RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY AND

APPROACHES
Sofia Fernandes
RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACHES
Research Philosophy:
Ontology
Epistemology

Research Approaches:
Deduction and Theory Testing
Induction and Building Theory

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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY
Research Philosophy is related to the development of
knowledge and the nature of that knowledge.
Even if the purpose of the research has a simple ambition of
just answering a particular question in an organisation or
private business, it still related to the same concept:
developing new knowledge.

But why do we have to understand our philosophical position?

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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY
The research philosophy we adopt contains important
assumptions about the way in which we view the world
therefore it is important to understand our philosophical
position because it allows us to understand the taken-for-
granted assumptions we all have about the way the world
works.
There are two major ways of of thinking about research
philosophy: ontology and epistemology.

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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY: ONTOLOGY
Ontology is concerned with the nature of reality. It is the
science of being.

There are two aspects of ontology:

Objectivism: entities exist independent of social actors

Subjectivism: social phenomena are created from the
perceptions and consequent actions of social actors

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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY: EPISTEMOLOGY
Epistemology is concerned with what constitutes acceptable
knowledge in a field of study. It is the theory of knowledge.

There are two aspects of epistemology:

Positivism: similar to natural scientists research philosophy.

It implies working with an observable reality and the end
product of research is a generalisable law, that can be applied
widely.
Interpretivism: researcher needs to understand dierences
between humans in our role as social actors
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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY: EPISTEMOLOGY
Positivism

phenomena observed lead to the production of credible

data
using existing theories to develop hypotheses, which are
then tested to either confirm or refute them
relates to the concept of objectivism in ontology
usually relies on collecting quantitive data, but can also use
qualitative

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RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY: EPISTEMOLOGY
Interpretivism

the researcher needs to adopt an empathetic approach and

understand the motivations behind the research subjects,
therefore connections need to establish to understand and
interpret the behaviours.
relates to the concept of subjectivism in ontology
usually relies on collecting qualitative data

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RESEARCH APPROACHES
A research project involves a use of theory

How clear the theory is for the researcher will impact the
approach to be used:
if the theory and hypothesis are developed in the
beginning, then the research strategy will consist of testing
the hypothesis to confirm or refute them > deduction
if there is no theory, then data are collected and a theory is
developed by analysing the data > induction

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RESEARCH APPROACHES: DEDUCTION AND THEORY TESTING
deduction strongly relies on the principles of scientific research
search to explain causal relationships between variables
there are controls to check the testing of hypotheses
research applies a detailed methodology that facilitates
replication - which is an important issue to ensure reliability
the researcher needs to be independent of what is being
observed
problems are reduced to the simplest possible elements
generalisation: generalise statistically about regularities in
behaviour

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RESEARCH APPROACHES: DEDUCTION AND THEORY TESTING
Sequential stages:
deducing a hypothesis (testable proposition about a
relationship between two or more concepts or variables)
from the theory
indicating how the concepts are to be measured
testing the operational hypothesis
examining the specific outcome of the inquiry - to confirm
the theory or to modify it
generalisation of the findings or modification of the theory

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RESEARCH APPROACHES: INDUCTION AND BUILDING THEORY
it starts by gaining an understanding about the meaning of
events
it is required to have a close understanding of the research
context
collection of qualitative data
requires a more flexible structure to permit changes of
research emphasis as the research progresses
the researcher is part of the research progress
less concern with the need to generalise

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CONCLUSION
Ontology is a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of
social phenomena
Epistemology is concerned with what is acceptable knowledge in a
field of study
There are two main research approaches: deduction and induction.
deduction: a theory or hypothesis (or hypotheses) are developed
and a research strategy is designed to test the hypothesis
induction: data are collected and a theory is developed as a
result of the data analysis
It is possible to combine both approaches in the same research,
and it is often advantageous to do so

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