Ontology, Epistemology, Axiology and back again

Ontology, Epistemology, Axiology and back again

(NOTES)

It’s easy to get lost in the -ology and -ism maze, and after rereading the same paragrpahs five or six times (minimum) in order to understand the message, I started considering if I needed to be tested for some learning disorder. There’s pills for everything so there must be a Latin term for not immediately understanding Qualitative research and the subsequent cure in pill form with such side effects as nausea, cramping, headaches, difficulty breathing, high cholesterol, post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia to name a few. All the same symptoms that occur when thinking about conducting Qual research, really. Regardless, I had to take a few steps back to understand the purpose of the reading - what message am I supposed to take away.

Purpose: to understand your approach to qualitative research it’s important to understand its history.

What this tells me is qualitative research has multiple approaches. Great. So, Pasque has done the footwork and provided us the spiderweb of “history, definitions, contradictions, tensions, and dilemmas.”

Ontology questions reality. Epistemology ask “how do you know?” Axiology asks how values play into the mix. Everything is glued together by methodology - how the theory should be unraveled. Or is it philosophical assumptions that link us to our research approach? Actually, it’s both, arguably, and also our world view including the social justices we observe in our world. Also, a plethora of -isms and -ologys.

Which brings me to my four step process for beginning Qual research (as I see it, for now).

STEP ONE: So, as I see it, before choosing your philosophical roots for examining your research, consider whether you’re identifying a Truth or sharing a Perspective.

Step Two: Choose Philosophical Paradigms that best fit your study.

Step Three: Review the Methodologies that will best suit your study.

Step Four: Develop and explain the methods used to reach the goal of your research through (1) surveys and (2) follow and observe.

Right?