ABSTRACT
The previous four chapters were concerned with research based upon ‘concept-driven’ ideas. The central concern in this chapter is with outlining a research proposal to illustrate how a symbolic interactionist theoretical position within the interpretivist paradigm can also be utilized to underpin research of the ‘problem-focused’ variety. Before examining the research proposal, however, it needs to be recognised that interpretivist research cannot accommodate research questions where one is searching for ‘surefi red’ solutions to specifi c problems. The latter search tends to be the domain of those working within a positivist paradigm, particularly those who adopt an experimental methodology.
