实证研究怎么做:让研究者困惑的地方——来自华东师大第二届全国教育实证研究论坛的启示

How to Do Empirical Research:What Puzzles Researchers——Literature Enlightenment from the Second National Educational Empirical Research Forumof East China Normal University

"第二届全国教育实证研究论坛"于2016年10月在华东师范大学举行,本届论坛重点围绕"怎么做实证研究"进行对话,展现了多样性的"怎么做"的实证研究成果。华东师大袁振国教授认为,我的信念,就是没有不能用实证方法研究的东西,关键在于能不能够有好的设计,能不能够找到好的方法。实证研究怎么做,是让研究者困惑的地方。这届论坛给我们呈现以下启示:一是实证研究议题以解决问题为要旨。这就要求研究的议题必须蕴含理论的、实践的和逻辑的价值,即"值得研究",而不是充满矛盾、无需证明的伪问题。二是实证方法实践内化为一种学术自觉。实证首先是一种实证思想,然后才是方法。实证研究必须从专业化的角度来提升实证方法的实质规范,这需要研究者在研究实践中不断反思、沉淀和提升。三是数据分析体现研究者的学术底蕴和智慧。实证研究就是要揭示事物之间的因果关系,科学的数据分析才能有一个确定的结论,这还需要研究者自身的经验与智慧不断在原始资料与已有理论之间进行假设、验证和建构。四是有价值的研究议题必须有经得起考验的诠释。这样的诠释才能避免研究结果解释方面存在的解释牵强和阐释肤浅的问题,甚至存在的数据分析过程复杂但研究结果无需证明的矛盾与尴尬。

"The Second National Educational Empirical Research Forum"was held in East China NormalUniversity in October,2016.Participants conducted a dialogue around"how to do empirical research"and demonstrated avariety of empirical research results.Professor Yuan Zhenguo from East China Normal University believed that there wasno thing that can not be studied with empirical methods and the key was whether we could have good design and find agood method.How to do empirical research was what puzzles researchers.The papers of this forum presented the followingenlightenment for us:First,empirical research aims to solve the problems.This requires that the research topic mustcontain theoretical,practical and logical value,that is"worthy studying",rather than pseudo problems full ofcontradictions or needn't to be proved.Second,the empirical method should be internalized as a kind of academicconsciousness of researchers.Positivism in philosophy is an empirical thought first,and then a method.Empirical researchmust promote the standardization of empirical methods from a professional point of view,which requires researchers toconstantly reflect,precipitate and promote in the research practice.Third,data analysis should reflect the researcher'sacademic wisdom.Empirical research is to reveal the causal relationship between things,and scientific data analysis willprovide a definite conclusion for this purpose,which requires the researcher's own experience and wisdom to constantly make assumptions,verification and construction between the original data and the existing theories.Fourth,valuableresearch must be tested and interpreted.Good interpretation can avoid many problems in the interpretation of researchresults,such as far-fetched or superficial explanation,and paradox that the data analysis process is complex,but theresults need not be proved.