he study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.

1. Philosophical Assumptions &
Research Paradigms
Farhana Saeed Hashmi

2. Why Philosophy?
All research is based on Assumptions about
• How the world is perceived
• How can we best come to understand it
No body really knows how we can best understand the world
• Philosophies have been arguing about it for 1000s of years
For us, as researchers, need to consider:
• How we know about the world around us
• What is our philosophical approach to knowledge

3. Philosophy & Research
• What is Philosophy?
• The study of the most general and abstract features of the world
and the categories with which we think. In philosophy the
concepts with which we approach the world themselves become
the topic of inquiry
• Investigation of the nature, causes or principles of reality,
knowledge or value, based on logical reasoning rather than
empirical methods (American Heritage Dictionary).
• The study of the ultimate nature of existence, reality knowledge
and goodness, as discoverable by human reasoning
(Penguin English Dictionary)

4. Philosophy & Research
• What is research?
• Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to
think what no body else has thought (Blaikie, 2010)
• Researcher is going beyond personal experience, thoughts, feelings and
opinions
• Research is careful for diligent search about a phenomena
• Studious inquiry or examination; especially investigation or experimentation
aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revisions of accepted
theories or laws in the light of new facts or practical application of such new
or revised theories or laws

5. Understanding your research philosophies
• What you are doing when embarking on research: developing
knowledge in a practical field
• System of beliefs and assumptions about development of knowledge
• Research philosophy is an over-arching term relating to the
development of knowledge and the nature of that
knowledge
(sanders et al., 200)

6. Understanding your research Philosophy
• At every stage in research we make a number of assumptions
• These include assumptions about
• The realities encountered in research (Ontological Assumptions)
• Human Knowledge (Epistemological Assumptions)
• Assumptions about human values ( Axiological Assumptions)
• Assumptions about how to conduct the process (Methodological
Assumptions)
• Assumptions about presenting research (Rhetorical Assumption)
These assumptions inevitably shape how you understand your research
questions, the methods you use and how you interpret your feelings
(Crotty 1988)

7. Understanding your research philosophies
• A well-thought out and consistent set of assumptions will constitute a
credible research philosophy
• This will
• Underpin your methodological choice, research strategy and data collection
techniques and analysis procedures
• Allows you to design a coherent research project in which all elements of
research fit together

8. Thinking about Research Philosophy
• There are two things you can do to start making a more active and
informed philosophical choice:
• Begin asking yourself questions about your research fields and
assumptions
• Familiarize yourself with major research philosophies

9. Developing Research Philosophy
Beliefs &
Assumptions
Research
Philosophies
Research Design

10. Ontology
• Describe our view (claims or assumptions) on the nature of
reality
• It raise the question of the assumption researchers have
about the way the world operates.
• Specifically describes that is reality an objective reality that
really exists, or only a subjective reality, created in our
minds.

11. Ontology
• Two aspects of ontology are:
• Objectivism: This portrays the position that social entities
exist in reality external to social actors with their
existence.
• Subjectivism: holds that social phenomena are created
from the perceptions and consequent actions of those
social actors concerned with their existence.

12. Epistemology
• Concerns what constitutes acceptable knowledge in a field of study.
• What is knowledge and what are the sources and limits of knowledge
• Epistemology is how and what is possible to know, and the need to
reflect on the methods and standards through which reliable and
verifiable knowledge is produced
• Epistemology as knowing how you can know
• Questions of epistemology begins to consider the research method

13. Axiology
• Axiology is a branch of philosophy that studies judgments about
values.
• The role that your own values play, in all stages of the research
process, is of great importance for your research results to be
credible.
• Choosing one topic rather than another suggest that you think one of
the topics is more important
• Your choice of philosophical approach is a reflection of your values as
is your choice of data collection techniques.

14. Methodological Assumption
The procedures of conducting research, is its methodology
The stance of quantitative researcher is deductive logic. Moving from
known to known. They bring theory in their research and try to find
answers to their research problem based on hypotheses.

15. The procedures of quantitative research, or its methodology, are
characterized
as deductive, top down approach, and shaped by the researcher's
experience in
collecting and analyzing the data. The logic that the quantitative
researcher
follows is deductive and handed down entirely
from a theory or from the perspectives of the inquirer.

16. Rhetorical Assumption
• Rhetoric is the language of research.
• Quantitative researchers uses more direct, academic writing. Uses
third person pronoun in the study.

17. Assumption Question Characteristics Implication for
Practice
Ontological What is the nature
of reality?
Reality is subjective
& multiple as seen
by participants in
the study/ Reality is
objective and single
Researcher uses
quotes & themes in
words of
participants &
provide evidence of
different
perspectives
Epistemology What is the
relationship
between researcher
& that being
Researched
Researcher
attempts to lessen
the distance
between researcher
& that being
researched or
remain detach as in
quan.
Researcher
collaborates,
spends time in field
with participants &
become insider/
researcher
maintains its
objectivity

18. Assumption Question Characteristics Implication for
Practice
Axiology What is the role of
values?
Researcher
acknowledge that
research is value laden
and that biases are
present/ or ensure zero
biasness
Researcher openly
discuss values that
shape the narrative
& includes his/her
own interpretation in
conjunction with the
interpretation of the
participants.
Rhetorical What is the
language of
research?
Researcher writes in a
literary informal style
using the personal
voice & uses the
qualitative terms &
limited definitions/
More formal style using
third person pronoun in
case of QUAN.
Researcher uses an
engaging style of
narrative, may use
first person pronoun
& qualitative
language/ in quan.
Researcher uses
straight forward ,
direct academic
style writing

19. Methodological What is the process
of research?
Researcher uses
inductive logic,
studies topic within
its context, & uses
an emerging
design/ or
deductive logic with
top down approach
and verifies theory
Researcher
describe in detail
the context of the
study & continually
revise questions

20. Objectivism & Subjectivism
• Objectivism incorporates the assumption of natural sciences, arguing
that the social reality that we research is external to us and others
• Subjectivism: incorporates assumptions of the arts and humanities,
asserting that social reality is made from the perception and
consequent actions of social actors (People).

21. Understanding Research Philosophy
• Four major aspects of philosophy
• Positivism: The stance of the natural scientist
• Realism: Direct and critical realism
• Interpretivism: Researchers as social actors
• Pragmatism: Studies judgments about values

22. Positivism…..Realism
• Positivism can be defined as ” research approaches that
employ empirical methods, make extensive use of
quantitative analysis or develop logical calculi to build formal
explanatory theory

23. Positivism……
• Research Philosophy used by natural sciences
• The researcher is an objective analyst of the external world: the end product
of the research are law like generalizations
• Makes detached interpretations about the data that have been collected in an
objective manner.
• The researcher is independent of the subject of the research.
• The researcher does not effect the subjects of the research
• The researcher is not effected by the subjects of the research
• Focusses on
• Highly structured methodology and methods(e.g., questionnaires)
• Observations may be quantified, this promise statistical analysis

24. Post Positivism….Critical Realism
It is evolved from the positivist paradigm.
It is concerned with the subjectivity of reality and moves away from the
purely objective stance.
“ If it was no longer possible to study the natural world from
mechanistic point of view then it was certainly no longer possible to
study social facts in that way”.

25. “Post positivism rooted in the premise that any perception of reality
cannot be an objective picture but is drawn from empirical
observation and existing theory”.

26. Ontology in Post positivism
Objective social facts do exist independently of and external to human
beings but these facts are subject to uncertainty and probability.
Cause and effect relationships do exist but it is not always possible to
know these relationships in their entirety. Human fallibility always
create imperfections but there remains the basic belief that a reality
is out there waiting to be discovered.

27. Epistemology- In Post Positivism
The major difference between positivist epistemology and post
positivist is the ability of the knower to be completely divorced from
the known.
Post positivist believe that all discovery is subject to interpretation; it is
the responsibility of the researcher to demonstrate objectivity during
the discovery process.

28. Methodology---In Post Positivism
The approach taken by post positivist remains one of experimentation
and hypothesis testing. Variables are identified and manipulated and
relationship between these variables is then measured using
statistical technique.

29. Purpose—prediction/control/explanation/falsification
The purpose of research within the post positivism tradition remains
very similar to that of positivism. The most significant difference is the
notion of falsification; disproving the existence of a phenomenon and
become a valid outcome of an investigation. Generalizations about
the phenomena under investigation remains an output of the post
positivist approach to empirical investigation.

30. Interpretivism
• The interpretive paradigm is also called the phenomenological
approach.
• This is an approach that aims to understand people (Babbie &
Mounton, 2008).
• It concerns with the meanings people attach to norms, rules and
values that regulate their interactions
• The purpose of research is understanding and interpreting everyday
happenings, experiences and social structures as well as meanings people
attach to these phenomena ( Collis & Hussy, 2009).

31. Interpretivism
• Opposite to positivism
• Argues that social world is too complex and unique for traditional natural
sciences approaches
• Therefore, it can not be generalized, it depends on particular sets of
circumstances and individuals
• Its important to understand peoples believe and actions from their point of
view
• Interpretivist seek to understand the subjective reality of those that they
study to understand their motives and beliefs.

32. Pragmatism
• Pragmatism holds that most important determinant of the
epistemology, ontology, axiology adopted in the research question.
• For a pragmatist, research starts with a problem, and aims to
contribute practical solutions that inform future practice.
• Reality matters to pragmatist as practical efforts of ideas, and
knowledge is valued for enabling actions to be carried out
successfully.

33. Pragmatism
• As pragmatists are more interested in practical outcomes than
abstract distinctions.
• It strives to reconcile both objectivism and subjectivism, facts and
values, accurate and rigorous knowledge and different contextualized
experiences.
• By considering theories, concepts , idea, hypothesis and research findings not
in an abstract form, but in terms of roles they play as instruments of thoughts
and actions.