Identifying your

paradigm
Lecture 3

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Learning objectives

• After studying this topic, you should be able to

– Describe the main features of positivism
– Describe the main features of interpretivism
– Compare the assumptions of these two main paradigms
– Discuss the strengths and weakness of pragmatism
– Identify your research paradigm.
• Independent study
– Study Chapter 3
– Other activities as set

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Introduction

• There is no consensus on how research should be

defined, but there is general agreement that ‘research is
a systematic and methodical process of enquiry and
investigation with a view to increasing knowledge’ (Collis
and Hussey, 2009, p. 3)

• But this does not explain how research should be

conducted ...

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Exercise 1
How should research be conducted?

• Even if you have never conducted business research

yourself, you’ve probably taken part in consumer
research
• Based on your experience as a researcher or as a
participant in research, how should research be
conducted?
– Is there a best way?
– Is there a norm?

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Research paradigms

• A research paradigm ‘is a philosophical framework that

guides how scientific research should be conducted’
(Collis and Hussey, 2014, p. 43)
• Philosophy is ‘a set or system of beliefs [stemming from]
the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge,
reality, and existence’ (Waite and Hawker, 2009, p. 685)

• A little history helps explain why there is more than one

research paradigm ...

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The natural sciences

• Until the late 19th century, research had focused on the

study of inanimate objects in the natural world and led
to the discovery of physical laws/theory (Smith, 1983)

• Eg Sir Isaac Newton’s law of gravitation (1687)

– ‘Every particle of matter attracts every other
particle of matter with a force proportional
to the product of the particles’ masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them’ (Oxford, 1998, p. 969)

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Birth of the social sciences

• With the advent of industrialisation and capitalism,

attention turned to the social world
• But, before long, the new social scientists began to
question the suitability of the methods used by the
natural scientists, which led to a heated debate (Smith,
1983)

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Advocates

• Theorists who advocated social scientists should take the

same approach as natural scientists were known as
realists (eg Compte, Mill and Durkheim)
– They argued that the empiricist approach of observation
and experiment established by physicists (eg Newton) was
also appropriate in the social sciences
• Their beliefs were based on positivism
– Reality exists independently of us, so it can be measured
objectively
– Therefore, the researcher uses quantitative methods
leading to the discovery of laws/theory (eg chemistry)

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Challengers

• Theorists who challenged the positivist paradigm can be

labelled loosely as idealists
– They argued that social science is the study of ourselves
• The more recent paradigm called interpretivism is based
on their beliefs
– Reality exists within our minds, so the researcher is
inseparable from that being researched
– Therefore, the researcher uses subjective, qualitative
methods leading to interpretive understanding (eg
behavioural psychology)

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New approaches within the main paradigms

• Since the original debate in the late 19 th century, many

different approaches have been developed and today,
few researchers apply the pure forms of realism,
positivism, idealism and interpretivism
• New paradigms emerge as a reaction to the perceived
inadequacy of previous paradigms
• It takes time for new methods to become accepted;
hence the use of derogatory terms such as ‘number-
crunchers’ or ‘story-tellers’ (Smith, 1983, p. 6)

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Examples of approaches within the main
paradigms

Positivism Interpretivism
Quantitative Qualitative
Objective Subjective
Scientific Humanist
Traditionalist Phenomenological

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Core assumptions of the main paradigms

• Before you can design your study, you need to identify

your research paradigm
• The starting point is to consider five philosophical
questions relating to the core assumptions that underpin
the two main paradigms ...

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Core assumptions of the main paradigms

1. What is the nature of reality? The ontological assumption:

– Positivism: Reality is objective and singular
– Interpretivism: Reality is subjective and multiple as seen by
participants in a study

2. What constitutes valid knowledge? The epistemological

assumption:
– Positivism: The researcher is independent of what is being
researched
– Interpretivism: The researcher interacts with what is being
researched

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Core assumptions (continued)

3. What is the role of values? Axiological assumption:

– Positivism: Research is value-free and unbiased
– Interpretivism: Research is value-laden and biased

4. What is the language of research? Rhetorical assumption:

Positivism: Formal language with set definitions, the
impersonal voice and accepted quantitative words
Interpretivism: Informal language with evolving decisions,
the personal voice and accepted qualitative words

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Core assumptions (continued)

5. What is the process of the research? Methodological

assumption:
– Positivism: A deductive process; the study of cause and
effect with a static design (categories isolated before
study); research is context free; generalisations lead to
prediction, explanation and understanding; results are
accurate and reliable through validity and reliability
– Interpretivism: An inductive process, the study of mutual
simultaneous shaping of factors with an emerging design
(categories identified during study); context bound;
patterns/theories developed for understanding; findings
are accurate and reliable through verification

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 Assumptions of Paradigms
Philosophical Assumptions Positivism Interpretivism
Ontological assumption: Reality is objective and Reality is subjective and
(the nature of reality) singular, separate from the multiple as seen by
researcher participants in a study

Epistemological The researcher is The researcher interacts

assumption: (what independent of what is with what is being
constitutes valid being researched researched
knowledge)
Axiological assumption: Research is value-free and Research is value-laden
(the role of values) unbiased and biased

Rhetorical assumption: Formal language with set Informal language with

(the language of research) definitions, the impersonal evolving decisions, the
voice and accepted personal voice and
quantitative words accepted qualitative words

Methodological A deductive process An inductive process

assumption: (the process
of research)

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Key concepts

• Reliability refers to the accuracy and precision of the

measurement and absence of differences in the results if
the research were repeated
• Validity is the extent to which a test measures what the
researcher wants it to measure and the results reflect the
phenomena under study
• Generalizability is the extent to which the research findings
(often based on a sample) can be extended to other cases
(often a population) or to other settings
• A population is a precisely defined body of people or
objects under consideration for statistical purposes
• A sample is a subset of a population
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Features of the main paradigms

Positivism tends to Interpretivism tends to

• Use large samples • Use small sample
• Have an artificial location • Have a natural location
• Focus on hypothesis testing • Focus on generating theories
• Produce precise, objective, • Produce rich, subjective,
quantitative data qualitative data
• Produce results with high • Produce results with low
reliability but low validity reliability but high validity
• Allow results to be generalized • Allow results to be generalized
from the sample to the from one setting to a similar
population setting
Number-crunchers? Story-tellers?
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Identifying your paradigm
• Most students find their paradigm falls broadly within
one of the two main paradigms
– Experienced researchers may modify their philosophical
assumptions over time and move to a new position on the
continuum
• There are many similarities among the main paradigms
– Both use research questions to drive the research
– Both use various methods to collect quantitative and/or
qualitative research data
– Both use various methods to summarize or otherwise
reduce the research data
– Both apply techniques to analyse the data
– Both discuss the results or findings and draw conclusions
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Exercise 2
Paradigm quiz
• See if this quiz can diagnose whether you are a ‘number-
cruncher’ or a ‘story-teller’ (see Chapter 3, Activity 5, p.
57)

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 Exercise 2
Paradigm quiz (Agree =  Disagree = )
a) Quantitative data are more scientific than qualitative data.
b) It is important to state your hypotheses before collecting data.
c) Surveys are probably the best way to investigate business issues.
d) A phenomenon can be measured reliably unless it cannot be investigated.
e) A good knowledge of statistics is essential for all approaches to business research.

f) Case studies should only be used for exploratory research.

g) Using participant observation to collect data is of little value in business research.

h) Laboratory experiments should be used more widely in business research.

i) It is impossible to generate theories from research into business issues.
j) Researchers must remain objective and independent from phenomena they study.

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Solution 2
Paradigm quiz

• More ticks than crosses = positivist

• More crosses than ticks = interpretivist
• Equal number of ticks and crosses = undecided

• Now discuss the reasons why this quiz might not be very
effective in diagnosing your paradigm

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Pragmatism

• Some argue that a third paradigm prevails in the social

sciences: Pragmatism contends that the research question
should determine the research philosophy and that methods
from more than one paradigm can be used in the same study
• If you are thinking of taking a pragmatic approach, you need
to discuss it with your supervisor at a very early stage
• At undergraduate level, it is unlikely that you will be required
to discuss your paradigm as most supervisors focus on your
ability to apply your methods and draw conclusions
• At Master’s and doctoral level, you must be able to justify
your stance and you need to be aware that pragmatism may
have implications for getting the research published in
academic journals
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Conclusions

• Identifying your paradigm at an early stage is important

because it guides how your research should be
conducted
– In the past, there was a major schism between the natural
scientists and the emerging social scientists
• Today, the two main paradigms can be loosely labelled as
positivism and interpretivism
– They lie at the extremities of a continuum of paradigms,
each based on different philosophical assumptions about
reality and the nature of knowledge
• Now read Chapter 3

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