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Paradigms and Theories: Popular Labels and Their Delimitation

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Paradigms and Theories Influencing Policies in the South African and International Water Sectors

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Abstract

Research paradigms and theories have a particular conceptualisation that is often confused with other uses of paradigm and theory. To reduce confusion it is necessary to clarify what the two concepts mean and how they are used in the research domain. Research paradigms and theories are important components in generating knowledge and constituting agency through policy recommendations. In this, we can already see the notion of causality at work. It is important to note that the way we act in the world is influenced by the way we think of the world. Concrete actions are, therefore, not causes in themselves, but how we see the world and act in it has a profound causal string behind it. This does not mean that research paradigms and theories are treated with the respect they deserve. There is a disdain towards research paradigms and theories, and it is this condescension that leads to unproductive research endeavours.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ontology is the study of existence or being (Sparkes 1992) or the study of the general properties of things (Viotti and Kauppi 1999) and the study of what exists (Latsis et al. 2007; Lincoln et al. 2011). Ontology can also be described as the study of ‘the nature of the world’ (Firestone 1990: 106). Ontologies are the worldviews and assumptions that researchers us in their day-to-day tasks when searching for new knowledge (Schwandt 2007; Lincoln et al. 2011).

  2. 2.

    Epistemology is the process of thinking and is defined as the nature of knowledge , the relationship between the person that knows (knower) and what may be known. It is also about how knowledge of reality is gained in other words the relationship between what we know and what we see (Blaikie and Brookfield 1987; Bernal 2002; Guba and Lincoln 2005; Lincoln et al. 2011). Where ontology is the study of the nature of the world, epistemology is how one knows the nature of the world (Firestone 1990).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), P.O. Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Richard Meissner

  2. Centre for Water Resources Research, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Richard Meissner

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Meissner, R. (2017). Paradigms and Theories: Popular Labels and Their Delimitation. In: Paradigms and Theories Influencing Policies in the South African and International Water Sectors. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48547-8_5

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