Research Assumptions and Positions

• Research Assumptions: Assumptions made by researchers which influence the research philosophy and research design choices. The research assumptions are grouped under three types: ontology, epistemology and axiology. These assumptions can be made from two extreme positions – objectivistic position to subjectivist position.
  • Ontology (nature of reality or being) : Refers to the research assumptions about reality. These assumptions influence the researcher’s way of seeing and studying the research objects like organizations, employees etc in the case of management research. Thus if the ontological assumption is favorable to a certain state of reality, then research will be tending towards finding ways of enabling that state.
  • Epistemology: “refers to assumptions about knowledge, what constitutes acceptable, valid and legitimate knowledge, and how we can communicate knowledge to others”. For example, to address the question on what constitutes acceptable knowledge, the objectivist position will lead to assumption that it is Facts and numbers. A subjectivist position will lead to assumption that it is opinions; written, spoken and visual accounts.
  • Axiology: Refers to the assumptions on the role of researcher’s values and ethics and the research participants’ values and ethics on the research work.
• Research positions:
  • Objectivism: With this position, a researcher makes assumptions treating social entities to behave similar to natural objects. It is assumed that there is one ‘social reality’ experienced by all which is unchanging.
  • Subjectivism: In this position, a researcher makes assumptions that social reality is a result of social actors’ perceptions and actions.
  • Nominalism: Here the belief is that the phenomena being studied is a creation of the researchers and that there is no underlying reality of the social world. Based on the perceptions and experiences of different people multiple realities are believed to exist.
  • Social constructionism: In this position, social reality is assumed to be constructed by social actors partially.
• Ideological orientation of researcher:
  • Sociology of Regulation: It is an ideological orientation of the researcher towards the social world. In this the researcher’s position is to research and figure out within existing framework of how things are done currently without questioning the same.
  • Sociology of Radical Change: It is an ideological orientation of the researcher towards the social world, in which the researcher questions the way things are done in organizations to change the organizational and social worlds.

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