Which paradigm do you prefer: positivism; interpretivism (social constructivist); or critical
theory? Which paradigm do you think is the most useful for producing findings that can guide
social work practice? Which paradigm seems to be the most prevalent in guiding the social
research studies you have read?
The paradigm I would use most would be interpretivism. The reason is that the concept of
interpretivism proposes understanding the world through the perspectives of individuals and their
thoughts and behavior that reflect those perspectives. The researcher in the social sciences must
witness a situation and comprehend the various interpretations that people have previously made
of it, as opposed to the researcher in the natural sciences, who must observe and interpret natural
processes. When using interpretivism, there are multiple realities to a single reality or truth.
Interpretivism uses qualitative research methods such as interviews or case studies to provide
multiple perspectives. Interpretivism seeks to provide an answer to the question "why." When
using positivism, the researcher removes anything from the environment that can affect or skew
the cause-and-effect relationship they seek to study. This makes me wonder if they will get an
accurate sample of the research question they are answering. The most prevalent paradigm
guiding social research studies is either positivism or interpretivism.