positivism VS interpretivism

• positivism

  • the belief that there are "social facts" that can be studied objectively
  • positivist methods produce quantitative data
• examples of positivist research methods

  • lab experiments
  • social surveys
  • structured questionnaires
  • formal/structured interviews
  • non-participant observation
  • official statistics
• what data do positivists prefer?

  quantitative
• interpretivism

  • people are conscious of their personal beliefs, meanings, values & interpretations, & these influence the way they act
  • researcher attempts to gain in-depth understanding of how people see the world
  • interpretivist methods produce qualitative data
• examples of interpretivist research methods

  • uncontrolled field experiments
  • open-ended questionnaires
  • unstructured interviews
  • overt & covert participant & non-participant obeservation
  • personal accounts ie diaries & letters