Conducting research by following an advisor’s footsteps is not at all a difficult process. But when you sit to understand the detailed process of research, you must need to focus on a number of fundamental concepts. These concepts often confuse students and make research a complicated process for them. Thus, this article will discuss the dissertation research paradigm in a simple manner so students can get aware of the theoretical aspects of research as well.
Dissertation Research Paradigm – A Brief Introduction:
A dissertation Research Paradigm is an approach or model that suggests ways to construct a research plan. It is different from typical research plans, as it is only a framework of beliefs, thoughts, and philosophies. In our educational setups, students are more aware of the term ‘research philosophy’ instead of ‘research paradigm’. To put the term more simply, we can say that research paradigm refers to the thoughts or how a researcher thinks about the process of knowledge development. However, some expert writers refer to it as a blueprint for research.
Seven Things Important To Know About The Dissertation Research Paradigm:
The following are seven points that a researcher must know before drafting a master’s and doctorate dissertation. The first three points give necessary information about the type of research paradigm, and the remaining four will be important to know about different research philosophies and approaches to start working on the dissertation research paradigm.
Ontology:
It is a type of brief extremely important for dissertation researchers to know before planning research. Actually, it is a ‘brief of reality’ that considers whether a single reality exists or not. To be clearer, it aims to answer one question about research, ‘What is the reality in the true sense?’ For example, it refers to the fact that a piece of knowledge is a subject of discussion by only one perspective that is its existence into the real world. If you are working on recent flood disasters in your country, oncology explains whether flood really came or not. Basically, it gives binary values including ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Epistemology:
Unlike oncology, epistemology focuses on the study of knowledge. The method of acquiring knowledge, the scope of a particular piece of information, and all concerns related to the validity of information fall under the umbrella of epistemology. In this way, the main point that epistemology is concerned about is ‘how can the reality of information be known? For example, if we review back the previous example, epistemology will let us find how a researcher knows that flood came into their country. All in all, it explores ways of validating the reality of a piece of information.
Research Methodology:
The third type of research paradigm is the research methodology. It refers to all important components of research that one must have to work on to solve a scientific mystery. Methods of collection of data, techniques to analyse it, approach to focus on the target, and ways to answer the research questions are all important components of a research methodology. The main questions that a researcher must keep in mind while deciding on research methodology are:
- How can the real-world data relevant to a study be collected?
- What are the vital steps to prove the reality of findings of a research problem?
- How do the reality and validity of a claim prove?
Positivism:
While making a dissertation research paradigm, one must also know about different research philosophies. Positivism is a type of research philosophy that helps positivists believe in the single reality of a situation under discussion. In this regard, this philosophy compels researchers to lead the foundation of a scientific study only on concrete assertions and fact-based investigation. It emphasises on the fact that only factual knowledge gained by accurate measurements can prove a point in scientific research. Quantitative research, either by primary analysis or secondary analysis, can be used in positivism.
Pragmatism:
It is highly dependent on the research questions. In other words, it believes that the selection of research philosophy must be based on the nature of the formulated research questions. This is because; it gives flexibility to researchers to apply both interpretivism and positivism to a single study. Because of this flexibility, it is often called problem-oriented philosophy research. It facilitates researchers in conducting large-scale or commercial studies to see a situation from both qualitative as well as quantitative approaches.
Interpretivism:
The term interpretivism is derived from the word ‘interpret’; thus, it refers to the method of gathering knowledge about the world. To explore the world, you do not actually need to do some specific formulae and mathematical expressions. Only qualitative analysis can serve the purpose. Interpretivism actually believes in searching the reality by taking multiple perspectives. Thus, questionnaires, surveys, interviews, observations, and focused groups are some choices it offers to researchers for interpreting and knowing the hidden facts about the study.
The Approach Of Study:
The last but not least thing one needs to decide before making a dissertation research paradigm is to choose the research approach. The approaches for conducting research include inductive, deductive, and abductive. Each approach shapes the research methodology of the paradigm in a different way. The deductive approach refers to starting the study by formulating a specific hypothesis, and the rest of the study revolves around these hypotheses.
The inductive approach is the reciprocal of the deductive approach, as the formulation of the hypothesis is among the concluding phases of the process. Abduction is another approach that starts with hypothesis formulation and ends with predicting another hypothesis. Selection of the research approach is a tricky process, so you can seek help from a reliable dissertation writing service immediately when you get stuck at any point. Seeking an expert’s advice is better than leading the foundation of a dissertation research paradigm on the wrong research approach.
Final Thoughts:
After all is said and done, we can conclude the article by recalling the key points of the dissertation research paradigm. Broadly, it is a framework explaining all the basic sets of beliefs. It needs students to focus on key things, including the philosophies (positivism, interpretivism, and pragmatism), research approach (abductive, deductive, and inductive), research methodology, epistemology, and oncology. By considering these points, one can easily make a research paradigm.
