Research philosophy: Paradigms, world views, perspectives, and theories

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the philosophical developments in the academic research field and provide a framework for non-native English-speaking budding researchers. Revealing the philosophical stance of the authors of a research paper is crucial in understanding their arguments. Therefore, an understanding of this historical evolution is useful in justifying authors' choices and presenting them clearly in the research report. Authors' perceptions of different theories, perspectives, and worldviews influence and affect many aspects of research, and it is important to mention personal stances on them in the research report at the very beginning. The choice of underpinning philosophy is significantly influenced by the author's psychosocial, economic, and cultural backgrounds. Multivism is a dynamic position of a researcher who is not confined to the bipolar-disordered extremism of objectivism and subjectivism of ontology, epistemology, methodology, and methods.