A research paradigm is “the set of common beliefs and agreements shared between scientist. about how problems should be understood and addressed” (Kuhn, 1970)

2. • “A studious inquiry or examination, especially a critical
investigation or experimentation having for its aim.
The discovery of new facts and their correct
interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions,
theories, or laws in the light of new discovered facts or
the practical application of such conclusions, theories
or laws.”
• “Diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation
into a subject in order to discover facts or
principles.”

3.  A broad framework of perception, understanding, belief
within which theories and practices operate.
 … a network of coherent ideas about the nature of the world
and the functions of researchers which, adhered to by a
group of researchers, conditions their thinking and underpins
their research actions [Bassey, 1990: para 8.1]

4. MAIN COMPONENTS
OF A PARADIGM:
Ontology, Epistemology, &
Methodology

5. Epistemology
 ‘Epistemology – „Thebranch of philosophy concerned with the
origin, nature, methods & limits of knowledge‟
 Epistemology, one of the core branches of philosophy, is
concerned with the theory of knowledge, especially in regard
to its methods, validation and „thepossible ways of gaining
knowledge of social reality, whatever it is understood to be.
 In short, claims about how what is assumed to exist can
be known‟(Blaikie, 2000, p. 8).

6. Cont…
Derived from the Greek words episteme (knowledge) and
logos (reason), epistemology focuses on the knowledge-
gathering process and is concerned with developing new
models or theories that are better than competing models and
theories.
Knowledge, and the ways of discovering it, is not static, but
forever changing. When reflecting on theories, and concepts
in general, researchers need to reflect on the assumptions on
which they are based and where they originate from in the first
place.

7. Ontology
 Ontology is the starting point of all research, after which one‟s
epistemological and methodological positions logically follow.
A dictionary definition of the term may describe it as the
image of social reality upon which a theory is based
 Ontology – „concerned with being‟or reality.

8. Cont…
 Norman Blaikie offers a fuller definition, suggesting
that ontological claims are
„claims and assumptions that are made about the
nature of social reality, claims about what exists, what
it looks like, what units make it up and how these
units interact with each other.
 In short, ontological assumptions are concerned with
what we believe constitutes social reality‟(Blaikie, 2000,
p. 8)

9. Methodology refers to general principles which
underline how we investigate the social world and
how we demonstrate that the knowledge
generated is valid.
Research methods refers to the more practical
issues of choosing an appropriate research design –
perhaps an experiment or a survey – to answer a
research question, and then designing instruments
to generate data.
Research Methods
and
Methodology

10. Inter-relationship between the building blocks of Research
Ontology Epistemology Methodology Methods Sources
What’s out
there to
know? What and
how can
we know
about it?
How can we
go about
acquiring
knowledge?
What
procedures
can we use to
acquire it?
Which
data can
we collect?
Adapted from Hay, 2002, pg. 64

12. Induction
Induction is a method of reasoning in which you
use individual ideas or facts to give you a general
rule or conclusion
It presupposes that explanations about the workings
of the world should be based on facts gained from
pure, dispassionate and neutral observation, rather
than on preconceived notions; that nature will reveal
itself to a passively receptive mind.

13. Inductive Thinking

14. The Deductive approach is the reverse of an Inductive
one. Deduction has theories that predict an outcome, which are
tested by experiments.
The Deductive argument moves from premises, at least one
of which is a general or universal statement, to a
conclusion that is a singular statement. Deductive
propositions form a hierarchy from theoretical to
observational; from abstract to concrete. The Deductivist
accepts that observation is guided and presupposed by the
theory.

15. Deductive Thinking

16. The Research Wheel

17. Suggested Readings
 Norman W. H. Blaikie, Approaches to Social Inquiry,
Polity Press, UK,1993.
 Norman W. H. Blaikie, Designing Social Research
Polity Press, UK, 2000.
 Norman K, Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln,
Handbook of Qualitative Research, SAGE
Publications, USA,1993.