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THE
OBJECT OF MEETING IN A RESEARCH LODGE Bro.
Robert Eugene Juthner, P.D.D.G.M.
Inaugural Address
(81-09-26) PART
1 -
INTRODUCTION Though the purpose of this paper is partly
characterized by its title, the author will attempt to go beyond the
mere justification for conducting Masonic research, by discussing some
of the do's and don'ts of research writing, and research into matters of
Masonic interest. In
covering these matters which the writer believes to be essential for
research to produce honest and unbiased results, the reader should keep
in mind that none of the statements herein are meant to be dogmatic or
to discourage the would-be, first-time investigator by the sheer number
of considerations to be obeyed; the intention is quite to the contrary:
to encourage Masonic research which will lead to useful conclusions and,
through this paper, to provide a set of guidelines which can be tailored
to specific applications. Ordinarily, the division of a paper into parts, and the
use of sub-titles should be avoided.
In this case it is expected that some future researchers may want
to use this paper as a reference manual, therefore, to facilitate
locating points of interest, the paper is divided into four parts: an
introduction, a discussion of the types of research, the tools of
research, and writing the research report. As will be quite evident to the Masonic reader, the
title was chosen in allusion to a certain passage in the General Charge
given during the installation ceremonies in this and many other Grand
Jurisdictions. There it is
said that The object . . . of meeting in the lodge is of a
two-fold nature, namely, moral instruction and social intercourse.
Our meetings are intended to cultivate and enlighten the mind, to
induce the habit of virtue, and to strengthen the fundamental principles
of our order: Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. (and)..... the chief
point in Freemasonry (is) to endeavour to be happy ourselves, and to
communicate that happiness to others. (1) There are several more pertinent statements following
the quoted passage, but it may suffice for the purposes of this paper
just to recall this description of the object of meeting in what could
be termed a "degree-granting institution", namely a constituent lodge
devoted to the making of Masons.
How then does a research lodge differ from her members' mother
lodges? 1
Alberta, The Grand Lodge of, Ceremony for investing the Officers of a Lodge, 1973, p. 35 A recent Canadian Masonic publication, Meeting the
Challenge, devotes the following few lines to a description of a
research lodge:
Research lodges and other masonic research groups hold regular meetings
at which original papers are read; these papers are then published in
the form of "Transactions" which are sent to all members of the group.
Most of the papers deal with matters of history.
Sometimes as well these bodies will try to provide answers to
specific questions about the reasons for certain Masonic customs.
The lodges are usually permitted to accept
non-resident members into a "Correspondence Circle." (2) This
description fits FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH quite well, but it is the
sincere hope of this writer that papers dealing with "matters of
history" will not occupy the number one position among future research
work, but that some of the work will be aimed at providing valid and
reliable data which can be used for better informed decision-making on
the floor of Grand Lodge.
Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry is silent on the subject of
research lodges, a circumstance easily explained by the fact that its
copyrighted first edition dates from 1873, whereas Quatuor Coronati
Lodge No. 2076 of London, the first research lodge, was warranted in
1884, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, copyright 1961, offers an enumeration
of research lodges and associations in the British Isles, the United
States, and even Canada by mentioning the Toronto Society for Masonic
Study and Research, but it neglects to mention those in other parts of
the world, such as Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Guyana, New South
Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria
(Australia) and Western Australia. (A more complete listing may be found
in the appendix to this paper.) Coil justly accords Quatuor Coronati the
status of premier research lodge in the world,
. . . which has furnished the example for all subsequent
research lodges. (3)
He is less kind to others when he goes on to say,
The name (research lodge) has, however, been more popular than has
actual research, so that the title is often used by lodges that do very
little research. Such a
lodge requires a working membership of dedicated students and a location
near one of the great Masonic libraries . . . (4)
It is well for the brethren of a fledgling research lodge to heed
Brother Coil's warning regarding the quality of actual research work.
What an Alberta lodge can do about his other statement, concerning
the proximity of "one of the great Masonic libraries" remains to be seen
or, in other words, poses a problem to be solved.
Part VIII of the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Alberta provides for
research lodges in this Grand Jurisdiction.
Article 1000 (1) states,
Lodges for the purpose of conducting research in any or all aspects of
Craft Masonry may he formed with the consent of the Grand Master and The
Grand Lodge of Alberta. (5) 2
Canada in the Province of Ontario, Grand Lodge of, Meeting the Challenge, 1976, p. 72 3 H. W. Coil,
Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, 1961, p. 523 4 ibid. 5 Alberta, Grand
Lodge of, Constitution, 1980, p. 97A Extracts from other significant passages are: 1010 (1) Research Lodges may admit as subscribing
members those who desire to be aware of and support the progress of
Masonic
research in Alberta, but who do not desire full membership . . . (6)
and
1012 (2) Research Lodges shall not initiate, pass, or raise candidates,
but when tyled may exemplify parts or all of any degree of Craft
Masonry. (7)
Of these three articles, the first quoted gives an extremely broad
mandate to a research lodge, namely to conduct research in any or all
aspects of Craft Masonry. The only restriction implied is in the word "Craft", but
there is no limitation as to Masonic Craft rites practised throughout
the world. Likewise, and
fortunately, there is also no restriction as to the topic or field of
concentration, such as history, organization, lineage, jurisprudence,
the liberal arts and social sciences, ritual and symbolism, and
philosophy. Had the Masonic lawgivers expanded on that mandate, the
challenge to the brethren in a research lodge would have diminished.
The second quotation corresponds to the statement by Coil, quoted
earlier, regarding correspondence circles, or subscribing memberships,
as they are termed in Alberta.
A pool of subscribing members is important, not so much to finance I:he
research lodge's publications, as it is more likely that in case of
deficit the regular members will pick up the slack, but to enlarge the
audience and thus to make the efforts of the researchers and authors
worth-while.
Implied in this is the desire to raise the work of the research
lodge above the suspicion of self-centredness to the level of service to
the Craft at large.
The third quotation was included here to emphasize that it is not in the
province of the research lodge to make Masons but, if found desirable,
to make degrees of Craft Masonry, or parts thereof, the object of
exemplification. This
particular aspect may remain among the rare occasions in the life of the
research lodge, but the mechanism for it is embodied in the
Constitution.
All of these last three quotations assist us in answering the question
"what is the object of meeting in a research lodge?" Quite evidently,
many more objects or objectives can be added, introducing the opinions
of learned and experienced brethren; for the purposes of this paper,
however, the above references to existing literature shall suffice.
Aside from this, how shall one justify the formation of a research
lodge? There are no statistical data to support a voiced need for such a
body, mainly because there had been no prior research into that problem!
Therefore, the following statement is completely unresearched; it is
pure conjecture on part of the writer, but probably quite accurate:
There was a desire for in-depth studies into matters Masonic among some
(by far not all) brethren in the jurisdiction, which crystallized into
rumblings communicated to some in authority.
They in turn, selected one brother with proven potential to carry the
torch, and to gather around him others of like inclination so as to make
something tangible out of what had hitherto been a mass of primordial
protoplasm. - This may have been the way in which FIAT LUX LODGE OF
RESEARCH came about. 6 ibid.,
p. 97B
7 ibid., p. 97C Before we go any further, it is well to define the term
research. We have all heard the supposed witticism to the effect that
when one copies from one source he is guilty of plagiarism, but when
he copies from several sources, he has conducted research! That is not
very kind. The
unabbreviated Oxford International Dictionary offers the following
definition:
An investigation directed to the discovery of some fact by careful study
of a subject; a course of critical or scientific inquiry. (8)
The key words here are "discovery", "careful" and "critical".
A Dictionary of Psychology
(by James Drever) defines research thus:
Systematic scientific investigation in pursuit of knowledge, or
confirmation, in any field. (9)
Standard dictionaries provide various, mostly similar and never
contradictory definitions, but they rarely enlarge on the intricacies of
the research process. There
are different approaches to research, partly because of the difference
in raw data, and partly because of the difference between fields of
study.
To explain, there is a marked difference between the study of the
behaviour of rats in a clinical experiment, research into historical
events, and an opinion poll. Naturally, we deal with entirely different data and must,
therefore, use an entirely different approach each time. Tyrus Hillway
distinguishes between three "Types of Research" (10). He calls these
types "Fact-Finding", "Critical Interpretation" and, for the want of a
better name "Complete Research." "Fact-Finding Research" consists of a
search for facts without any attempt to generalize or to use these facts
to solve a problem.
This type of research may be important in laying the ground work
for further studies.
Hillway explains by use of the following examples, which could easily be
translated into Masonic areas of concern:
Suppose a scholar is investigating the history of a certain college. He
collects old records, catalogues, newspaper accounts, letters, diaries,
and so on to establish the facts of the institution's growth and
development. . . . Unless he is seeking to prove some generalization
about the college, his task essentially consists of factfinding.
The same would ordinarily be true for a scholar attempting to write the
biography of some notable person in his field.
Unless the study goes into such matters as an evaluation of the
person's character, an assessment of the benefits derived from his
contributions to the field, or judgments of a similar nature, the work
involved in the study amounts almost entirely to fact-finding. A scholar who compiles a bibliography of all books and
articles published on a certain topic . . . or a statistical examination
of . . . any one of a vast number of activities in scholarship which
involve making a record of the facts relating to a situation which is
being investigated - such a scholar is conducting research on the
factfinding level. (11) 8 Oxford
International Dictionary,
1958,
p. 1712 9 Drever,
A Dictionary of Psychology,
1964,
p. 248 10 Hallway, introduction to Research, Ch. 7, pp. 99-106 11
Ibid., p. 100 Freemasonry, closely connected to philosophy and
literature, may
however be dealing with ideas a great deal more than with facts. We
realize that much, if not all of our traditional history has no
foundation whatsoever in recorded history, and is included in our
teachings - not because it is historically true - but because of the
great and immutable Truths (with a capital T) it conveys. Such research
may then consist primarily of a critical interpretation of these ideas.
Hillway states,
Probably the only method of approach to the question would be an
analysis and classification of the opinions expressed and a critical
interpretation of them, showing in a logical way the strength and
weakness, the reasonableness or unreasonableness, of each opinion found
and of any further ideas on the matter which the scholar himself might
have.
Then, having reasoned out in his own mind a logical and acceptable
answer to the question, the scholar might state this answer as his own
considered opinion. This often results in an essay rather than in a
research report. (12)
We can readily see the difference between these two approaches; in the
first case we dealt with fact-finding and its reporting; in the other,
where conclusions rest chiefly upon logic and reasoned opinion, we deal
with critical interpretation.
This process is not without value, especially in Masonic research,
because it enables us to arrive at conclusions on matters about which
clearly established facts are scarce or even non-existent. Hillway
mentions three particular characteristics which must be present in
critical interpretation.
First, the argument must agree with known facts and principles in the
field under investigation; second, the arguments must be clear and
reasonable, and must follow logic; the steps in reasoning that led to
the conclusions must be clearly demonstrable, and the whole reasoning
must be " . . . so impeccably honest and so thoroughly complete that the
reader will be. . . impelled by it to accept the scholar's conclusions.
Third, the argument must have an outcome representing the reasoned
opinion of the researcher, an opinion based on accepted facts and
principles, and supported by logic as well as all available evidence.
In this context Hillway warns against conclusions which rely on the
scholar's intuitive or general impressions rather than upon specific and
reasoned argument. (13)
Hillway's third type of research, which he calls Complete Research,
makes use of both fact-finding and reasoning. Fact-finding alone does
not usually solve problems, and critical interpretation, while often
meant to solve a problem may not always be based on factual evidence but
sometimes relies on mere speculation.
Complete research, on the other hand, is said to have the following
characteristics: first, there has to be a problem to be solved; second,
it requires a body of evidence mostly provable facts and occasionally
expert opinions -; third, analysis of that evidence and its testing with
regard to the problem; fourth, arranging the evidence into logical
arguments so as to lead to the solution of the problem; and fifth, a
definite answer or conclusion solving the problem. (14)
From the foregoing it is evident that Complete Research makes great
demands on the scholar as it requires long and painstaking search for
factual evidence, complete searches of available literature, and the
weighing of the results of previous investigations done by others. 12 ibid., pp. 101-102
13 Ibid., pp. 102-103 14 Ibid., pp. 103-105
Another authority on research, John W. Best of Butler University,
stresses the point that "Research involves gathering new data or using
existing data for a new purpose from primary or first-hand sources. . .
. merely reorganizing or restating what is already known and what has
already been written is not research." (15)
This verdict is apt to deliver a stunning blow to both the efforts and
the ego of this writer who, therefore,must seek solace in the hope of
bringing into focus,for the purposes of research to be conducted by
members of FIAT LUX LODGE OF RESEARCH, some of the basic elements of
scientific inquiry already well known to the research community.
Best points out that
Research always involves an analysis of the relationships between causes
and effects which imply the possibilities of empirical testing. Certain
interesting problems do not lend themselves to research procedures
because they are metaphysical; they cannot be tested empirically.
Research rejects revelation and dogma as methods of gaining reliable
knowledge and accepts only what can be verified by observation. (16)
It is well for the would-be researcher in matters Masonic to remember
this because so much in Freemasonry is in the realm of metaphysics.
This statement is not meant to discourage the Masonic scholar from
delving into areas such as philosophy or symbolism, quite the contrary,
but to emphasize the importance of the right choice of research method
which lends itself to solving the problem at hand.
What Hillway called an "impeccably honest" approach, Best puts into
these words:
The researcher strives to eliminate personal feeling and bias. There is
no attempt to persuade or to prove an emotionally-held conviction. The
emphasis is on testing rather than on proving the hypothesis.
Although absolute objectivity is probably as elusive as pure
righteousness, the researcher tries to suppress bias and emotion in his
analysis. (17)
This passage should be read, and re-read, until firmly entrenched in the
mind and attitude of every Masonic researcher.
Too often personal bias rears its ugly, or rather unscientific,
head in papers delivered before Masonic audiences, something that,
hopefully, is never to happen in this lodge.
But, what does this mean? This "impeccable honesty" or "absence of
bias," demanded of any researcher and, therefore also of the Masonic
scholar, directs him to report on all of his findings and to base his
conclusions and recommendations on everything unearthed by him without
deleting what has come up which contradicts his original hypothesis, or
pet idea. In other words,
the outcome of one's research project might completely contrast a point
one wanted to make but, nevertheless, it must be reported.
Only that constitutes honest research, no matter how unpopular the
conclusions may be.
Therefore, research must be a process of testing, rather than proving,
implying an objectivity that lets the data lead where they may. 15 Best,' Research in Education, 1970, p. 9 16 Ibid.
17 ibid., p. 10 Hallway, cited earlier in this paper, also has an
answer to the question,
What is not Research?
The beginning scholar sometimes imagines that, when he has recorded the
opinions of a great many experts upon some subject and then announced
his own opinion, he has done research.
This is not the case. To know the opinions of others may be helpful, but
it solves no problems. Problem solving can be accomplished scientifically only
through gathering and weighing the factual evidence.
Furthermore, the beginning scholar is likely to think that, because he
has invented a plausible theory to explain the phenomenon he is
investigating, his work has been completed.
The theory still remains to be tested and proved - that is, the scholar
must marshal his evidence in support of his idea.
Too many scholars fall in love with hypotheses which have no
support except their inventors' faith. (18)
Let it not be said that all this is well as far as the world of science
is concerned but that it has no application to Masonic lay research, as
witness the entry customarily printed in the inside cover of Ars Quatuor
Coronatorum, the transactions of the premier research lodge.
Under the heading "About the Quatuor Coronati Lodge" we read, among
other things,
Inevitably they (the founders) became known as the Authentic School",
leaders in a new style of Masonic Research which shunned those baseless
and imaginary studies that had bedeviled Craft historians for more than
a century. (19)
Although the reference here is primarily to previous efforts to link
modern Freemasonry with hoar antiquity for the purpose of lending more
respectability and to overawe the reader, the articles published in Ars
Quatuor Coronatorum, and the integrity of the editor's blue-pencil
evident in them, show beyond any doubt that the "impeccable honesty"
referred to earlier is rigidly applied to their publications, regardless
of theme. This we must
emulate in FIAT LUX and its publication Vox Lucis.
PART 2 - TYPES OF RESEARCH
Earlier in this paper we have discussed Hallway's three types of
research, the "fact-finding", the "critical interpretation", and the
so-called "complete research." To this writer's mind they are not so
much types, but rather methods, or possibly levels of research, thereby
reserving the term "type" to a characterization of three entirely
different kinds of research.
These are agreed on by many authors as Historical Research,
Descriptive Research and Experimental Research.
Historical Research is said to describe what was, Descriptive
Research what is, and Experimental Research what will be.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH
Obtaining knowledge about the past has always intrigued men in general,
and Freemasons in particular, but the historian's approach has changed
considerably through the ages. It was not uncommon among early writers to create
18 Hillway, op.cit., p. 106
19 Quatuor Coronati, A.Q.C., any issue literary masterpieces in place of objective reports of
happenings.
Also, for centuries, objective truth often yielded to a
glorification of the church or the state.
This state of affairs has been largely overcome by now, although at
times personal or national bias is still evident in the reporting.
Properly done, historical research is carried out by collecting facts
from the past, by examining and verifying them, and by presenting those
facts in a report that will stand the test of critical examination.
Historical research, therefore, is a critical search for truth.
When engaged in gathering the facts, primary sources such as the
testimonies of eye witnesses or actual objects used in the past, relics
that can be directly traced to the event under investigation, are the
basic materials of historical research.
Secondary sources may be less trustworthy, as they represent materials
based on third-, fourth- and fifth-hand information. They can, however,
serve useful purposes by leading the researcher to work previously done
in the field and to primary sources which he should consult.
During the stage of examining and verifying, the researcher checks
each fact or account of past happenings meticulously, to determine its
trustworthiness, and if suspecting that a document contains errors, to
endeavour to detect whether they are unintentional or deliberate
deceptions. A 20th Century historian must be careful not to read into
documents of earlier periods the conceptions of later times, and he will
really have to show his competence when comparing conflicting
testimonies pertaining to the same event or condition in history.
Not unlike the physical scientist, the historian too formulates
hypotheses to be tested, but the types of hypotheses and procedures for
testing differ from those of the physical scientist because some of the
factors he is investigating may be unmeasurable or unrecorded, and
historical phenomena may have many more complicated interrelationships
than physical science phenomena.
Historians cannot set up experiments in which they can control
conditions; therefore they must confine their examinations to the
relevant data available.
Their credibility judgments may then be arrived at by the use of a
confidence scale, ranging from near certainty at one end to considerable
doubt on the other. It
follows that historical researchers must above all be cautious to a
fault, in accepting evidence as reliable and trustworthy.
The reliability of a historical research report, however, is not merely
determined by how critically the historian examined his source materials
but also by how well informed he is about the past and the present.
His interpretation of the struggles among the tribes of Israel, for
example, will depend a great deal on how much he knows about early
Jewish society, his knowledge of psychology and human behaviour and his
familiarity with the past and the present, so as not to misinterpret
important events from the past.
In this context, Marc Block writes,
. . . misunderstanding of the present is the inevitable consequence of
ignorance of the past. But a man may wear himself out just as fruitlessly in seeking
to understand the past, if he is totally ignorant of the present. (20) Earlier in this paper the statement was made that
"Historical Research is said to describe what was." This can be an end
in itself, but it is more likely that the researcher would want to
generalize, and predict future events on the basis of his findings, as
physical scientists would do.
Not all historians agree that this can be done.
Those taking the negative view do so because, they say, past events
were often unplanned and
developed because of the influence of one or few individuals leading to
results which will never be repeated; witness
20 Block, M., The Historian's Craft, 1953, p. 43
reports may suffer from doubtful competence or doubtful objectivity; the
historian cannot control the conditions of observation or manipulate the
significant variables. Those who contend that historical investigation may have
characteristics of scientific research activity present these arguments:
the historian also delimits a problem, formulates hypotheses, gathers
and analyzes data, tests hypotheses, and formulates generalizations or
conclusions; he may have witnesses who have observed the event from
different vantage points and he subjects the evidence to critical
analysis in order to establish its authenticity, truthfulness and
accuracy; in reaching conclusions he employs principles of probability
as do physical scientists; and
Although it is true that the historian cannot control the variables
directly, this limitation also characterizes most behavioral research,
particularly nonlaboratory investigations in sociology, social
psychology, and economics. (21)
On the topic of generalization in historical research,
M. I. Finley comments:
. . . the question at issue is the nature of the historian's function.
Is it only to recapture the individual, concrete events of a past
age, as in a mirror, so that the progress of history is merely one of
rediscovering lost data and of building bigger and better reflectors? If
so, then the chronicle is the only correct form for his work.
But if it is to understand however one chooses to define the word
- then it is to generalize, for every explanation is, or implies, one or
more generalizations. (22)
On the writing of the historical research report, Best says,
No less challenging than research itself is the writing of the report,
which calls for creativity in addition to the qualities of imagination
and resourcefulness . . . Research reports should be written in a style
that is dignified and objective. However, the historian is permitted a little more freedom in
reporting. (23)
To conclude this section of the present paper, an enumeration of common
faults which plague beginners' historical-research projects is given
below, again in the words of John W. Best:
1. Problem too broadly stated.
2. Tendency to use easy-to-find secondary sources of data, rather than
sufficient primary sources . . .
3. Inadequate historical criticism of data, due to failure to establish
authenticity of sources and trustworthiness of data. For example, there
is often a tendency to accept a statement as necessarily true when
several observers agree. It
is possible that one may have influenced the other, or that all were
influenced by the same inaccurate source of information.
4. Poor logical analysis resulting from: (a) Oversimplification - failure to recognize the fact
that causes of events are more often multiple and complex than single
and simple.
(b) overgeneralization on the basis of insufficient evidence, and false
reasoning by analogy, basing conclusions upon superficial similarities
of situations. 21 Best, op. cit., pp. 98, 99 22 Finley, M.I., "Generalizations in Ancient History",
1963, p. 34
23 Best, op.cit., pp. 109, 110
(c) Failure to interpret words and expressions in the light of their
accepted meaning in an earlier period.
(d) Failure to distinguish between significant facts in a situation and
those that are irrelevant or unimportant.
5. Expression of personal bias, as revealed by statements lifted out of
context for purposes of persuasion, assuming too generous or uncritical
an attitude toward a person or idea (or being too unfriendly or
critical), excessive admiration for the past . . . or an equally
unrealistic admiration for the new or contemporary, assuming that all
change represents progress.
6. Poor reporting in a style that is dull and colourless, too flowery or
flippant, too persuasive or of the "soap-box" type, or improper in
usage. (24)
DESCRIPTIVE
RESEARCH
Descriptive Research describes and interprets present conditions,
prevailing practices, trends and attitudes, presently held beliefs and
points of view, or ongoing processes. In the words of John Best,
The process of descriptive research goes beyond mere gathering and
tabulating of data. It
involves . . . analysis and interpretation of the meaning or
significance of what is described . . .
comparison or contrast . . . measurement, classification, analysis and
interpretation.
. . . merely describing what is does not comprise the entire research
process . . . conclusions will be based upon comparisons, contrasts, or
causal relationships of various kinds. Thus, the discovery of meaning is
the focus of the whole process. (25)
We are here dealing with a research method which is particularly
appropriate for investigations in the behavioral sciences, and therefore
of interest to a Masonic research body, provided its members set their
goals higher than the mere reporting of what transpired in the past.
The results of descriptive research, in Freemasonry, may well lead
to strategies and policies from which future generations of Masons can
profit. By its techniques,
old errors can be discovered, and new and better ways could be pointed
out in the conclusions.
Best lists three types of information, requisite to such a study, and
three steps required to solve a given problem:
The first type of information is based upon present
conditions.....gathered by a systematic description and analysis of the
present situation. The second type of information involves what we may
want. What conditions are desirable?
The third type of information is concerned with how to get there. It may
involve the opinions of experts, who presumably know best how to reach
the goal.
The first step involves systematic analysis of present conditions. The
second step projects goals for the future.
Step three considers how to reach those goals, which have been
established by the analysis of step two. (26) 24 ibid., p. 110 25 Ibid., pp. 116, 117
26 Ibid., pp. 118, 119
Not all writers are in agreement on how to classify descriptive studies.
One convenient break-down into three categories would list (1)
survey studies, (2) interrelationship studies, and (3) developmental
studies. The following
discussion will explain them.
SURVEY STUDIES
When trying to solve problems, governmental, political, and industrial
or business organizations often conduct surveys, be they broad or narrow
in scope. Survey data may
be collected (by the use of questionnaires or interviews, or both) from
every member of a given population or from a carefully selected,
representative sample.
The survey method gathers data from a relatively large number of cases
at a particular time. It is
not concerned with characteristics of individuals as individuals.
It is concerned with the generalized statistics that result when
data are abstracted from a number of individual cases.
It is essentially cross-sectional. (27)
One well known type of this category is the Opinion Poll, widely applied
to gauge public opinion in matters of political prognosis or of market
research. It may well have
its application to matters Masonic, especially when the law-givers and
organizers are willing to listen to the rank and file.
In our culture, where so many opinions on controversial subjects are
expressed by well-organized special-interest groups, it is important to
find out what the people think. Without a means of public opinion, the views of only the
highly-organized minorities are effectively presented. (28)
Another type of the same category which may have practical value in
Masonic research, is Documentary Analysis.
Here, written records, rather than opinions, are examined, much as in
historical research (but historical research is more often concerned
with the distant past, and descriptive research with the present).
Documentary Analysis may aid in describing present conditions and
practices that prevail in various lodges and their communities, or in
grand lodges and their respective states or provinces.
By it we can find not only the apparent differences in practices
and customs, but also the underlying attitudes, biases, interests,
values, and psychological trends of the populations investigated.
Other survey types common to areas such as business and industry,
e.g., job analyses and market research, are outside the scope of this
paper.
INTERRELATIONSHIP STUDIES When it is not sufficient to obtain a description of
the existing
status of the matter under investigation, and it is necessary to trace
the relative interdependence of two or more groups, or phenomena, then
one of the types of interrelationship studies will apply.
Within that category, some writers distinguish between Case
Studies, Causal-comparative Studies and Correlation Studies.
Not all of these are seen by this writer to be of benefit to
research projects conducted by a research lodge.
For example, it is doubtful whether a method heavily relying on
mathematical processes as they are involved in correlation studies, will
have any widespread application to Masonic research.
In a Case Study, an extensive investigation is carried out into a
specific social unit - a person, family, group, or community. Such
institutions as business groups, churches, corrective institutions,
hospitals, industrial concerns, 27 Ibid., p. 120
28 Ibid., p. 125
social service agencies, schools and universities, and fraternal
organizations have been studied by this method in the past.
The focus of attention, in a Case Study, is on the typicalness of
the organization studied, to isolate all factors which sets it apart
from others in society.
When the focus of attention is directed toward a single case or a
limited number of cases, the process is personalized . . . The case
method probes deeply, and intensively analyzes interaction between the
factors that produce change or growth..... showing development over a
period of time. (29)
As in social research, case studies have been made of all sizes of
communities and all types of individuals belonging to various racial,
political, religious or trade groups, or having achieved positive ends
in life such as executives, leaders or other men and women of fame, or
just the opposite, such as alcoholics, drug-addicts, criminals and
juvenile delinquents, and school drop-outs.
To cite two examples, demittees from Masonry could be studied by this
method in order to formulate hypotheses for overcoming the problem, as
could Masons in general, to ascertain what motivated them to join in the
first place.
Case studies are similar to surveys, but instead of gathering data
concerning a few factors from many respondents, an intensive study is
made of a limited number of representative cases.
The case study can reveal a wealth of information that the survey cannot
produce. Pauline Young
claims that,
. . . the most meaningful numerical studies in social science are those
which are linked with exhaustive case studies describing accurately the
interrelationships of factors and of processes. (30)
All types of studies have their own limitations.
When conducting a case study, the investigator must guard against
his own and his subject's desire to present the right answer, against
poor memory, unconscious biases as well as deliberate deception, data
based on faulty perception, and the like.
When properly conducted, case studies can make useful contributions to
the body of knowledge. Causal-comparative Studies go one step further.
They are of use when the investigator tries to discover not only
what a phenomenon is like, but, if possible, how and why it occurs. They
lend themselves to finding out what factors accompany
certain events, conditions, or practices.
There may or may not be a place for Causal-comparative research in
Masonic studies, and it would be very interesting to see the outcome of
such a probe into the interrelationship of educational lodge programming
and the effect it has on members' attendance, or a score of other
possibilities.
This method has been used outside our sphere of immediate concern
in studies dealing with highway deaths and their causes and in cancer
research, not all of which is laboratory-based.
It must be recognized, however, that this method cannot be applied
indiscriminately, and that conclusions must be carefully examined.
One of the most serious dangers of causal-comparative research is the
post-hoc fallacy, the conclusion that, because two factors go together,
one is the cause and the other the effect . . . Failure to single out
the really significant factor, failure to recognize that events often
have multiple rather than single causes, basing conclusions on a too
limited number of occurrences, and failure to recognize that factors may
go together without having a cause-effect relationship, may lead the
researcher to false or misleading conclusions.
(31) 29 Ibid., p. 127 30 Young, P.V., Scientific Social Surveys and Research,
1956, p. 230
31 Best, op.cit., pp. 131,132
DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES
The category of developmental studies will be dealt with here under two
sub-headings: Follow-up and Trend Studies.
These are concerned not only with the existing status of phenomena
under investigation and their interrelationships, but also with the
changes that occur as time goes on. Time may mean a matter of months, or of years.
Follow-up Studies, by some writers termed Growth Studies, are conducted,
basically, to establish what individuals had profited from certain
experiences as time progressed. From this brief explanation it is quite evident that this is
one method of research which is meaningful to the educator.
However, an attempt will be made to suggest an application of the
method to certain Masonic
The follow-up study investigates individuals what has happened to them,
and what has been the impact upon them of the institution and its
program.
By examining their status or seeking their opinions, one may get
some idea of the adequacy or inadequacy of the institution's program.
(32)
The "institution's program", in Masonic terms, may well be the approach
taken by a lodge, or its Master, regarding the education of candidates,
the enlightenment of older members, or any and all activities and
fraternal interrelationships in the life of a lodge.
The newly raised brother, when asked, may say that he was
impressed, and he may add some other complimentary comments.
A Follow-up Study, five, ten or twenty years later, may yield
valuable information regarding the "adequacy or inadequacy" of the
"program". (It should be understood that all this is not meant to
encroach on the basic teachings, tenets and philosophy of Freemasonry.) Trend Studies, also termed Predictive Studies could, at
least in theory, be applied to matters of Masonic concern; whether or
not a full study of that nature will ever be conducted in this
jurisdiction, remains to be seen.
Outside Masonry such studies
are of value, as they may effectively guide business, industry and
community leaders in their decision making duties.
These studies are to identify trends and to predict what is likely
to take place in the future. This type of research may combine the historical,
documentary, and survey techniques.
The researcher gathers information from documentary sources that
describe past and present events or conditions and, after comparing the
data, i.e., studying the rate of change and the direction it takes, he
predicts events or conditions which may prevail in the future.
This type of study furnishes valuable data for planning programs, in
whatever area they may be. of course, such predictions are estimates,
representing tentative conclusions only.
Wars, economic recessions, great technological discoveries, and many
other unforeseen events could hasten or arrest the process of growth or
development. (33)
Because of the many unforeseeable factors connected with social change,
trend analyses may vary greatly in certainty of prediction: the
long-range type is merely an estimate, short-term predictions possess
greater certainty. 32 Ibid., p. 135
33 ibid., p. 136
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
The third type of research, Experimental Research, may be the most
sophisticated of the types discussed, and it is widely applied in areas
where controlled experiments can be conducted to test hypotheses
relating to what results will be obtained if certain conditions are met.
Often, such studies involve control groups which are not exposed to
the same changes as the experimental groups studied.
It could be argued that even this method has its application to the
study of phenomena identified within a voluntary organization such as
the Freemasons, but it would take a great deal of convincing this writer
that an experiment involving Masons, or Lodges, or both, could be
conducted, and could, at the same time, serve a useful purpose and
satisfy a definite need.
PART 3 - TOOLS OF RESEARCH
Very early in the planning stage of a research project the investigator
will choose the type of research procedure which he determines to yield
the kind of data necessary to test his hypothesis.
He will weigh the merits of the various methods for collecting
evidence, and from the available tools, he will select the most
appropriate for his purpose. Each inquiry begins with the statement of the problem;
from it arises the formulation of a hypothesis or hypotheses. The nature of the latter will determine the selection of the
appropriate tool or instrument.
Each of these may lend itself to the acquiring of particular data and
sometimes several different instruments must be employed to obtain the
information required. The researcher must, therefore, be familiar with
these tools, the nature of the data they produce, their advantages and
disadvantages, and the extent of their reliability, validity, and
objectivity.
The tools to be discussed include the Questionnaire, the
Opinionnaire, the Interview, and Observation. Other instruments, such as
sociometric and psychological testing
and inventories, as well as methods of laboratory experimentation, will
not be discussed because of their dubious applicability to Masonic
research.
THE QUESTIONNAIRE
When gathering data from a population sample to answer questions of a
factual nature, a Questionnaire will represent a suitable instrument.
When opinions rather than facts are desired, the proper instrument
to be applied is termed an Opinionnaire or Attitude Scale.
Questionnaires may be mailed out to the respondents, or they may be
administered in person. The latter approach has the advantage of establishing rapport
between the researcher and his subjects, and of clarifying details
should that be necessary.
The mailed questionnaire is probably both the most used and most
criticized data-gathering device. It has been referred to as the lazy man's way of gaining
information, although the careful preparation of a good questionnaire
takes a great deal of time, ingenuity, and hard work.
There is little doubt that the poorly constructed questionnaires
that flood the mails have created a certain amount of contempt . . .
Filling out lengthy questionnaires takes a great deal of time and
effort, a favour that few senders have any right to expect of strangers.
The unfavourable reaction is intensified when the questionnaire is long,
the subject trivial in importance, the items vaguely worded, and the
form poorly organized . . .
Unless one is dealing with a group of respondents who have a genuine
interest in the problem under investigation, who know the sender, or who
have some common bond of loyalty to a sponsoring institution or
organization, the rate of return is frequently disappointing . . .
Although the foregoing discussion may seem to discredit the
questionnaire as a respectable research technique, the attempt has been
to consider the abuse or misuse of the device. Actually, the
questionnaire has unique advantages and, properly constructed and
administered, it may serve as a most appropriate and useful
data-gathering device in a research project. (34)
In the third paragraph of the above quotation, Best probably referred to
alumni of a certain college as the recipients of a questionnaire sent to
them by a graduate student of their alma mater, and their inclination to
respond out of a feeling of loyalty and, perhaps, affection, remembering
the days when they were the ones asking favours.
This writer can see a very definite application of that quotation
to Freemasons as possible respondents to a survey which deals with
aspects very near and dear to them.
Questionnaires may be designed in a closed or an open form, or in a
combination of both, depending on the nature of the problem and the
character of the respondents.
THE CLOSED FORM
QUESTIONNAIRE This type calls
for short responses which may be represented by check marks, by
yes-or-no replies, or by rank-ordering on some scale.
Sometimes, provisions are made to insert short answers in blank
spaces, a category "other" may be added, or an instruction such as
"kindly specify", to enable the researcher to classify
even unanticipated responses.
The following example illustrates the closed form in one of its
variations:
Why did you desire to become a Freemason?
Please indicate three reasons in order of importance,
using number 1 for most important, 2 for the second most important,
and 3 for the third most important:
RANK (a) Example set by a friend (b) Advice of a friend (c) Reputation of the Craft (d) Literature perused (e) Good fellowship expected (f) Economic returns expected
(g) Other (please specify)
34 ibid., pp. 161, 162
THE OPEN FORM QUESTIONNAIRE
Rather than forcing the respondents to choose between rigidly limited
responses, an open-form questionnaire permits them to answer freely in
their own words and their own frame of reference.
There are, however, disadvantages to this method which at first
view appears superior to the closed form: having no clues to guide their
thinking, they may unintentionally omit important information, and if
they lack the ability or the time to give considerable thought to the
questions, they may not provide useful data.
Also, the task of categorizing, tabulating, and summarizing their
many different and complex answers may be very difficult and time
consuming. Using the same
example given above, an open-form item would simply read: Why did you desire to become a Freemason? and sufficient space would be provided to accommodate
the answer. QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
Both kinds of questionnaires, in order to yield accurate data, require
the asking of precisely worded questions that are apt to elicit
unambiguous answers. It
must be remembered that often the same words mean different things to
different people, a fact that calls for carefully defining and
qualifying terms that could easily be misinterpreted.
Best points out the following:
Be careful in using descriptive adjectives and adverbs that have no
agreed-upon meaning . . . Frequently, occasionally, and rarely do not
have the same meanings to different persons. One respondent's
occasionally may be another's rarely.
Perhaps a stated frequency - times per week, times per month - would
make this classification more precise.
The same author offers a concise, eight-point advice under the heading,
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD QUESTIONNAIRE 1. It deals with a significant topic, one the
respondent will recognize as important enough to warrant spending his
time on ... 2. It seeks only that information which cannot be obtained
from other sources. 3. It is as short as possible, only long enough to get
the essential data . . . 4. It is attractive in appearance, neatly arranged, and
clearly duplicated or printed. 5. Directions are clear and complete, important terms
are defined, each question deals with a single idea, all questions are
worded as simply and as clearly as possible.....(providing for)
unambiguous responses. 6. The questions are objective, with no leading
suggestions as to the responses desired . . . 7. Questions are presented in good psychological order,
proceeding from general to more specific responses . . .
8. It is easy to tabulate and interpret.
It is advisable to preconstruct a tabulation sheet, anticipating
how the data will be tabulated and interpreted, before the final form of
question is decided upon.
This working backward from a visualization of the final analysis of data
is an important step in avoiding ambiguity in the questionnaire form. 35 Ibid., p. 165
36 Ibid., p. 170
All of the above is good advice.
In addition it should be stated that it always pays dividends for a
researcher first to submit his questionnaire items to his peers for
criticism (in the Masonic research lodge probably to a number of the
members who are knowledgeable in that particular area of research), and
also to administer the instrument to a small group in a trial run, in
order to ascertain whether the questionnaire in its original form does
indeed elicit the type of responses needed, or whether it requires
further refinement. Then
the necessary changes can be made before the research instrument is
administered to the target population.
THE OPINIONNAIRE
When instead of factual information the researcher aims to obtain
individuals' personal feelings or attitudes, the opinionnaire is the
instrument frequently used. Although oral methods can be employed, the most frequent
method uses a type of questionnaire that differs from the previously
discussed only in the phrasing of the questions.
It is quite likely that an individual, when confronted with a
question of some substance, will react by voicing an opinion which he
believes conforms to expected values (which may be the case in Masonic
research). This kind of
response may be given consciously or unconsciously; in either case, that
should be anticipated by the researcher who should construct his
instrument accordingly. The
respondent may not even have given the question any serious thought
until confronted with it.
That also has to be taken into account.
Best offers words of wisdom:
Even behaviour itself is not always a true indication of attitude.
When politicians kiss babies, their behaviour may not be a true
expression of affection towards infants.
Social custom or the desire for social approval make many overt
expressions of behaviour mere formalities, quite unrelated to the inward
feelings of the individual . . . With these limitations in mind, psychologists and
sociologists have explored an interesting area of research, basing their
data upon the expressed opinions of individuals.
Several methods have
been employed: 1. Asking the individual directly how he feels about a
subject. This technique may employ a.....questionnaire of the open or
closed form. It may employ
the interview process, in which the respondent expresses his opinion
orally. 2. Asking the individual to check the statements in a
list with which he is in agreement. 3. Asking the individual to indicate his degree of
agreement or disagreement with a series of statements about a
controversial subject. 4. Inferring his attitude from his reaction to
projective
devices, through which he may reveal his attitude unconsciously.
(A projective device is a data-gathering instrument
which
conceals its purpose in such a way that the subject cannot guess how he
should respond to appear in his best light.
Thus, his real characteristics are revealed.) (37)
Among the techniques developed to measure opinions elicited by
opinionnaires or public opinion polls, are those of L. L. Thurstone (38)
and R. Likert. (39) Thurstone constructed an attitude scale by
assembling a large number of statements concerning a topic, some mildly
favourable, favourable, and strongly 37 Ibid., pp. 173, 174 38 Thurstone, L.L. and E.J. Chave, The Measurement of
Attitudes, 1929
39 Edwards, A. and K.C. Kenney, in Journal of Applied Psychology, XXX,
1946. favourable - others mildly unfavourable, unfavourable,
and strongly unfavourable.
A hundred or more judges sorted these statements into piles, indicating
their own judgments as to the degree to which the statement was
favourable or unfavourable. For example, following Thurstone, we may
approach the public with a survey which would sort the following
statement as extremely favourable to the Masonic order: "All public servants should belong to a Masonic lodge."
Similarly, the following would be sorted as unfavourable; "Masonic
lodges should be forbidden by law."
The extremes, as cited here, are easily defined, but it is much more
difficult to verbalize (intelligently and with purpose) the various
stages in between. When all
responses are gathered, the number of times each statement is included
in the several piles, is tabulated, assigned a value and a position
given it by the judges.
Statements that are too broadly scattered in the judges' sorting, are
discarded as ambiguous or irrelevant.
Another method, that of R. Likert (1932), eliminates the use of judges.
It is as reliable as Thurstone's method, and it is simpler. The respondent gives his answers along a 5-point scale:
strongly agree, agree, undecided, disagree, strongly disagree. This
method arbitrarily gives a weight of 1 to 5 to the alternative answers,
and the same numerical values are always given; for example:
"Appoint Freemasons to public office"
- strongly agree: 5 "Exclude Freemasons from public office" - strongly
disagree: 5 Although the answers di |