ABSTRACT
In contemporary society, Positivism remains the dominant paradigm of the physical and social sciences. Positivists consider reality to exist and scientific truth to be knowable and findable through rigorous testing that is free from human bias. The Post-Positivist paradigm is quite similar to Positivism. Constructivism represents a theoretical shift regarding the concept of reality from realism to relativism. Critical theorists consider reality and truth to be shaped by specific historical, cultural, racial, gender, political and economic conditions, values and structures. Researchers who questioned the dominant social science perspective of mass communication often envisioned communication as a cultural practice, through which issues of power, class and social identity could be negotiated. The Qualitative Studies Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the Philosophy of Communication Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) were formed in the late 1970s to provide qualitative researchers with academic homes where they could present theoretically informed media-related research.
