Paradigms
• A paradigm is a “worldview” or a set of assumptions about how things work.
• “Different perspectives or ways of knowing” (p. 24)• Quantitative and qualitative research methods involve
very different assumptions about how research should be conducted and the role of the researcher.
Differences between
qualitative and
quantitative research
• Involves unstructured interviews, observation, and content analysis.
• Subjective• Inductive• Little structure• Little manipulation of
subjects• Takes a great deal of
time to conduct• Little social distance
between researcher and subject
• Involves experiments, surveys, testing, and structured content analysis, interviews, and observation.
• Objective• Deductive• High degree of structure• Some manipulation of
subjects• May take little time to
conduct• Much social distance
between researcher and subject
Lets talk about some of the assumptions or values that are part of qualitative or quantitative:
For example, do you think:
That the “truth” can be determined in every situation?
Can everyone agree on the truth?
What evidence do you need to determine what is the truth?
How is knowledge or truth generated?
• Are things true if they are printed in books or the newspaper?
• Who determines the truth?
• Can different people hold different perceptions about what is the “truth”?
• Is an individual’s perception of the truth determined by his or her experiences and interactions with other people?
Positivism•What is positivism?•Which research method is associated with positivism?
3 Methodological Paradigms
1.Knowing by Interpretation
2.Knowing by Criticism
3.Knowing by Discovery*Reference: Table 2.2 on page 28
Class Activity
• Your group will be assigned one paradigm: discovery, interpretive, or critical
• With your group, write a brief summary of this paradigm.
• Find two examples from the mass media that you can use to explain that paradigm.
• Present your summary and 2 examples to the class (This should be no more than 10 minutes).
•What is a generalization?•What is the process of discrimination in research?
In the beginning of class, you were given a scenario and asked to write down your decision making process. Which epistemological paradigm presented in this chapter best describes the way you came to your ideas?Some people may argue that research that comes from a paradigm other than their own is not good research. What are some of the points you can make to counter this argument?(p. 33)
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