ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the philosophical underpinnings of research: The ontological question of 'what is real?' and the epistemological question of 'how do we know what is real?’ Two contrasting positions – materialism and idealism – pose 'answers' to the ontological question. 'A paradigm is a model or framework for observation and understanding, which shapes both what we see and how we understand it' and includes each of the core concepts of ontology, epistemology, methodology and methods. Once researchers can identify and label their particular epistemological, ontological, and methodological premises, they can better understand the perspectives and research decisions of others who are operating from a different paradigm. 'Stepping outside' of one's dominant paradigm can open up new ways of 'seeing and explaining things'. Research paradigms have not developed in a vacuum. They arise out of tensions faced from their own inherent limitations and through points of contention with other paradigms.
