Social Science Paradigms Lecture

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering the philosophical foundations and major paradigms of social science research as discussed in the Lecture 4 session on 24 March 2026.

Ontology

A component of the philosophical foundations of social research that asks the question, "What is reality?"

Epistemology

A component of the philosophical foundations of social research that asks, "What and how can I know reality/knowledge?"

Methodology

The systematization of the research process that addresses the question, "What approach can we use to get knowledge?"

Methods

The specific procedures or tools used to acquire knowledge in research.

Sources

The specific data that researchers can collect during the investigation process.

Paradigm

A way of viewing the world or a set of ideas used to understand or explain something, framing what we know and how we can know it.

Positivism

The dominant scientific paradigm until the mid-$20^{th}$ century, guided by objectivity, knowability, and deductive logic, focusing only on what can be observed and measured.

Interpretivism

A paradigm that emphasizes understanding humans as social actors and studying social order through the subjective interpretation of participants.

Max Weber ($1864$-$1920$)

The scholar associated with the development and principles of the interpretivism paradigm.

Postmodernism

A paradigm developed during the mid-late $20^{th}$ century which assumes there is no objective, knowable truth and views science as probabilistic rather than certain.

Critical Paradigm

A research paradigm focused on power, inequality, and social change, positing that scientific investigation should seek social change and can never be value-free.

Probabilistic Science

A concept within Postmodernism suggesting that science is not certain but based on many contingencies.