Research Philosophy: Epistemology

This chapter covers the background and rationale, statement of the opportunity, purpose, research questions, nature of the study, definition of key terms, the significance of the study, assumptions, and limitations. It also covers the scope, worldview and theoretical foundation depicting the logical path of the research study.

Positivism or more specifically, logical positivism, is “maintained that science is value free, independent of the scientist, and obtained using objective methods” (McEwen & Wills, 2007, p.8). This leads to no biased interpretation of the data. In summary, objectivity and facts are the basis of received view.

The objectives and scopes of the research are also defined. This chapter also describes the methodology to carry out and accomplish the objectives.

Research methodology and methodological approaches that is, the structured process of conducting research and the overall concepts and theories which underpin research respectively (Bryman, 2008), occupy a central position in the research process as they are both shaped by and translate the researcher’s epistemological position. Epistemology then refers to a researcher’s philosophical stance about the nature, derivation and scope of knowledge (Gilbert, 2008). These positions are seldom ‘spelt out’ but rather understood in the matter of research methodology and approach (Sarantakos, 2005).

This section of the article shall address the approach used in the case study, providing explanations of the preferred research method, sample details, variables under examination, data collection

In order to elucidate the way in which the choice of epistemology influences the formulation of a management research problem, it is necessary to define the term epistemology and clarify some of the varying epistemological stances. In doing so, the reader will be able to understand the myriad different variations of epistemological viewpoints, each of which shape the direction of research and the sort of problem that research attempts to identify. Management research builds on the long tradition of research in the social sciences (Somekh and Lewin, 2005). Primarily, epistemology provides the very lens through which research is conducted. Certain epistemological lenses, therefore, are best suited for certain types of research and research problems, whereas other research problems can be determined most efficaciously through other epistemological lenses.

This chapter includes the methodology and research design of the study. The chapter is organized in the following sections: (a) research design and design appropriateness;

Positivism is a theoretical point of view which concentrates on social facts, scientific methods and quantitative data. The research methods that are commonly used by positivists are questionnaires, structured interviews, structured non-participant observation and official statistics. These methods are used as they are objective and reliable. One sociological study that used positivist methods was Durkheim’s Suicide Study. Durkheim used official statistics to study suicide and demonstrate society as a science with its own distinct subject matter.

This chapter discusses the methods used in the study. It consists of research design, data and data source, data collection and data analysis.

Research paradigms are ‘the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques, and so on shared by members of a given community’ (Kuhn, 1970, p.175). The three most common paradigms are positivism, constructivism or interpretivism and pragmatism. Each of these can be categorised further by examining their: ontology, epistemology and methodology. Fundamentally, ontology is the nature of reality, epistemology describes the relationship the investigator has with their version of reality, and methodology is the various techniques and tools used to analysis their research.

Epistemology refers to the researcher’s assumptions about the nature of knowledge. Specifically, epistemology is concerned with possibilities, nature, sources and limitations of knowledge in the field of study. Positivism and Anti-Positivism are the two streams of this area of research philosophy. Positivism tends to be grounded in objectivity and regulation. Through the use of theory and hypotheses various tests are usually carried out and are either confirmed or refuted in order to assist further development. Anti-Positivism upholds the belief that the social world can only be comprehended from the point of view of the individuals involved in the activity which is being studied. Hence, it is more subjective in nature. As a result, the philosophy behind the epistemological approach of this paper was

Positivism is the scientific paradigm, which is the representative of objectivity. This paradigm supports that knowledge comes through a series of steps, such as observation of the nature, forming a hypothesis and then testing the hypothesis through experiments and statistics. In this way, researchers can provide a more accurate view of the truth and prevent generalization. No personal experiences and subjective opinions are involved. In most of the cases, positivism is based on a quantitative research method, which means that the results of the research are verified by numbers and not

Positivism is a rigorous and formal way to collect and analyze data that was developed around the 1960’s by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) who is also credited with formalizing it. Studies are clear and straight forward and researchers believe that there is only one method that all sciences should rely on. Positivism believes

Having recognized the theoretical framework in relation to the research purpose, the following procedure is to identify, analyze and evaluate research techniques required for data collection. In order to meet the objectives set out by this study, one must ensure that the appropriate research methods have been adopted. This chapter critically analyses the available research methods; while providing justification for the approach used in this research. The research methodology of this study will be built around Saunders et al. (2007) framework; the ‘Onion Model’ (Figure 1), which shows highlights a number of philosophical approaches.

The purpose of this chapter is to set out the approaches adopted during data collection and data analysis.