A cluster of beliefs and dictates which influence what should be studied, how research should be done, and how results should be interpreted
Research paradigms
Qualitative
Quantitative
Phenomenology
Both an approach to and a method of understanding the behavioral, emotive, and social meanings of lived experiences of individuals
Ethnography
Focuses on studying shared practices and belief systems (i.e., culture) of a group of people in their natural context over a prolonged period
Case study
Allows in-depth investigation of complex issues within a specific context based on a small geographical area or a very limited number of individuals as the subjects of the study
Discourse/Conversation analysis
Studies naturally occurring discourse and extract shared meanings from such discourse; text is the object of analysis
Inductive thematic theory
Primarily concerned with presenting the stories and experiences voiced by study participants as accurately and comprehensively as possible
Grounded theory
A set of inductive data collection and analytic methods to construct theories grounded in the data themselves
Narrative analysis
Focuses on narratives (storytelling) as the source of data
