22Apr

Interpretivism Research Philosophy

What is Interpretivism Research Philosophy?

Interpretivism, also known as interpretivism, entails researchers interpreting study materials, so incorporating human interest into a study. "Interpretive scholars assume that the only way to access reality (given or socially built) is through social creations like language, consciousness, shared meanings, and tools," according to the study. The critique of positivism in the social sciences served as the foundation for the development of interpretivism philosophy. As a result, qualitative analysis takes precedence over quantitative analysis in this worldview.


Interpretivism is "associated with the philosophical position of idealism, and it is used to group diverse approaches, such as social constructivism, phenomenology, and hermeneutics; approaches that reject the objectivist view that meaning resides in the world independently of consciousness." According to the interpretivist method, the researcher must comprehend differences between persons as social actors. Furthermore, interpretivism studies typically focus on meaning and may use a variety of methodologies to reflect various facets of the topic.


The interpretivist method relies on naturalistic data collection methods such as interviews and observations. Interpretivism philosophy also favors secondary data study. Meanings arise toward the end of the research process in this type of study.


The most noteworthy variations of interpretivism include the following: Hermeneutics - is a philosophical term for the study of interpretation and comprehension. Hermeneutics is primarily concerned with biblical texts and wisdom literature, and so has limited use in business studies. Phenomenology - is "the philosophical tradition that seeks to understand the world through directly experiencing the phenomena”. Symbolic interactionism - accepts symbols as culturally derived social objects having shared meanings. According to symbolic interactionism, symbols provide how reality is constructed

In general interpretive approach is based on the following beliefs: Relativist ontology: The philosophy of interpretation and comprehension is referred to by this term. Hermeneutics is mostly concerned with biblical texts and wisdom literature, and so has minimal application in business. Transactional or subjectivist epistemology: People cannot be divorced from their knowledge, according to this method, hence there is a clear link between the researcher and the research subject.


The use of the interpretivism approach in business studies involves the following principles: The Fundamental Principle of the Hermeneutic Circle, The Principle of Contextualization, The Principle of Interaction between the Researchers and the Subjects, The Principle of Abstraction and Generalization, The Principle of Dialogical Reasoning, The Principle of Multiple Interpretations and The Principle of Suspicion


Advantages and Disadvantages of Interpretivism

The main downsides of interpretivism are the subjective nature of the technique and a large amount of room for researcher bias. Because data is frequently influenced by personal viewpoints and values, primary data obtained in interpretivist studies cannot be generalized. As a result, data reliability and representativeness are jeopardized to some level.


The main drawbacks of interpretivism stem from the approach's subjective nature and the researcher's potential for prejudice. Because data is significantly influenced by personal opinions and values, primary data obtained in interpretivist studies cannot be generalized. As a result, the data's reliability and representativeness are harmed to some degree.


In general, the amount of discussion of research philosophy in a dissertation based on interpretivism research philosophy is determined by the level of your studies. It is sufficient to state that you are using the Interpretivism approach and to define the essence of this approach in a brief paragraph for a Bachelor's dissertation. The discussion should be developed into 2-3 paragraphs for a Master's dissertation to offer a rationale for your interpretivist approach.


On the other hand, at the Ph.D. level, a description of research philosophy can take many pages, and you are expected to illustrate the essence of interpretivism using several secondary data sources. In roughly two paragraphs, you should provide a brief argument for your choice of interpretivism.


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