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3.1.1: Why an auto/biographic case study approach?In keeping with the insights of Michael Polanyi (1962), I have become uncomfortable with theoutcomes of positivist and quantitative methods, the so-called ‘scientific’ approaches (See e.g.Scott, (2000); Dawkins, (2006), “…the dominant form in educational research” (Whitehead andMcNiff, 2006 p. 4). I have, therefore, selected a combination of methods that are at the otherend of the research paradigm continuum as articulated by, for example, Guba (1990), Elliot(1991), Somekh (1995) and Hopkins (2002). My reluctance to use surveys, statistics ormeasurement scales is based on the interpretation of apparently ‘raw’ data seeming to bedependent on the mindset, prejudices and preoccupations of the researchers (e.g. OFSTED,2004; Dawkins 2006, OFSTED 2007). This is a view shared, and extended, by others workingwith the ‘fuzziness’ of educational practice and personal and professional development:“The methodology preferred in investigating the problem of understanding human socialbehaviour, it is implied, needs to be addressed by ‘large scale’ quantitative methods, whichproduce verifiable and ‘tested’ data. Tested does not mean the same as true, as theunderstanding arrived at remains partial.” (Reid, 2008 p. 22)Reid’s work - which owes much to the mentoring of Linden West in Canterbury - has attemptedto find an approach to research that takes account of the complexity of human experiencebecause, “... different people will construe the world in different ways according to their socialviewpoint thereby producing versions of reality” (Reid, ibid). She notes also, within thisconstruct, that it is impossible to extract the researcher from the research (Reid, 2008 p. 23) andgoes on to make a crucial point for my study:“Rather than trying to distance ourselves or apologise for our involvement, byacknowledging the self in research we can engage with our pre-existing understandingsand assumptions ...” (Reid, 2008 p. 25)142Simon Hughes Ph.D. Thesis (October 2012)