University of Salford 2020/21

Paradigms and Concepts of Research - ‘Epistemology’ and ‘Ontology’

To work through Activity 1 in the session

Suggested time to work on through this after the session – 2 hours

The first activity you will do during the session. The remaining three are designed for you
to do over the next few weeks to support the session and the slides (with voice over).

Some key definitions

1. “Epistemology refers to the nature of knowledge or how we come to know certain

things about the world. Different research methods draw on different traditions and
produce different understanding of the world and different forms of knowledge”
(Saks & Allsop, 2007, pg. 410)
2. “A paradigm can be defined as an overarching philosophical or ideological stance, a
system of beliefs about the nature of the world, and ultimately, when applied in the
research setting, the assumptive base from which we go about producing knowledge
(Rubin & Rubin, 2005 cited in Saks & Alsop, 2007).
3. “Ontology refers to the study of the nature of reality” (Saks & Alsop, 2007, p. 25)

Activity 1 (in the class):

This is the first week of research methods and one of the things that is useful to do is think
about who you are and then who you are or could be as a researcher. This is also a good
way to help you get to know each other and may make you realise other people have similar
interests, method preferences, influences, biases etc. As such, this initial activity is designed
to help you think about you and then also get to know others in the group. This will be done
in three parts:

Part 1:

Who we are, what we think, and our role in the world can impact how we approach
research. Within this module you will learn about lots of different methods, be given
dissertation ideas and opportunities to work on real projects. You could do something that
fits in with your job, interests you, fits where you want to go after your degree, or helps you
work in a certain area. Sometimes though it is also good to go outside of your comfort zone,

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but to do that we need to know our comfort zone. As such think about the following 10
questions and give your gut answer (don’t spend too long on each):

1. One thing that has impacted you linked to culture –

2. One thing that has impacted you linked to education –
3. Do you work in an area linked to public health or have you? – Yes, No
4. Do you have a favourite topic (e.g. smoking) or are you looking to be inspired – Topic
Inspired
5. Types of research done before – None, Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed methods
6. Types of methods done before – None, Questionnaire, Focus group, Interviews,
Measurement, other
7. Preference for – numbers, words, both, never thought about it
8. Excited or scared by research – excited, scared, somewhere in the middle, no idea
9. One thing about you which you think is important to consider in relation to research
(e.g. a background working with children, so think important to get their view)…..
10. Something you want to know more about or try when it comes to research ……

Part 2:

As you can see, I have picked out 10 questions I think are important to think about or to
know to help you as you go through this module. It may make you realise your biases,
preferences, where you need/want to learn more, or where you may feel more
comfortable. It may also help you think about the skills sessions that go with the module,
and where you may need more help.

One of the great things about this course is the diversity of people in terms of their
background, their upbringing, their homes, and their ambitions going forward. To help us to
start and benefit from the importance of this diversity, in pairs, think of one more question
you think we should ask the rest of the group that will help us going forward with the
module and skills sessions.

Feed this back to the group and then you can all answer this.

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Part 3:

If you would like, you can feed some of this back to the group in terms of your answers or
what it made you think about or realised, things that you perhaps hadn’t thought of before.
If there is not time to feedback in the class, then please feedback using the discussion
sections on Blackboard as this will allow you to carry on the conversation.

Activity 2:

Moving in to look at some initial important terms in research, but building on your answers
to activity one: who we are and how we view things can have a great deal of impact on how
we approach and carry out research. It can also impact what we think of research and what
we are more inclined to choose as methods, how we critique papers and what we think is
valid.

As such, at the start of this module it is important to think about how you view things. To
help us do this we will use the diagram below that illustrates how some of the key terms
within research are all linked.

Figure 1 The research paradigm – methodology, epistemology and ontology – explained in

simple language, 2015, Salma Patel

Initially, have a think about four questions and try to sum up in one sentence your answer to
them:

 What is reality? (Ontology) – e.g. what is there, so does the chair we are sat on exist?
 How do you know something? (Epistemology) e.g. how do we know that the chair
we are sat on exists
 What do you think has impacted on your initial two answers?
 How do you think this could impact your research and public
health/PhD/radiography work?

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Once you have written your sentence for each then explain this to others using the
discussion boards on Blackboard.

Try to ensure that you stick to one sentence, think if you were in an elevator with someone
you have only this length of time to answer – so around 1-minute in total. Being succinct
about your view can help make sure it is clear.

Activity 3:

To support their class, two academics created a quiz, which can help you think about your
epistemology. You can read about the design in the following paper - Strickland, B. and
Lawrence, E. (2015), What's your epistemology?: Quiz design as a pedagogical tool in library
& information science doctoral education. Proc. Assoc. Info. Sci. Tech., 52: 1-3.
doi:10.1002/pra2.2015.145052010080
https://asistdl.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pra2.2015.145052010080

For this activity – work through the quiz - https://www.qzzr.com/c/quiz/49304/17d1b70c-

c863-4d2c-a5ed-4968c92773cf Take a copy of the outcome you get (screenshot), post this
on the discussion board along with what you think of the outcome. Does it reflect who you
think you are and your views? Are you surprised by your outcome?

Activity 4:

Research paradigms, ontology and epistemology are difficult concepts that can often be
confusing and have a number of other equally possibly confusing terms associated with
them.

When I think about myself as a researcher, I am a pragmatist – I often use mixed methods,
and I have an inclination towards making sure people get to tell their story, be this very
young children or adults.

Alex on the other hand is a positivist: she has a very quantitative background (mathematics
and epidemiology), and as such likes has a deductive thought process.

We have learnt this over many years, far too much reading and far too much talking, as well
as a lot of different research activities. It has also taken a lot of head scratching to get to the
stage we can say what type of researcher we are in fewer than three lines.

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For this last activity I want you to start doing some research, but not with people, online to
find resources to help your classmates. There are millions of videos, blogs, articles, books
and journals around paradigms, ontology and epistemology. I have given you some below,
and some through the slides for the session.

For this activity I want us to start to create a resource directory to help each other with
regards these concepts and also research methods. As such I would like you to:

1. Carry out a search for a resource that is linked to either – paradigms, ontology,
epistemology or research methods – make sure this is NOT one that has been
provided by the Public Health Team.
2. Critique the resource you have found – do we know the source, how trustworthy is
it, what type of evidence is it, what format is it etc. (later on in this module we will
learn about hierarchies of evidence and what is suitable to use, but for this it can be
any type – as we will draw on the types you find later on in the module).
3. Post what you have found on the discussion board – with it provide a brief (50
words), which outlines what it is, what it links to and your critique
4. Over the next few weeks see what the others in the group have posted and
comment your thoughts on these.

Useful links:

Video explanation - Ontology, epistemology and research paradigm -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkcqGU7l_zU

Bryman: Social Research methods Flashcard Glossary -

https://global.oup.com/uk/orc/sociology/brymansrm5e/student/glossary/

Donna R. Berryman (2019) Ontology, Epistemology, Methodology, and Methods:

Information for Librarian Researchers, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 38:3, 271-279,
DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2019.1623614 -
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02763869.2019.1623614

Weed, D.L. (1999) Towards a philosophy of public health. Journal of Epidemiol Community
Health, 53. Pp. 99–104 - https://jech.bmj.com/content/jech/53/2/99.full.pdf

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Crotty, M., (1998). The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the
Research Process.

Guba, E.G. and Lincoln, Y.S., 1994. Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook
of qualitative research, 2(163-194), p.105.

The research paradigm – methodology, epistemology and ontology – explained in simple

language Published July 15, 2015 by Salma Patel http://salmapatel.co.uk/academia/the-
research-paradigm-methodology-epistemology-and-ontology-explained-in-simple-language/

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