UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES

AND APPROACHES

4- Research Philosophies
 Learning outcomes
 By end of this chapter you should be able to:

o Define the key terms ontology, epistemology and explain their relevance to business research;

o Explain the relevance for business research of philosophical perspectives such as positivism, realism,

pragmatism, and interpretivism;

o understand the main research paradigms which are significant for business research;

o Distinguish between main research approaches; deductive and inductive;

o State your own epistemological and axiological positions.

THE METHODOLOGICAL (DESIGN) PROCESS IS REALLY A CIRCLE

Ontology

Sources Epistemology

Methods Methodology
Figure 4.1 The research ‘onion’
Source: © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2006
 The ‘iceberg metaphor’
“How to get clear about method, methodology, epistemology and ontology, once and for all.”
David James, Cardiff University

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b83ZfBoQ_Kw&t=565s
 The two main research approaches
1. Deduction - theory and hypothesis developed and tested in 5 sequential stages
 Deducing a hypothesis
 Expressing the hypothesis operationally
 Testing the operational hypothesis
 Examining the specific outcome of the enquiry
 Modifying the theory (if necessary)

2. Induction – data are collected and a theory developed from the data analysis by
 Understanding the way human build their world
 Permitting alternative explanations of what’s going on
 Being concerned with the context of events
 Using more qualitative data
 Using a variety of data collection methods
 Deductive and Inductive research
Major differences between these approaches

Saunders et al, (2009)

Table 4.2 Major differences between deductive and inductive approaches to
research
 Choosing your research approach

The right choice of approach helps you to

 Make a more informed decision about the research design

 Think about which strategies will work for your research topic
 Adapt your design to cater for any constraints

Adapted from Easterby-Smith et al. (2008)

 Combining research approaches

Things worth considering

 The nature of the research topic

 The time available
 The extent of risk
 The research audience
 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY
Two Important Concepts to understand:
Ontology vs. Epistemology
o Ontology: concerned with belief about nature of reality.
 What it is that we know about the world
• (Concrete reality or an Evolving reality)
o Epistemology: concerned with the way to recognize reality.
 Understanding how do we get to know about the world
• The relation ship between researcher and what is researched

 Two paradigms
o OBJECTIVISM (POSITIVE/ ETIC)
o CONSTRUCTIVISM (INTERPRETIVE)
 Ontology vs. Epistemology
• Ontology: Blaikie (1993) ‘the science or study of being’
– This description encompass (for the social sciences)
‘claims about what exists, what it looks like, what units make it up

and how these units interact with each other’.

• Ontology describes our view (whether claims or assumptions) on the nature of reality, and
specifically, is this an objective reality that really exists, or only a subjective reality,
created in our minds.
– e.g. the everyday example of a workplace report, asking one to question whether it describes what is
really going on, or only what the author thinks is going on.
– e.g. considering phenomena such as culture, power or control, and whether they really exist or are simply
an illusion, further extending the discussion as to how individuals (and groups) determine these realities

• Hence it refers to recognizing that…

– does the reality exist only through experience of it (subjectivism),
– or does it exist independently of those who live it (objectivism).
 Ontology vs. Epistemology
Epistemology:
• Understanding ‘how and what it is possible to know’ and the need to
reflect on methods and standards through which reliable and verifiable
knowledge is produced.
• Understanding how should reality be represented or described.
• Understanding how do we get to know what we know about the world
• Understanding what constitutes new knowledge in a field of study
• Coupled with ontology, it considers views about the most appropriate
ways of enquiring into the nature of the world
• Questions of epistemology begin to consider the research method, and
Eriksson and Kovalainen go on to discuss how epistemology defines how
knowledge can be produced and argued for.
 Ontology vs. Epistemology
OBJECTIVISM / REALISM (POSITIVIST / ETIC)

• “Research approaches that employ empirical methods, make extensive use of

quantitative analysis, or develop logical calculi to build formal explanatory theory”

• Social phenomena confront us as external – independent and objective – facts.

• For example, an organization has rules and regulations; standarized procedures for getting things
done; there is a hierachy; mission statement; individuals have to conform to these rules; they do
jobs to which they are appointed; they are told what to do and they tell others what to do;
otherwise, they may be reprimanded or even fired
(e.g., in army, the interactions are based on the official rules i.e. more important)
 Ontology vs. Epistemology

 SUBJECTIVISM/RELATIVISM/CONSTRUCTIVISM (INTERPRETIVIST/EMIC)

• Social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors; the phenomena
are not only produced through social interactions, but they are in a constant state of revision
o For example, in some organizations rules are less extensive / less rigorously imposed than in other classic organizations
They are not commands but rather general understandings; the outcome are agreed-upon patterns of
action in different situations that are the product of negotiations among the different parties involved
(e.g., in a hospital, everyday interactions may be more important than rules)

• It advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as
social actors.
• It is concerned with the meanings that people attach to norms, rules, and values that regulate their
interactions.
• Care is taken not to impose a previous understanding of norms, rules, and values on others but rather to
understand their beliefs and actions from their point of view.
 THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITIONS:
Positivism
 More applied in natural sciences

• It views the social world as a concrete structure

 Argues to make an objective analysis of external world

o The researcher is independent of the subject of research:
 the researcher does not affect the subject of the research
 the researcher is not affected by the subject of the research
o Using ETIC approach

 Focus on
o highly structured methodology and methods (e.g., questionnaires) to facilitate replication
o observations can be quantified; permiting statistical analysis

 End product of research are law-like generalizations

 THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL POSITIONS:

Interpretivism
 Opposite to Positivism

 Argues that the social world of business and management is too complex and unique for
the traditional natural sciences approaches
o Therefore, it cannot be generalized; it depends on particular sets of circumstances and individuals

• Hence (Using EMIC approach) it is the role of interpretivists to seek to understand the
subjective reality of those that they study
o to understand their motives, actions, and intentions
Links between Epistemology and Ontology
 Epistemological orientation of:
o Positivism is most likely linked to Ontological orientation of
Objectivism (and Realism)
o Interpretivism is usually linked to Constructionism

 Research strategies (emerge from the above):

o Quantitative research strategy
(usually linked to Positivism and Objectivism/Realism and to
Deductive Research)
o Qualitative research strategy
(usually linked to Interpretivism and Constructionism and to either
Inductive Research or Grounded Theory)
3 Methodology & Methods

THE QANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE TRADITIONS

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
PARADIGM positivism, empiricism subjectivism, interpretivism
constructivism
METHODOLOGY scientific method, hypothesis driven, ethnomethodology, phenomenology,
deductive, reliable, valid, reproducible, ethnography, action research, inductive,
objective, generalizable subjective, idiographic, intuitive

METHODS large scale, surveys, random control trials small scale, interviewing, observation,
document analysis
DATA TYPE generally quantitative generally qualitative

ANALYSIS statistical thematic exploration

(O’Leary, 2010. p.105)

Note, the above are ‘ideals’ or ‘aspirational’ – your critique of a methodology can
demonstrate why they do not live up to these; e.g. reliability, validity, reproducibility , etc.