The future of teaching research in the social sciences

Abstract

Current literature on teaching research methodology in the social sciences highlights the changing nature of our world in terms of its complexity and diversity, and points to how this affects the way in which we search for answers to related problems (Brew 2003, 3; Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003, 74). New ways of approaching research problems that relate to the demands of practice need to be explored. This article presents a future possible scenario for teaching research in the social sciences based on a discussion of the changes in the way that knowledge production is viewed, and the effects of this on South African higher education. In so doing, it draws on the literature on changes in methodological movements in the social sciences. The future is predicted in terms of keywords that are prevalent in these bodies of literature such as pragmatic, interdependent, mixed methods, problem-solving, innovative and socially accountable knowledge.