연구 설계는 가치 개입의 영역인가: 가치 개입에 관한 사회·문화 교과서 내용 분석을 중심으로

Abstract

This study aims to analyze whether the value problem of researchers is appropriately addressed in the process of scientific inquiry into social phenomena, focusing on the content of current socio-cultural textbooks. As a criterion for this analysis, this study attempted a theoretical discussion with a focus on “value relevance” and “research design.” The analysis results are as follows. First, the validity aspect of determining whether the concept of value relevance has been properly used was examined. The term “value relevance” as described in the textbook under analysis meant the researcher’s value judgment regarding whether it is worth researching at the stage of selecting the research question and purpose. On the other hand, “value relevance” was improperly used to refer to a “value judgment” influenced by the researcher’s bias which could distort the research results during the stages of selecting research subjects, collecting and analyzing data. Through this analysis, it was revealed that the concept of value relevance was used ambiguously in textbooks and was often conflated with the term “value judgment.” It should be emphasized that value judgment, in the context of value relevance, pertains to the awareness of which subject or causal factor is deemed more important and worth studying, and value judgment is related to the operation of prejudice at the research stage that requires value freedom. Since the process of scientific inquiry requires value freedom, the research design for it must also follow the rule of value freedom. Based on the analysis results, implications for problem-solving were presented in terms of curriculum, textbooks, and teachers’ training.