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Paradigms

The document discusses four philosophical worldviews that shape research approaches: postpositivism, constructivism, advocacy/participatory, and pragmatism. For each worldview, it provides the key assumptions, typical research type (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), and an example research study. The worldviews represent overarching paradigms that influence a researcher's choice of methodology and methods.

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Reshma Georgi
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263 views6 pages

Paradigms

The document discusses four philosophical worldviews that shape research approaches: postpositivism, constructivism, advocacy/participatory, and pragmatism. For each worldview, it provides the key assumptions, typical research type (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), and an example research study. The worldviews represent overarching paradigms that influence a researcher's choice of methodology and methods.

Uploaded by

Reshma Georgi
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Research Methodology

Assignment 3

UD M.Arch S1 Reshma Mariam Georgi

Philosophical Worldviews

Although philosophical ideas remain largely hidden in research (Slife & Williams, 1995), they still
influence the practice of research and need to be identified. In his book, John W. Creswell (Research
Design, 2009) suggests that individuals preparing a research proposal or plan make explicit the larger
philosophical ideas they espouse. He says this information will help explain why they chose qualitative,
quantitative or mixed method approaches for their research. In writing about worldviews, the author
suggests that a proposal might include a section that addresses the following:

The philosophical world view proposed in the study


A definition of basic considerations of that worldview
How the worldview shaped their approach to research
Creswell has chosen to use the term worldview as meaning "a basic set of beliefs that guide action".He
sees worldviews as a general orientation about the world and the nature of research that a researcher
holds. These world views are said to be shaped by the discipline area of the student, the beliefs of
advisers and faculty in a student's area and past research experiences. The types of beliefs held by
individual researchers will often lead to embracing a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods
approach in their research. Four different worldviews are discussed in his book: postpositivism,
constructivism, advocacy/participatory. and pragmatism.

The Postpositivist Worldview

The postpositivist assumptions have represented the traditional form of research, and these
assumptions hold true more for quantitative research than qualitative research. This worldview is
sometimes called the scientific method or doing science research. It is also called positivist/postpositivist
research, empirical science, and postpostivism. This last term is called postpositivism because it
represents the thinking after positivism, challenging the traditional notion of the absolute truth of
knowledge (Phillips & Burbules, 2000) and recognizing that we cannot be "positive" about our claims of
knowledge when studying the behavior and actions of humans.

Research Type: Quantitative

Key assumptions of this paradigm:

Knowledge is conjectural (and antifoundational)-absolute truth can never be found. Thus,


evidence established in research is always imperfect and fallible. It is for this reason that
researchers state that they do not prove a hypothesis; instead, they indicate a failure to reject
the hypothesis.
Research is the process of making claims and then refining or abandoning some of them for
other claims more strongly warranted. Most quantitative research, for example starts with the
test of a theory.
Data, evidence, and rational considerations shape knowledge. In practice, the researcher
collects information on instruments based on measures completed by the participants or by
observations recorded by the researcher.
Research seeks to develop relevant, true statements, ones that can serve to explain the
situation of concern or that describe the causal relationships of interest. In quantitative studies,
researchers advance the relationship among variables and pose this in terms of questions or
hypotheses.
Being objective is an essential aspect of competent inquiry; researchers must examine methods
and conclusions for bias. For example, standard of validity and reliability are important in
quantitative research.

Example: Impact of an e-learning initiative in the context of ICT4D: a case study of offering an advanced
internet course in underprivileged communities, Pascale Henke, Lisa F. Seymour, Jean-Paul W Van Belle.
Jan 2014. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies

The Social Constructivist Worldview

Social constructivism (often combined with interpretivism; see Mertens, 1998) is such a perspective, and
it is typically seen as an approach to qualitative research. Social constructivists hold assumptions that
individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and work. Individuals develop subjective
meanings of their experiences-meanings directed toward certain objects or things. Rather than starting
with a theory (as in postpostivism), inquirers generate or inductively develop a theory or pattern of
meaning.

Research Type: Qualitative

Key assumptions of this paradigm:

1. Meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting.
Qualitative researchers tend to use open-ended questions so that the participants can share their views.

2. Humans engage with their world and make sense of it based on their historical and social
perspectives-we are all born into a world of meaning bestowed upon us by our culture. Thus, qualitative
researchers seek to understand the context or setting of the participants through visiting this context
and gathering information personally. They also interpret what they find, an interpretation shaped by
the researcher's own experiences and background.

3. The basic generation of meaning is always social, arising in and out of interaction with a human
community. The process of qualitative research is largely inductive, with the inquirer generating
meaning from the data collected in the field.
Example: Student Support in Open Learning: Sustaining the process (Christine Dearnley, University of
Bradford, 2003)

The Advocacy and Participatory Worldview

Another group of researchers holds to the philosophical assumptions of the advocacy/participatory


approach. This position arose during the 1980s and 1990s from individuals who felt that the
postpostivist assumptions imposed structural laws and theories that did not fit marginalized individuals
in our society or issues of social justice that needed to be addressed. An advocacy/participatory
worldview holds that research inquiry needs to be intertwined with politics and a political agenda. Thus,
the research contains an action agenda for reform that may change the lives of the participants, the
institutions in which individuals work or live, and the researcher's life.

Research Type: Qualitative

Key assumptions of this paradigm:

1. Participatory action is recursive or dialectical and focused on bringing about change in practices. Thus,
at the end of advocacy/participatory studies, researchers advance an action agenda for change.

2. This form of inquiry is focused on helping individuals free themselves from constraints found in the
media, in language, in work procedures, and in the relationships of power in educational settings.
Advocacy/participatory studies often begin with an important issue or stance about the problems in
society, such as the need for empowerment.

3. It is emancipatory in that it helps unshackle people from the constraints of irrational and unjust
structures that limit self-development and self-determination. The advocacy /participatory studies aim
to create a political debate and discussion so that change will occur.

4. It is practical and collaborative because it is inquiry completed with others rather than on or to others.
In this spirit, advocacy/participatory authors engage the participants as active collaborators in their
inquiries.

Example:

The Pragmatic Worldview

There are many forms of this philosophy, but for many, pragmatism as a worldview arises out of actions,
situations, and consequences rather than antecedent conditions (as in postpositivism). Instead of
focusing on methods, researchers emphasize the research problem and use all approaches available to
understand the problem.

Research Type: Mixed Method

Key assumptions of this paradigm:


Pragmatism is not committed to any one system of philosophy and reality. This applies to mixed
methods research in that inquirers draw liberally from both quantitative and qualitative
assumptions when they engage in their research.
Individual researchers have a freedom of choice. In this way, researchers are free to choose the
methods. Techniques, and procedures of research that best meet their needs and purposes.
Pragmatists do not see the world as an absolute unity. In a similar way mixed methods
researchers look to many approaches for collecting and analyzing data rather than subscribing
to only one way (e.g .. quantitative or qualitative).
Truth is what works at the time. It is not based in a duality between reality independent of the
mind or within the mind. Thus, in mixed methods research investigators use both quantitative
and qualitative data because they work to provide the best understanding of a research
problem.
The pragmatist researchers look to the what and how to research based on the intended
consequences-where they want to go with it, mixed methods researchers need to establish a
purpose for their mixing, a rationale for the reasons why quantitative and qualitative data need
to be mixed in the first place.
Pragmatists agree that research always occurs in social, historical, political and other contexts.
In this way mixed methods studies may include a postmodern turn, a theoretical lens that is
reflective of social justice and political aims.
Pragmatists have believed in an external world independent of the mind as well as that lodged
in the mind. But they believe that we need to stop asking questions about reality and the laws of
nature (Cherryholmes,1992). "They would simply like to change the subject" (Rorty, 1983. p.
xiv).
Thus for the mixed methods researcher pragmatism opens the door to multiple methods
different worldviews, and different assumptions as well as different forms of data collection and
analysis.

In planning a research project, researchers need to identify whether they will employ a qualitative,
quantitative, or mixed methods design. This design is based on bringing together a worldview or
assumptions about research, the specific strategies of inquiry, and research methods. Decisions about
choice of a design are further influenced by the research problem or issue being studied, the personal
experiences of the researcher, and the audience for whom the researcher writes

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