Exploring the Variety of Research Philosophies

Exploring the variety of research philosophies

when undertaking research in business

When it comes to research philosophies, three words are indispensable. They are ontology, epistemology and methodology which have a logical sequence when starting a research.

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations.(Wikipedia,2011) For researchers in management research field, it involves the existence and presence of the social entities that whether they can stand alone from individuals, free from our affectation, or they are the results of social actors whose perceptions and actions contribute to. In other words, it is the basic beliefs about the world and being that researchers hold. The former view is considered as objectivism. As an Objectivist, he or she tends to hold the view that we are living in a world which is external, inert and beyond our reach. On the other hand, the latter one, namely constructionist, who deems it a socially constructed world that is tangible, continuous and driven by human interests.

When a researcher has got a clear view about the environment he or she will conduct a research in, that is to say, how the researcher comprehend the position he or she stand in from a macroscopic perspective. Then, on the next stage, a researcher will encounter a problem that is what knowledge is acceptable in a discipline when conduct a research, which means a researcher need to find correct knowledge he or she has to recognize what is occurring.

Epistemology gives the answer. It is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of scientific knowledge. William M.K. Trochim (2006) states that epistemology is the philosophy of knowledge or of how we come to know. The one who bears natural science pattern in mind and lays emphasis on explanation of human behavior is esteemed as a positivist, who regards himself/herself as an...