Common Paradigms in Health Care Research
| Paradigm | Assumptions |
|---|---|
| Positivism | There is a real world of objects apart from people |
| Researchers can know this reality and use symbols to accurately describe, represent and explain this reality | |
| Researchers can compare their claims against this objective reality. This allows for prediction, control, and empirical verification | |
| Realism | There are real-world objects apart from people |
| Researchers can only know reality from their perspective of it | |
| We cannot separate ourselves from what we know; however, objectivity is an ideal researchers strive for through careful sampling and specific techniques | |
| It is possible to evaluate the extent to which objectivity or truth is attained. This can be evaluated by a community of scholars and those who are studied | |
| Interpretivism | Reality as we know it is constructed intersubjectively. Meaning and under- standing are developed socially and experientially |
| We cannot separate ourselves from what we know. Who we are and how we understand the world are linked | |
| Researchers’ values are inherent in all phases of research. Truth is negotiated through dialogue | |
| Findings or knowledge claims are created as an investigation proceeds and emerge through dialogue and negotiations of meanings among community members (both scholars and the community at large) | |
| All interpretations are located in a particular context, setting, and moment |