Research Philosophy & Paradigms

Research philosophy informs how the researcher plans to study the external world, the beliefs and assumptions, that guides the research process. There are various research philosophies that exists which the researcher could adopt in evaluating a phenomenon.

Research philosophy refers to the assumptions and beliefs that guide researcher in data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The main philosophies include positivist, interpretivist and pragmatic research philosophy.

Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of being or existence. Ontology explores questions such as what exists, what properties and qualities entities have, and how they relate to each other.

Realism, internal realism, relativism, and nominalism are the different ontological positions that represent different perspectives on the nature of reality. These positions however have been subjects of philosophical debates and there could be variations within each position.

• Realism says that the external world exists independently of human perception or belief and one can examine and observe it.
• Internal Realism suggests that while the external world exists, we need to understand it using conceptual frameworks and linguistic practices; it is difficult to examine it directly.
• Relativism suggests that reality is not absolute but is subjective and based on individual viewpoints. People create scientific laws to fit their view of reality.
• Nominalism denies the existence of real, external truths and say that that reality is entirely created by people.

Axiology

Axiology is a branch of the research philosophy that attempts to clarify if you are trying to explain or predict the world, or are you only seeking to understand it.

In simple terms, axiology focuses on what you value in your research. This is important because your values affect how you conduct your research and what do you value in your research findings.

Axiology primarily refers to the ‘aims’ of the research.

Epistemology

Epistemology talks about the way(s) in which you choose to investigate the world. The two main schools are positivism and social constructionism:

• Positivists believe in investigating the world using objective methods, such as observations. Positivism fits within a realist ontology.
• Social constructionists believe that reality does not exist by itself. Instead, it is constructed and given meaning by people. Their focus is therefore on feelings, beliefs and thoughts, and how people communicate these. Social constructionism fits better with a relativist ontology.

Key Paradigms

Research is guided by a set of beliefs or worldview, known as a paradigm. Here are a few key paradigms.

Positivism

Positivism is the belief that objective accounts of the world can be given, and science can be used to develop descriptions and explanations in the form of universal laws.

This is the most ‘traditional’ paradigm associated with natural or ‘hard sciences’ and characterised by quantitative methods.

Realism

Realism is similar to positivism in its belief that social reality and the researcher are independent of each other and so will not create biased results. However, realism thinks that scientific methods are not perfect. It believes that all theory can be revised and that reality can be known only by continually researching and leaving our minds open to using new methods of research.

Realism may therefore use several types of research methods to triangulate results in their search for a more reliable outcome.

Interpretivism

Interpretivism refers to approaches emphasizing the meaningful nature of people’s participation in social life. In this paradign, researchers analyse the meanings people confer upon their own and others’ actions and take the view that cultural existence and change can be understood by studying what people think about, their ideas, and the meanings that are important to them.

Objectivism

Objectivism recognises that social phenomena and their meanings exist separately to social actors. An example of social phenomena could be heavy rain and social actors are people wanting to have a picnic outside. The rain exists, it is real and would be acknowledged by everyone to exist and is therefore independent to the people who have had their day out ruined by it.

In your research this may be how a law (the social phenomenon) impacts on a group of people (social actors).

Constructivism

(Social) Constructivism argues the opposite to objectivism. It is a standpoint that believes social phenomena are actually constructed by social actors. So, if you had a constructive ontological worldview you would believe that , for example, a new law is the product of the behaviour of the group of people it now has an impact on.

Pragmatism

Pragmatism argues that both constructivism and objectivism are valid ways to approach research. Pragmatism allows a researcher to view the topic from either or both points-of-view regarding the influence or role of social actors and use these to create a practical approach to research. This may be used to find solutions to problems.

Methodology

Here’s how to group together your research techniques to make a coherent picture.

Ontology, epistemology and axiology will have implications for your methodology.

• Realists tend to have a positivist approach, which means they tend to gather quantitative sources of data
• Relativists tend to have a social constructionist approach, which means they tend to gather qualitative sources of data

However, you must understand that these are not absolutes. People tend to use a combination of different research methods and approaches instead of strictly adhering to a single approach.

Related: Research Onion Model (by Saunders) Explained

Most students who carry out research work make use of either Positivist or Interpretivist philosophy for their study.

Positivist philosophy (Positivism) posits that social aspects can be evaluated objectively, with the researcher being independent and dissociated from what is being evaluated. Positivist philosophy places more importance on empirical evidence and scientific methods to explain the world. Here the belief is that knowledge can be obtained through objective observation and measurement.

Positivist approach relies on deductive reasoning to test hypotheses derived from general theories. Using this approach, hypotheses are first formulated based on existing knowledge or theories and then these hypotheses are tested through empirical observation and measurement. If the empirical evidence supports the hypotheses, they are considered to be confirmed or validated.

Interpretivist philosophy (Interpretivism) emphasizes the importance of subjectivity in understanding the world around and values an individual’s viewpoint while analyzing things in the social context. It assumes that the social constructs could be understood through subjective evaluation associated with opinion of target population. The philosophy is the view that social construct cannot be evaluated objectively.

Inductive reasoning is considered compatible with Interpretivism as it enables the researcher to come up with theories or generalizations based on specific observations; this reasoning aligns well with the what Interpretivism proposes.

Research Philosophies, Approaches & Strategies: Typical Routes

• Positivism -> Deductive -> Quantitative -> Experiments, Surveys
• Interpretivism -> Inductive -> Qualitative -> Interviews, Ethnography, Grounded Theory
• Pragmatism -> Abductive -> Quantitative and/or Quantitative -> Any of the above in any combination

Related: How to write Research Methodology

.