ABSTRACT
Research is conventionally thought to be the means of systematically discovering truths about the world. Its characteristics are that it is conducted in a systematic and controlled way, that it is empirical in the sense that its results must be experientially validated, and thus continually open to refutation or modification (Cohen and Manion, 1985). This conventional portrayal, which defines the nature of research in the natural sciences, is a very powerful one. It has tended to be seen as the norm to which all research, including educational research, should aspire. We will characterize it as the natural science paradigm.
