Paradigms and Perspectives in Contention: A Reflection
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Lilian G. Tumapang, RN, MAN
In embracing the world of a qualitative social scientist, researchers should exert conscious effort in modifying how they perceive and conduct their studies. With the 21st century epoch marking the age of emancipation, there is freedom from the confines of a single regime of truth (Denzin and Lincoln, 2013). Hence, revisiting our own philosophical underpinnings will provide a frame of reference in cortically evaluating the paradigm of investigation we can identify with.
Acknowledging the fluidity of truth, I advocate for the “no-one paradigm-fits-all” approach to research. I contend that pluralism or multiple lenses and perspectives are necessary to capture the depth and breadth of a particular phenomenon. An implication, therefore, points at strengthening my fundamental ontological, epistemological, methodological, and axiological assumptions about the various paradigms and perspectives in research.
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