empirical statistical data analysis to develop a theoretical model ex
 plaining why some Australian families become homeless\, and others do not.
  The paper demonstrates the role of critical realism in informing and defi
 ning my research approach and study design.\n\nCritical realism offers a s
 trong critique of positivism\, yet statistical methods are usually associa
 ted with a more positivist-leaning philosophy of science. Therefore\, a ce
 ntral objective of the presentation will be to summarise my arguments for 
 the appropriate use of statistical methods within a critical realist parad
 igm and provide an example of how I did this. \n\nFirst\, I outline severa
 l core foundations of critical realism\, in plain English. These include w
 hat critical realism has to say about the nature of the social world (onto
 logy) and how we can know it (epistemology). I show the impact of these ph
 ilosophical principles on my understanding of a complex and contingent cau
 sal complexity\, conceptualisation of the relationship between structure a
 nd agency\, and the increasing adoption of an interdisciplinary approach t
 o my inherently sociological research. \n\nSecond\, I outline the two data
  analysis stages of my approach. 1) Empirical Analysis. The initial focus 
 was to use quantitative data to develop a description of the nature\, char
 acteristics and relationships defining family homelessness in Australia. I
  used a mixture of descriptive statistics and panel regression techniques 
 on ABS Estimation of Homelessness\, Specialist Homelessness Service admini
 strative\, and Journeys Home longitudinal survey data. In these analyses\,
  I was looking for characteristics and patterns that suggest the presence 
 of structures\, mechanisms and contexts relevant to answering the core res
 earch question of the thesis: what are the causal mechanisms of contempora
 ry ‘cultural’ homelessness for disadvantaged Australian families with ch
 ildren? 2) Theoretical analysis. Due to the ontological commitments of cri
 tical realism\, we must explain what we observe by theorising the unobserv
 able causal mechanisms produced by the generative powers of social structu
 res (the social objects making up our social world). Developing explanator
 y theories\, therefore\, involves processes of abstraction and inference. 
 First\, to conceptually understand the nature of homelessness—the interna
 l and external relations that define it—through structural analysis. Then
 \, to explain why homelessness occurs—by asking ‘what makes homelessness
  possible’—by theorising through casual analysis the necessary and suffi
 cient causal mechanisms and conditions responsible.\n\nRecording link: htt
 ps://acspri-org-au.zoom.us/rec/share/bMvRMHyt1mxBmr3v9JEMtzw40XMlR7ie_q-pD
 BV0BwdJ1Nf47TlmI5mkRiBW5d4n.4ITWOzq9QFTcwMgN?startTime=1669172442000
DTSTAMP:20260716T084003Z
LOCATION:Zoom Breakout Room 2
SUMMARY:Critical realist empirical research: operationalising a philosophy 
 as a methodology in quantitative research - Dr Catherine Hastings
URL:https://conferences.acspri.org.au/2022/talk/3YFXZ7/
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