Questions Some positivist assumptions Some assumptions of qualitative research
Adapted from Imel, Kerka, & Wonacott (2002).
What is real and true? There is an objective reality. There are universal truths that can be identified through research. Reality is socially constructed. There are many realities and research aims to identify patterns that may be speciic to a context.
How do we know what we know? We can only know what we can directly experience through our senses. We develop knowledge by coming to understand the meanings that go with what is being studied.
What counts as knowledge? Researchers and knowledge are independent of each other. Knowledge is discovered by observing and measuring things; things can be taken apart and observed to establish facts. Researchers interact with people in the study to gather data. Research changes the researcher and the participants. The knowledge developed is dependent on the context and time.
How do we find out what we come to know? The scientific method is used to discover knowledge. Researchers develop a hypothesis, and use experimental or quasi-experimental methods to prove or disprove it. Results are generalized to a population. Researchers may start with an area of interest. The research evolves through the process of doing the research. They aim to understand the meaning of activities or events in a particular context.
What is the role of values? The research process is seen as value free. Researchers construct methods to ensure objectivity and lack of bias. Researchers are not likely to describe their own assumptions or positions. Researchers are a main instrument for collecting information and analyzing it. They recognize and are mindful that their experiences, personalities, values and beliefs-their biases-inluence how they do their research. They are likely to describe their assumptions and biases.

As noted in the table, qualitative researchers see themselves as a main instrument for research. This refers to how, as researchers, we likely interact with research participants through interviews, observations and other ways. We ask questions, pick up on responses, follow ideas, and so on. How we do this is influenced by who we are, what we know, and how we know-by our view of the world and our place in it. Chapter 4 includes a discussion about worldviews and how they are shaped by our social locations.

Before reading on, you might reread the assumptions about research outlined above and reflect on your own understandings and beliefs about research.