Paradigm
Since the publication of Thomas
Kuhn’s (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a paradigm has been
considered a conglomeration of concepts, theories and methods that guide
research and become dominant during particular historical epochs and/or within
particular disciplines.
Rohmann
highlights this dominant character by explaining that a paradigm ‘‘tends to
become ingrained, influencing the very choice of questions deemed worthy of
study, the methods used to study those questions, and the interpretations of
the results.’’
As
unified and dominant worldviews that imply particular concerns and preferences
related to ontology, epistemology and methodology, paradigms have been
described as in competition with one another.
Paradigms
need not be viewed as so homogenizing, however. Instead, some researchers
encourage the choice of paradigm based on its fit with the particular
phenomenon under investigation.
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