Foundations of Inquiry
Linking Paradigms and Methodologies in Social Research
1st Edition
Published on 5. December 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
344 pages
978-1-0718-4607-0 (ISBN)
Description
In Foundations of Inquiry, Guoping Zhao and Lucy E. Bailey consider paradigms and how they connect to methodologies. The authors explore a rich body of paradigms (historical and contemporary) and how they form, support, and justify different methodologies and connect to designing and carrying out research.
Reviews / Votes
This book dives into the importance of understanding your paradigm and approach to research before starting a project, thus providing students with a good foundation to conduct high quality research. -- Gudrun NyuntMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 185 mm
Width: 233 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
624 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0718-4607-0 (9781071846070)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Guoping Zhao is a Professor at Oklahoma State University, USA. She works in the fields of continental philosophy, comparative philosophy, philosophy of education, and theoretical foundations of inquiry. She is the author of Subjectivity and Infinity: Time and Existence (2020, Palgrave MacMillan), the editor of Levinas and the Philosophy of Education (2018, Routledge), and the co-editor of Re-Envisioning Chinese Education: The Meaning of Person-Making in a New Age (2015, Routledge).
Lucy E. Bailey is professor at Oklahoma State University and Director of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. She conducts research and teaches in the fields of qualitative methodologies, feminist and diversity studies, and foundations of education. She is co-editor of the Research in Life Writing and Education book series (Emerald Press) and has published co-edited books on race and life writing, educational embodiment, and women's civil war letter writing.
Lucy E. Bailey is professor at Oklahoma State University and Director of Gender, Women's and Sexuality Studies. She conducts research and teaches in the fields of qualitative methodologies, feminist and diversity studies, and foundations of education. She is co-editor of the Research in Life Writing and Education book series (Emerald Press) and has published co-edited books on race and life writing, educational embodiment, and women's civil war letter writing.
Content
Introduction and Overview
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Part I
Chapter 1: The Legacy of Positivism in Social Research
Origins and Development of Positivism
Positivism and Empirical Research: Embedded Assumptions & Guiding Beliefs
Critique and Fall from Prominence
Positivist Legacy
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 2: Post-Positivism
The Rise of Post-Positivism
Post-Positivism as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology
Discussion
Examples of Post-Positivist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part II
Chapter 3: General Interpretivism
The Rise of General Interpretivism
The Interpretivist Turn and Constructionist Philosophy
General Interpretivism as a Paradigm
Discussion
Implications for methodology
Examples of Interpretivist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 4: Phenomenology
Husserl's Transcendental Phenomenology
Martin Heidegger's Hermeneutical Phenomenology
Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Existential Phenomenology
Phenomenology as Philosophical Reflection Method
Phenomenology as a Paradigm for the Social Sciences
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Phenomenological Inquiry
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 5: Hermeneutics
Modern Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics as a Paradigm for Social Research
Discussion
Methodological Implications
Examples of Hermeneutic Study
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 6: Symbolic Interactionism
The Rise of Sociology and the Chicago School
Symbolic Interactionism as a Paradigm
Methodological Alignment With SI: Ethnography
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Symbolic Interactionism Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part III
Chapter 7: Critical Theory
Prelude: Marx and the Critical Perspective
The Rise of Western Marxism and the Frankfurt School
Critical Theory
Critical Theory as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: Critical Inquiry
Discussion
Examples of Critical Inquiry
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 8: Critical Race Theory
History, Development, and Responses
Core Propositions of CRT
CRT as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: CRT's Methodological Innovations
Discussion
Examples of and Resources for Critical Race Studies
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 9: Feminism
The Feminist Movement and the Rise of Feminist Epistemology
Feminist Perspective
Feminist Perspective as A Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: Feminist Research
Discussion
Examples of Feminist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 10: Philosophical Grounding for Mixed Methods Research
The Rise of Mixed Methods Research
The Struggle for Philosophical Justification: The Paradigmatic Stances
The Struggle for Philosophical Justification: Paradigms for MMR
Discussion: The Current State of MMR
Examples of Mixed Methods Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part IV
Chapter 11: Post-Structuralism
The Development of Poststructuralism
Diverse Components of Poststructuralism
Poststructuralism as a Paradigm
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Poststructuralist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 12: Indigenous Paradigms
Indigenous Worldviews and Ways of Knowing
The Legacy of Colonization and the Decolonizing Inquiry Practices
The Emergence of Indigenous Paradigms
Implications for Methodology
Discussion
Examples of Research Approaches that Honor and Exemplify Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Commitments
Questions
References
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Part I
Chapter 1: The Legacy of Positivism in Social Research
Origins and Development of Positivism
Positivism and Empirical Research: Embedded Assumptions & Guiding Beliefs
Critique and Fall from Prominence
Positivist Legacy
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 2: Post-Positivism
The Rise of Post-Positivism
Post-Positivism as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology
Discussion
Examples of Post-Positivist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part II
Chapter 3: General Interpretivism
The Rise of General Interpretivism
The Interpretivist Turn and Constructionist Philosophy
General Interpretivism as a Paradigm
Discussion
Implications for methodology
Examples of Interpretivist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 4: Phenomenology
Husserl's Transcendental Phenomenology
Martin Heidegger's Hermeneutical Phenomenology
Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Existential Phenomenology
Phenomenology as Philosophical Reflection Method
Phenomenology as a Paradigm for the Social Sciences
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Phenomenological Inquiry
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 5: Hermeneutics
Modern Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics as a Paradigm for Social Research
Discussion
Methodological Implications
Examples of Hermeneutic Study
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 6: Symbolic Interactionism
The Rise of Sociology and the Chicago School
Symbolic Interactionism as a Paradigm
Methodological Alignment With SI: Ethnography
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Symbolic Interactionism Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part III
Chapter 7: Critical Theory
Prelude: Marx and the Critical Perspective
The Rise of Western Marxism and the Frankfurt School
Critical Theory
Critical Theory as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: Critical Inquiry
Discussion
Examples of Critical Inquiry
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 8: Critical Race Theory
History, Development, and Responses
Core Propositions of CRT
CRT as a Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: CRT's Methodological Innovations
Discussion
Examples of and Resources for Critical Race Studies
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 9: Feminism
The Feminist Movement and the Rise of Feminist Epistemology
Feminist Perspective
Feminist Perspective as A Paradigm
Implications for Methodology: Feminist Research
Discussion
Examples of Feminist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 10: Philosophical Grounding for Mixed Methods Research
The Rise of Mixed Methods Research
The Struggle for Philosophical Justification: The Paradigmatic Stances
The Struggle for Philosophical Justification: Paradigms for MMR
Discussion: The Current State of MMR
Examples of Mixed Methods Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Part IV
Chapter 11: Post-Structuralism
The Development of Poststructuralism
Diverse Components of Poststructuralism
Poststructuralism as a Paradigm
Discussion
Implications for Methodology
Examples of Poststructuralist Research
Review Questions and Prompts
Chapter 12: Indigenous Paradigms
Indigenous Worldviews and Ways of Knowing
The Legacy of Colonization and the Decolonizing Inquiry Practices
The Emergence of Indigenous Paradigms
Implications for Methodology
Discussion
Examples of Research Approaches that Honor and Exemplify Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Commitments
Questions
References
Index