The School of Nursing and Midwifery Philosophical Underpinnings

The School of Nursing and Midwifery Philosophical Underpinnings Professor Catherine Comiskey

Paradigms / Philosophical Underpinnings • Research paradigms define for the researcher what it is they are about, and what falls within and outside the limits of legitimate research (Guba & Lincoln, 1994 p. 108) • Paradigms are sets of philosophical underpinningsfrom which specific research approaches (e. g. qualitative or quantitative methods) flow Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Classifying research paradigms • Guba and Lincoln (1994) state that the basic beliefs that define a particular research paradigm maybe summarised by the responses given to three fundamental questions: • The ontological question i. e. what is the form and nature of reality • The epistemological question i. e. what is the basic belief about knowledge (i. e. what can be known) • The methodological question i. e. how can the researcher go about finding out whatever s/he believes can be known. Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Main paradigms 1. Positivist 2. Post-positivist 3. Interpretivist/Constructivist Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Positivist Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Post Positivist Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Interpretivist/Constructivist Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin

Thank You Catherine. Comiskey@tcd. ie