Research Paradigms

Research Paradigms

                                                    

     Paradigm

Chalmers (1982) defines a paradigm as

"made up of the general theoretical assumptions and laws, and techniques for their application that the members of a particular scientific community adopt" (p. 90).

A paradigm is thus a comprehensive belief system, world view, or framework that guides research and practice in a field. In many ways, the major paradigms of social science research have separate histories. Different paradigms were responses to different problems, and they adopted different ways of addressing those problems. They were influenced by the cultures in which they grew, and they made radically different assumptions about issues such as the nature of truth, knowledge, and reality. Chalmers points out that a paradigm has certain components:

1.      Explicitly stated laws and theoretical assumptions.

2.      Standard ways of applying the fundamental laws to a variety of situations.

3.      General metaphysical principles that guide work within the paradigm.

4.      General methodological prescriptions about how to conduct work within the paradigm.

 

A paradigm answers three fundamental questions in research

1-       The ontological question asks, “What is the nature of reality?”

2-       The epistemological question asks, “What is the nature of knowledge and the relationship between the knower and the would-be known?”

3-      The methodological question asks, “How can the knower go about obtaining the desired knowledge and understandings?”

 

The choice of research paradigm is much more fundamental and important than the choice of techniques to collect, generate or analyze data. The choice of research paradigm should be made keeping in mind the research problem and research questions. The significant task for a researcher is to select the paradigm that is judged most likely to produce the desired explanation to answer a ‘why’ research question.

 

Types of Paradigms:

1.      Positivism

2.      Post-Positivism

3.      Hermeneutics

4.      Interpretivism

5.      Participatory

6.      Critical Theory

7.      Constructivism

 

 

                                                              Phenomenology

 

 A phenomenology is an approach to qualitative research that focuses on the commonality of a lived experience within a particular group. Experience is a conscious process. It focuses on the role of human consciousness. It is the human-centered approach. It describes the subject and objects relationships. Phenomenology provides us with interpretation regarding the distinctions between the internal and external world as well as the levels of objectivity and Subjectivity. For phenomenology, there is a general comprehension that there is a general relationship between mind and world. Husserl said that “Pure phenomenological research seeks essentially to describe rather than explain, and to start from a perspective free from hypothesis or preconceptions".

 

Aspects of Phenomenology:

 

There are three aspects of Phenomenology:

 

Hermeneutical Phenomenology:

                             It uses lived experience as a tool for better understanding the social, cultural, political, or historical context in which those experiences occur. The hermeneutic inquiry focuses on meaning and interpretation; how social and historical conditioned individuals interpret the world within a given context. Heidegger said that consciousness is never apart from context. It focuses on the lifeworld, and uncovering, clarifying, and illustrating the importance of understanding and meaning what may be considered as a trivial element of human existence. It argues that meaning is linked directly with time. Being is historical and systematic; it is temporal. Meaning is directly linked with time. Human consciousness has certain limits. It is not free from time. We are time-bound. For example, Dr. Faustus being ambitious exhibits the spirit of the age of Renaissance. Marlow saw a tree in the river. He thought he might be in a position to reach where the tree is in no time. But Marlow saw that tree remained at the same distance. His European parameter of time failed in Africa. The sense of direction of Marlow failed here. So we are context, history, and time-bound.

 

Transcendental phenomenology:

 It concentrates on nematic aspects of consciousness or what is believed or desired and the relationship between these rather than the act of consciousness. It is of the view, that consciousness has the ability to transcend the world. To analyze any given phenomena, you must put aside your preconceived notions. It was developed by Edmond Husserl, who wanted to transcend surface interpretation and uncover the essence of social phenomena. It focuses on attaining objectivity. It suspended all the biases you have, collected the participant’s experiences, and examined and described participants' experiences. Epoch and bracketing are used to gain a fresh perspective on what was said. It wants to look for the wholeness of the experience rather than smaller parts.

Inalienable presence of world:

Ponty presented the idea of perception which sees being existing prior to thought as an "inalienable presence". Unlike Husserl and Heidegger, Ponty perceives being as an inseparable part of the world and individual, whose effort of phenomenology is to recover this naive contact with the world and to give it at last, a philosophical status. It is philosophy intent upon being as "exact science" but it is also an account of space, time, and the world "as lived."

 

 

 

                                                                 Positivism

 

The term positivism refers to a branch of philosophy that rose to prominence during the early nineteenth century because of the works of the French philosopher Auguste Comte. Positivism assumes that reality exists independently of humans. It is not mediated by our senses and it is governed by immutable laws. Positivism holds the belief that things can be understood and truth can be reached. It is a position that holds that the goal of knowledge is simply to describe the phenomena that we experience. It holds that society, like the physical world, operates according to general laws introspective and intuitive knowledge is rejected. It drives a statement into three categories; true, false, and meaningless. For example, in a positivist view, the universe is deterministic. It operates by laws of cause and effect driven by deductive reasoning. We construct reality. We grant meaning to this world. Human consciousness can transcend the limitation of space.

Positivists argued that social science should establish laws and as with natural science and such laws should be beyond challenge. Positivist methodology relies heavily on experimentation. Empirical evidence is gathered; the mass of empirical evidence is then analyzed and formulated in the form of a theory that explains the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. The approach to analyzing data is deductive; first, a hypothesis is proposed, then it is either confirmed or rejected depending on the results of statistical analysis. The purpose is to measure, control, predict, construct laws and ascribe causality.

According to the positivist approach, research is deemed to be of good quality if it has a) internal validity b) external validity c) reliability d) objectivity. Researchers warn that “if you assume a positivist approach to your study, then it is your belief that you are independent of your research and your research can be purely objective. Independent means that you maintain minimal interaction with your research participants when carrying out your research.” In other words, studies with a positivist paradigm are based purely on facts and consider the world to be external and objective.

The five main principles of positivism research philosophy can be summarized as the following:

·         There are no differences in the logic of inquiry across sciences.

·         The research should aim to explain and predict.

·         Research should be empirically observable via human senses. Inductive reasoning should be used to develop statements (hypotheses) to be tested during the research process.

·         Science is not the same as common sense. Common sense should not be allowed to bias the research findings.

·         Science must be value-free and it should be judged only by logic.

 

                                                              Post positivism

 

Post positivism challenges positivism. Post positivist perspective is that not everything is completely knowable. It is not just a slight adjustment to or revision of the positive position. It is a wholesome rejection of the central tenets of positivism. For example, humans are certainly rational but they also have irrational behaviors, love and empathy on the one hand, and fear and prejudice on the other. People are implicated by their identities, their histories, culture, and lived experiences you can't imagine them away because they shape the decisions of other actors. It is concerned with the subjectivity of reality and moves away from the purely object stance adopted by logical positivism. Post positivism participates in two levels of debate, the first pits them against positivists, they are not classical foundationalists, who claim that knowledge needs a secure foundation. The second is against relativists (post-modernists and certain constructivists). They acknowledge that scientists put forth a claim to truth that is warranted despite being fallible. Popper through the study of immutable laws, he studies post-positivism through falsification and refutation. In Popper's falsification, he offers a solution to the problems of immutable laws and rational foundations. He argued that no matter how many times a white swan is observed, we can never universally state that, "all swans are white". However, one observation of black swan allows the statement, "not all swans are white”. In such a way even the generalizations are not verifiable, they are falsifiable.

Post-positivism rejects the positivist approach that a researcher can be an independent observer of the social world. Post-positivists argue that the ideas, and even the particular identity, of a researcher influence what they observe and therefore impacts upon what they conclude.

Post-positivist research has the following characteristics:

·         Research is broad rather than specialized, lots of different things qualify as research.

·         Theory and practice cannot be kept separate. We cannot afford to ignore theory for the sake of ‘just the facts.

·         The researcher’s motivations for and commitment to research are central and crucial to the enterprise. The idea that research is concerned only with correct techniques for collecting and categorizing information is now inadequate.

 

 

Interpretivism

 

Interpretivism is a philosophical doctrine that holds the belief that reality and knowledge are socially constructed by human beings. The term Interpretivism refers to theories about how the human mind can obtain knowledge of the world. For Interpretivism there is no objective knowledge out there waiting to be discovered. Interpretivism assumes the belief that the meaningfulness of the research findings is dependent on the interpretation of the researcher.

Interpretivism has its roots in hermeneutics, the study of the theory and practice of interpretation. In hermeneutics, the text is the expression of the thoughts of its author, and interpreters must attempt to put themselves within the perception or thinking pattern of the author in order to reconstruct the intended meaning of the text.

  The interpretive perspective is based on the following assumptions: 

1-      Interpretivism leans towards qualitative Research.

Precise, systematic, and theoretical answers to complex human problems are not possible. They assert that every cultural and historical situation is different and unique and requires analyses of the uniquely defined, particular contexts in which it is embedded.

2-      Human life can only be understood from within.

Human activities cannot be observed from some external reality. Interpretivism, therefore, focuses on people’s subjective experiences, on how people “construct” the social world by sharing meanings, and how they interact with or relate to each other.

      Interpretivism emphasizes that social reality is viewed and interpreted by the individual according to the ideological positions that she or he holds. Therefore, knowledge is personally experienced rather than acquired from or imposed from outside. The Interpretivism paradigm believes that reality is multi-layered and complex and a single phenomenon can have multiple interpretations.

3-      Social life is a distinctively human product.

Interpretivism assumes that reality is not objectively determined, but is socially constructed. The underlying assumption is that by placing people in their social contexts, there is a greater opportunity to understand the perceptions they have of their own activities. The uniqueness of a particular situation is important to understand and interpret the meanings constructed.

      Interpretivism pays attention to and values what people say, do, and feel, and how they make meaning of the phenomenon being researched. Interpretivism foregrounds the meaning that individuals or communities assign to their experiences.

4-             The human mind is the purposive source of meaning.

Interpretive research searches for meaning in the activities of human beings. It is a form of qualitative research. In fact, all qualitative research should be interpretive in nature. Even so, interpretive research is distinguished from qualitative research in general by being distinctive in its approach to research design, concept formation, data analysis, and standards of assessment. It can also be claimed to be radical in nature because it investigates real-life occurrences or phenomena.

5-             Human behavior is affected by knowledge of the social world.

Interpretivism proposes that there are multiple and no single realities of phenomena and that these realities can differ across time and place. As our knowledge of the social world and the realities being constructed increase, it enriches our theoretical and conceptual framework. There is thus a two-way relationship between theory and research.

6-             The social world does not “exist” independently of human knowledge.

Our own understanding of phenomena constantly influences us in terms of the types of questions we ask and in the way we conduct our research. Our knowledge and understanding are always limited to the things to which we have been exposed, our own unique experiences, and the meanings we have imparted. As we proceed through the research process, our humanness and knowledge inform us and often direct us, and often subtleties, such as intuition, values, beliefs, or prior knowledge influence our understanding of the phenomena under investigation.

 

Ontology:

               Views of this paradigm about the nature of reality. 

In Interpretivism researchers believe in multiple realities. Reality varies in nature and is time and context-bound. 

If context changes, reality changes. 

Epistemology:

            Views of this paradigm about the relationship between researcher and reality. 

In Interpretivism the result of the investigation is a product of interaction between the reality and the researcher. The researcher influenced the reality or on the research. 

Methodology:

This terminology view how a researcher goes about discovering and creating knowledge. 

In Interpretivism each reality is interpreted by the researcher. They believe in the strong role of researchers in qualitative research. 

Purpose:

The purpose of Interpretivism is the transfer of findings. They don’t believe in generalizations or making generalizations from data. They believe that findings can be transferred from one context to another context.  

In closing, the ultimate aim of Interpretivism research is to offer a perspective of a situation and to analyze the situation under study to provide insight into the way in which a particular group of people makes sense of their situation or the phenomena they encounter.

 

 

 

 

Participatory paradigm

 

Participatory paradigm is a way of learning how to explain a particular social world by working with the people who lived in it, to construct, test, and improve theories about it, so they can better control the circumstances of their lives. The methods of participatory research include group discussions of personal experience, interviews, surveys, and analysis of public documents. Participatory Research is ‘research identified, conducted, monitored, and evaluated by local people not normally part of the conventional research community. the participatory approach deals with the relation between who perform research and who are research subjects.’ A vital ideology of participatory research is that it is a research approach ‘with people’ rather than conducting ‘research on people.’

Participatory research usually defines research inquiry which involves,

1-      Some form of collaboration between researcher and the researched.

2-      A reciprocal process in which both parties educate each other.

3-      A focus on the production of local knowledge to improve interventions or professional practices.

Features of participatory research

 

Ø  Initial motivation of participatory research

Participatory research is initiated in the context of the actual reality, which have-not intent to change, an existing problem provides initial motivation for engaging in the research process. They may or may not use the services of external experts.

Ø  Extent and nature of people participation

Participation of people is quite widespread. They take part in the methodology of data collection, analysis of data, planning, and taking action. In the initial phase, it may be less, but it increases as the process moves on.

Ø  Emphasis on the qualitative method of data collection

Attempts to reduce eliminate the limitations of classical research by emphasizing on qualitative and factual methods.

Ø  Focus on collective analysis

It is always ‘collective’ in nature, the process inquires a group of people to engage together. The most important step in this context is the collective analysis of a given situation.

Ø   Participatory research as a learning experience

The process of participatory research is an educative experience. People involved in this situation become aware and more knowledgeable through their engagement, methods of knowing analysis, situation, and possible ways to change the situation.

 

Advantages of participatory research

1-      Research participants increase their knowledge and ideas as well as valid analysis of social reality, thus, more relevant solutions are achieved.

2-      Both researchers and subjects of the study gain more from the research process when the researchers attain greater sensitivity and self-awareness of the problems.

3-      The subject of the studying gains trust and self-confidence as his/her own rate and resources to improve his/her condition.

4-      Good relationships can be developed among the research team, research participants, and people in the community.

5-      Humanistic Approach is enhanced through the involvement of everyone in solving social problems.

 

Disadvantages are participatory research

1-      It is time-consuming because it takes time to involve many people in conducting research.

2-      It is difficult to gather people and manage to attend the General Assembly due to living the number of people involved.

3-      When the research team back-out while the research process is going on, a new team is created therefore you have to start all over again.

4-      The research team may use their power to personal needs and most of the benefits go to them.

5-      Politicians who get involved in the research process may use the traditional techniques and the said can be techniques may prevail.

 

 

 

 

                                                          Critical Paradigm:

 

The critical paradigm begins with Karl Marx and is later adopted by The Frankfurt School the Institute for Social Research. Marxism is based on the assumption that the Haves are always going to oppress the Have-Nots and even introduce policies and procedures designed to keep the Have-Nots from ever becoming equals. It is a theory of how those who are oppressed can free themselves from oppression. Unbridled capitalism results in class differences in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Thus to combat this exploitation of the working class at the hand of the aristocratic class, a radical reformation of society, revolution is needed because those in power rarely give up their power except by force. The Critical theorists of the Frankfurt School believed that classical Marxist theory was not sufficient to deal with the complex social and economic structure of modern societies. They radically changed Marx’s ideas and it led to a paradigm that is generally called critical theory. Horkheimer, one of the founders of the Frankfurt School and Critical Theory, defines the term as: “(Critical theory) seeks human emancipation to liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them.”

Critical theorists disagree with Marx’s notion that ‘base’ determines ‘superstructures’ because they see other multiple forms of power including the racial, gender and ethnic, and sexual forms of oppression. By this, they do not mean that economy is unimportant but they claim that economy is not the sole form of oppression. They were also concerned about the influence of mass media on society because it was used as a vehicle to influence consciousness. Whoever controlled the media could control what a nation thought and therefore what it did. They believe that technology is adapted to social and political systems, and technological systems are not neutral but contribute to socio-political agendas and the exploitation of other classes.

 

Purpose of Critical Paradigm:

 

1-      Emancipation:

                             The fundamental purpose of the critical paradigm is to emancipate humans from the power structures, ideologies, social, racial, or cultural boundaries that imprison them consciously or unconsciously. These elements are embedded in the nature and thinking of humans, and awareness about them is necessary for emancipation. It strives for a social setup based on equality for all the members. As Smith (1993) puts it, “The regulative ideal of critical social and educational inquiry is to integrate theory and practice in a way that not only makes transparent to people the contradictions and distortions of their social and educational lives but also inspires them to empower and emancipate themselves.”

 

2-      Social Theory:

                              Critical paradigm is also known as social theory, critical theory or transformative paradigm because it combines theory with praxis. This paradigm doesn’t only challenge the dominant ideologies or power structures, its aim is to provide people with tools such as awareness, knowledge, and a critical lens through which they can liberate themselves from the overarching structures that oppress them. These aspects make it different and beneficial from other paradigms because it refuses to restrict itself to merely contemplative ends, wanting also to contribute, with theoretical means, to practical efforts toward social transformation.

3-      Giving Voice to the Oppressed:

                                                A critical paradigm gives voices to the subjects that have been politically, socially, ethnically, and sexually oppressed. This can reveal the real experiences of the dominated subjects and "can produce an understanding of the relationship between power, community. Through empowerment and consciousness-raising, marginalized populations become agents of change and transformation by going beyond.

 

Ontological Tenet:

                                 Ontologically, the Critical paradigm reasons that social reality is socially constructed by ideologies, bias, and unobservable structures of relations and power (Bhaskar). It criticizes the “natural objective reality” which claims to be neutral and independent but is actually shaped by the political, social, and cultural inclinations of a certain powerful class. This concept of reality appears natural and real because of historical and political situations. They highlight the role of power in shaping our day-to-day reality. Reality validated by these structures needs to be viewed critically. If you have power, reality can be whatever you want. Thus, they challenge the politically neutral, innocent facet of social reality.

 

Epistemological Tenet:

                                     This paradigm rejects the traditional epistemological view that knowledge is objective, consists of immutable laws, and exists independent of us. It argues that knowledge can never be objective, it’s always tainted by the social, cultural, and political bias of those who control it. Knowledge is always subjective and reflects the interests of those in power.  If knowledge is socially constructed, it means it is not immutable. People can define and redefine laws and knowledge as per their preferences. These interests determine what will count as knowledge. Thus, it is dependent upon the subject for its existence. It also criticizes the notion that there is absolute truth and it cannot be challenged. The critical theory argues if anything claims to be true, it should be evaluated in terms of evidence. It doesn’t accept any such claim at its face value. Anything that claims to be true, it should’ve material evidence to justify its claim.

 

Methodology:

A researcher can use different methodologies for his research in this paradigm. Those who are most oppressed and least powerful should be at the center of the plans for action in order to empower them to change their own lives. It can adopt various methodologies in order to expose the oppressing structures and equip people with emancipatory power. Critical Paradigm mostly uses qualitative data, but sometimes can use quantitative data as well. Participatory research, interviews, reviewing documents, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Critical Action Research, Ideology Critique are the frequently used methods in this paradigm. 

Ideology critique exposes the unconscious and controlling ideologies present behind every social reality, event.  It reveals how ideologies can disguise the interests of the authoritative class and shape our consciousness. Meanwhile, Critical Discourse Analysis is the study of language and discourse and how it can be used as a political, and social tool.

Critical paradigms can also be used to test the validity or neutrality of theories.

 

To sum up, the Critical paradigm proves to be a better paradigm than others because it not only challenges the power structures but also equips the oppressed with tools of awareness and consciousness.

 

 

 

 

                                                       Social Constructivism

 

Social constructivists believe that meanings are created through an individual’s interaction or reaction with society, i.e. meanings are constructed socially. They accept to reject the view that knowledge exists. But they reject the notion that this knowledge has meanings of its own. They believe that it is humans that give meaning to this knowledge. This knowledge can differ from society to society because every society has its norms, traditions, and bias that influence its interpretation of knowledge and reality. Smaller groups of collaborative individuals create microstructures of meaning, as all knowledge is socially and culturally constructed, so what an individual learns depends on what their experiences are. From the constructivist position, knowledge is constructed by humans, validated by use in society, and so maintained by social institutions. 

Characteristics:

 

1-      Creation of New Knowledge, Meanings, and Realities:

                                                                                    Because of their belief that knowledge and meanings are socially constructed, this approach leads to the creation of new knowledge, meanings, and realities. Thus, these elements no longer remain fixed, frozen, and independent. Constructivism means that human beings do not find or discover knowledge. We invent concepts, models, and schemes to make sense of experience, and further, we continually test and modify these constructions in the light of new experiences. (Schwandt, 1994). Latour in particular suggests that knowledge is, in fact, generated by its social process of consensus-building within communities. This paradigm differs from others because theories can develop out of this approach. The generation of ideas and knowledge is not controlled or stable: it is constantly open to modification, interpretation, and reinterpretation.

 

2-      Role of Subject:

                               In this paradigm the role of the subject or the researcher changes, he no longer just quantitatively tests the knowledge. His task is to determine how certain meanings, knowledge, and realities were created socially, what social norms, biases, and interests influenced them. A researcher has her/his own version of meanings constructed by society. In order to conduct research from a constructivist’s lens, firstly, he should be aware of his bias. Secondly, he should be open-minded about the different realities and knowledge present in different societies.

 

Epistemological Tenet:

                                       Epistemologically, Constructivism discards the traditional empiricist view that knowledge and reality exist independently and we can only observe it objectively. It exists regardless of whether we accept it or not. Constructivists argue that knowledge is subjective and socially constructed. By doing so, they give importance to the society and individual experiences that shape and give meaning to it. Knowledge is seen not as something one possesses, but "something people do together”. Gergen (1985) comments: constructionism "begins with a radical doubt about the granted world . . . and invites one to challenge the objective basis of conventional knowledge.”

 

Ontological Tenet:

                             This paradigm argues that reality is socially constructed. At the same time, multiple realities can exist which continue to change by the processes of interpretation of reinterpretation. Schwandt (2000) describes what he calls “every day” constructivist thinking in this way: “We are all constructivists if we believe that the mind is active in the construction of knowledge. Most of us would agree that knowing is not passive—simple imprinting of sense data on the mind—but active; the mind does something with those impressions, at the very least forms abstractions or concepts. In this sense, constructivism means that human beings do not find or discover knowledge so much as construct or make it.”

For constructivist’s reality is never objective. In this paradigm, the researcher’s goal is to understand the multiple social constructions of meaning and knowledge.

 

Methodology:

There is no definite methodology prescribed in this paradigm, the researcher can choose from multiple qualitative research methodologies that suit his/her research the best. The common steps involved areas listed below:

1-      Qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, and document reviews are used in this paradigm.

2-      Research can be conducted only through interaction between and among investigators and respondents in order to learn about the constructed reality.

3-      The role of the researcher is to know how reality is constructed, for this, he/she will conduct interviews, review documents, and collect qualitative data.

4-      They can divide the respondents into groups to study how realities differ socially.

5-       The research questions cannot be formed before because this kind of research is not a hypothesis drive. Knowledge will evolve and change as the research develops.

6-      Since this research is not hypothesis-driven, new knowledge or theories can develop out of this.