Research paradigms

Paradigms in educational research methodology refer to a set of assumptions about the nature of reality, what constitutes knowledge about that reality, and therefore assumptions about the appropriate methods of building knowledge about that reality (Punch 2009). Denzin and Lincoln (1994) describe a paradigm as:

A set of basic beliefs or metaphysics that deals with ultimates or first principles. It represents a worldview that defines, for its holder, the nature of ‘the world,’, the individual’s place in it, and the range of possible relationships to that world and its parts. (Denzin and Lincoln 1994, p. 107).

Methods of inquiry in social sciences research are driven by paradigms and vice versa (Punch 2009, Mackenzie and Knipe 2006). Paradigms therefore are an important starting point for choosing a research design. This focus on the nature of reality is often highlighted in social science and educational research, but not typically something physicists would consider when designing experimental laboratory research.

MacKenzie and Knipe (2006) group the major research paradigms into positivism/post positivism, constructivism/interpretivism, transformativism, and pragmatism. Treagust, Won and Duit (2014) on the other hand outline three main research paradigms: positivism/post positivism, interpretivist and critical theory, which can be mapped onto the first three of MacKenzie and Knipe’s paradigms.

Positivism/postpostivism: Positivism is akin to the scientific method, and essentially holds that the social world can be studied in the same way as the natural world is studied by scientists, through observation and verification of empirical data thereby arriving at explanations that show cause and effect. In this way the researcher will arrive at value-free general laws that describe the way society works. Post-positivism place more emphasis on having a theoretical framework that influences the way the research is conducted.

Interpretivist/constructivist: Interpretivist/constructivist researchers are concerned with investigating the particular realities of the phenomena they are investigating, and start from the perspective that reality is socially constructed. We all have our own realities, depending on our perspectives and experiences, and therefore trying to establish some objective ultimate truth of a social situation is not feasible. This approach also involves the researchers looking at their own standpoints in relation to the research, and generally is more focused on drawing theory out of the data, rather than starting with a particular theoretical framework.

Transformativism: Transformativist approaches are concerned with social justice and how traditional approaches to research tend to obscure the power relations within society, ignoring marginalised and excluded groups, or misreading or eliding their experiences.

Pragmatism: Pragmatism focuses on the practicalities of solving a real world research problem, with researchers free to choose the methods and procedures that suit the purposes of the research. Pragmatic research does not align to any particular perspective on the nature of knowledge or reality.

The table outlines common methods and data collection associated with the major paradigms, adapted from Mackenzie and Knipe (2006).

While Physics Education Research may employ any one of these paradigms to guide enquiry into a given research question, pragmatism is possibly the most flexible starting point for this research which is often concerned with solving real-world questions and problems associated with teaching and learning practice.