The relevance of pragmatism as a philosophical perspective in social science research

1. 1
The relevance of pragmatism as a philosophical perspective in social science research
By Joseph Asafo
A research paradigm is a philosophical framework that forms the basis of your research. It
provides a framework of beliefs and understandings upon which your research study's concepts
and methodologies are developed. According to Denzin and Lincoln (2011), the term paradigm “is
used in social research to refer to the philosophical assumptions or core set of views that influence
the researcher's actions and shape his or her worldview”. Ontology, epistemology, and research
processes comprise a research paradigm.
Epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge concerned with how and where knowledge is
obtained. Positivism, interpretivism, and pragmatism are the three primary schools of thought in
epistemology. Positivism Under Investigation Epistemology is a research school of thinking that
holds that observable evidence is the only type of scientific finding that can be disputed. As a
result, positivist epistemology holds that only "facts" obtained via the scientific method may be
utilized to construct legitimate assertions about knowing. It also presupposes that the researcher is
unaffected by the study's conclusions and has no control over them. It uses a quantitative method
to determine the current condition of circumstances. While interpretivism concern itself with how
we could learn about the world with interpreting or comprehending the meanings that individuals
attach to their activities.
Pragmatism is a research epistemology based on the idea that there are many different ways to
learn or comprehend a phenomenon since there are many different realities (Saunders, Lewis &
Thornhill, 2012). Numerous research procedures, including both qualitative and quantitative
research methods, are used to get a knowledge of the different realities. Pierce (1905), James
(1907), and Dewey (1922) laid the foundations for pragmatism, which has since been developed
by Rorty (2000) and others. They felt that if a researcher wanted to understand more about a topic,
he or she should integrate the perspectives of those who witnessed the events with scientific
modeling and testing of facts and figures. This combined method approach will result in a better
comprehension of research questions and data, as well as a more balanced conclusion on the study
issue (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
The following are the relevance of pragmatism as a philosophical perspective in social science
research.

2. 2
Pragmatism as a philosophical perspective in social science research overcome the drawbacks
associated with the use of positivism or the interpretivism. Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009), for
example, argue that using pragmatism philosophy which largely falls on the use mixed method
research methodology integrates questionnaires and interviews in a single research study combines
the benefits of breadth and depth associated with these two methodologies. Integrating the results
of these two methodologies has the potential to create the full picture of a study issue that can
answer a variety of research questions and, as a result, provide a more complete knowledge base
that can help with theory development and practice (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004).
In social science research, pragmatism is founded on real-life experiences. As a result, pragmatists
base their beliefs on direct knowledge of real-world events. It doesn't start with presuppositions,
eternal truth, or a priori knowledge. Experiences should be able to confirm and modify one's
perceptions of reality. Truth is a belief that has grown through time as a result of personal and
societal experiences. A belief that isn't grounded in reality and hasn't been verified and confirmed
by real-life experiences should be rejected. Verifiability via experiences is the fundamental test of
truth. This implies that pragmatism as a social science research philosophy allows for both the use
of figures and experiences to explain life phenomenon which makes the result more real and
relevant in solving real life phenomenon (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
Pragmatism in social science allows the use of any concept, theory and any research methodology
once they are relevant in facilitating action and solutions to problems (Kelemen and Rumens
2008). It does this through examining theories, concepts, ideas, hypotheses, and research findings
in terms of their functions as cognitive and action tools, as well as their application in specific
contexts. Reality, according to pragmatists, is the result of ideas' practical effect, and knowledge
is seen as a means of allowing successful actions (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
For a pragmatist, research is always started with a problem and ends with potential solutions that
can be put into action in the future. The researcher values the reflexive process of inquiry, which
is initiated by uncertainty and a sense that something is wrong or out of place, and which helps to
re-create belief after the problem has been solved (Elkjaer and Simpson 2011). Since pragmatists
are more concerned with real results than with abstract differences, the objective or subjective
nature of their research can differ significantly. If pragmatic research were undertaken, the most
important factors for your research design and approach would be the research problem and

3. 3
research question. This implies that pragmatism philosophy is social science is more likely to
provide practical solutions to research problems compared to other philosophies
Also, when a study problem does not specify which sort of data or technique should be used, the
pragmatist's belief that working with a variety of different forms of knowledge and processes is
entirely possible is reinforced (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012). Pragmatists recognize that
there are many diverse ways to look at the world and conduct research, that no single point of view
can ever present a complete picture, and that several realities may exist. This isn't to say that
pragmatists employ a wide range of techniques; rather, they employ the method or procedures that
enable them to acquire reliable, well-founded, trustworthy, and relevant evidence that advances
the topic (Kelemen and Rumens 2008).
The pragmatic research philosophy, which is based on mixed method research, provides the
benefits of triangulation. Triangulation is a method of looking at things from several angles to
assist scholars obtain a better grasp of the underlying phenomena by looking at it from various
angles (Denscombe, 2010). By embracing the complex and multifaceted nature of the real world
in order to do justice to the multiple components of social reality, this triangulation gives validity
and dependability to the social science investigation (Cohen et.al., 2011). The pragmatism research
paradigm, which is frequently associated with mixed methods research, emphasizes the selection
of an appropriate research strategy to address the underlying research question(s) rather than
focusing on specific methodological preferences relevant to quantitative or qualitative research
(Creswell, 2014). As a result, the pragmatic research paradigm focuses the investigation on the
research problem and allows for the use of any suitable methodology to best handle the research
topic (Rossman and Wilson, 1985).
Reference
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. sage.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012). Research Methods for Business Students.
6th
edition, Pearson Education Limited.

4. 4
Dewey, J. (1922 / 2007). Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology.
NY, USA: Cosimo.
James, W. (1907). Pragmatism: A New Home for Some Old Ways of Thinking. New York:
Dover, 1, 995.
Rorty, R. (1982). Consequences of pragmatism: Essays, 1972-1980. U of Minnesota Press.
Pierce, C. (1905). What pragmatism is. The Monist, 15(2), 161-181.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2009). Integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches to
research. The SAGE Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods, 2, 283-317.
Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm
whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
Elkjaer, B., & Simpson, B. (2011). Pragmatism: A lived and living philosophy. What can it offer
to contemporary organization theory?. In Philosophy and organization theory. Emerald Group
Publishing Limited.
Kelemen, M. L., & Rumens, N. (2008). An introduction to critical management research. Sage.