Paradigms Flashcards
Paradigm
- Research Paradigms address the philosophical dimensions of social science
- A Research Paradigm is a set of fundamental assumptions and beliefs as to how the world is perceived which then serves as thinking frameworks that guides the behaviour of the researcher (Wahyuni, 2012)
- Research Paradigms are the frameworks, perspectives or models from which we see, interpret and understand the world
- Paradigms shape the whole research process
Major Research Paradigms
- Positivism/Post-positivisms
- Interpretivism/Constructivism
- Pragmatism
- Transformative
Major Research Paradigms - Positivism/Post-Postivism
Both start with testing the theory in the form of hypotheses and involve statistical tests in their research process.
• Social Reality is objective and independent of human experience (positivists)
• Maintains separation from the researcher and researched
• Develops numeric measures to generate knowledge – generalized knowledge (nomothetic approach)
• Believes in universality of knowledge
• Believes in generalization, but admits that knowledge is a result of social conditioning (post-positivism)
• Social reality needs to be framed in a certain context (post-positivism)
Major Research Paradigms - Interpretivism/Constuctivism
• Opposite to positivism and post-positivism
• Believes that knowledge is subjective
• Reality is constructed by social actors and people
• Individuals contribute to the construction of knowledge
• Social reality can change and have multiple perspectives
• Works with qualitative data (idiographic approach)
• Provides detailed explanation and narratives
• Researcher and research participants influence data and analysis
Major Research Paradigms - Pragmatism
- Refuses to join paradigm debates between interpretivism and positivism
- Start with research question and determine research framework
- Accepts mixture of ontology, epistemology and axiology
- Use both qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the reality
Major Research Paradigms - Transformative
- Focuses on change and transformation
- Participatory/collaborative
- Power and Justice oriented
- Focused on social change
Ontologically
Ontologically both share common view that social reality is external and objective
Axiologically
Axiologically, they maintain separation from the researcher and the researched
Epistemologically
Epistemologically, they advocate the use of a scientific approach by developing numeric measures to generate acceptable knowledge.
Research Methodology/Research Approach
The overall model behind the research/overall approach
- Qualitative
- Quantitative
- Mixed Methods
Research Methods/Data Collection Methods
The specific strategy how to collect, analyze and analyze data/Procedure for inquiry
- Interview
- Survey
- Questionnaire
- Participant Observation
Research Design
The specific strategy how to collect, analyze, and analyze data/Procedures for inquiry
- Experimental Design
- Ethnography
- Case Study
- Narrative Inquiry
Paradigms/Worldview
Perspectives how we see and understand the world, and consequently the research process
- Positivism/Post-Positivism
- Constructivism/Interpretvism
