Research philosophy Assignment 2022

1. Research philosophy
From the definition of Galliers (1991) research philosophy is a belief regarding the procedure
that should be applied in collection and analysis of data regarding a certain phenomenon.
Choosing the best philosophy is a vital part of a study. From the study by Guba & Lincoln
(1982), philosophical paradigm within a study is significant as it is the “basic belief system
or world view that guides the investigation” (p. 105). Philosophy is defined in research as
the development and the nature if knowledge that is developed.
As illustrated by Hussey and Hussey (1997), there are two key research philosophies that
have been highlighted in science; they are positivist and interpretivist / anti-positivist. This is
explained by the research onion below.
Positivism involves working with a social reality that can be observed and using the results to
make generalisations in physical/natural sciences. Positivists assume that reality is stable and
is possible to be observed or even analysed from an objective viewpoint (Levin, 1988). They
contend that it’s necessary to isolate the phenomena and hence make the observations
repeatable. This approach is often associated with reality manipulation with only a single

independent variable being varied to identify the regularities and initiate the relationship
between the elements of the social world. Forecast can thereafter be done on the basis of the
previously observed and explained realities and their correlation. Positivism has had a unique
association with the natural and physical sciences. This study will apply the positivity
approach as it aims at testing the existing theories. The methodology necessitated by the
research is a highly structured and it involves testing of the hypotheses and applying
statistical tools- a quantitative method.
On the other hand, interpretivists believe that knowledge is socially constructed rather than
objectively constructed (Carlson et al. 2001). This approach prefers to make use of small
samples which is collected qualitatively with an in-depth information. Interpretivists tend to
be part of the study rather than being independent of it. The aim is to identify an
understanding and interpretation if meanings as per the human behaviours instead of making
generalisations and forecasting the effect and causes (Neuman, 2000). To deliver realistic
results, phenomenon have to be studied in their natural environment. The interpretivists
philosophy was ignored for this study as it consumes a lot of time and make use of small
sample size which may not effectively represent the study population.
Furthermore, realism is defined as a scientific inquiry which gives emphasis on the reality
that is projected by our sense of truth. It believes that objects do possess existence that is
independent from the minds if people. This feature is relatively closer to the positivism
approach. The view though do contrast between the critical and direct relist.
The chart below displays the most effective data collection method. The study will thus apply
positivism as a philosophical classification.

2. Research approach
The relevance of the hypothesis to the research is the separating point between the inductive
and the deductive approaches. Under the deductive approach, the assumptions in hand are
tested for validity while in the inductive approach, the objective is to develop new theories
and generalisations. The abductive begins with statement of a surprising fact / puzzle and the
study is designed to expound on its explanation.
The table below illustrates the differences between the inductive, deductive and the abductive
study approaches in terms of their logic, data usage, generalizability and theory.

As stated in the introduction, five hypotheses were created based on the objectives, this
means that the objectives set ought to be confirmed or rejected during the process of the
study. Therefore, the study will adopt the deductive approach and follow the path indicated in
the figure below.