ABSTRACT
The choice made by sociologists of what they will study and how they will study it depends on the assumptions underlying their research. One approach to sociological research is founded on the principle of ‘positivism’: the view that “in spite of the differences in subject matter of the various scientific disciplines, both natural and social, the same method or logic of explanation can be used”. Another approach to sociological research is based on ‘hermeneutics’ - ”the theory and method of interpreting meaningful human action”. Therefore, in keeping with the inclusion of interpretive ‘domain assumptions’ in Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration, the methodological approach used for the study is interpretivist or anti-positivist and the research strategy is primarily abductive. Giddens’ theory of structuration attempts to bridge the gap between structural theory and phenomenology. P. Jones, comparing structural theorists with those who adopt a more interpretive approach, states: Interpretive theorists, in contrast, see things rather differently.
