Skip to main content
MyCourses MyCourses
  • Schools
    School of Arts, Design, and Architecture (ARTS) School of Business (BIZ) School of Chemical Engineering (CHEM) –sGuides for students (CHEM) – Instructions for report writing (CHEM) School of Electrical Engineering (ELEC) School of Engineering (ENG) School of Science (SCI) Language Centre Open University Library Aalto university pedagogical training program UNI (exams) Sandbox
  • CORONAVIRUS INFO
    Koronavirus - tietoa opiskelijalle Coronavirus - information for students Coronavirus - information för studerande Koronaviruksen vaikutus opiskeluun: kysymyksiä ja vastauksia Effects of the coronavirus on studies: questions and answers Coronaviruset och studierna: frågor och svar Corona help for teachers
  • Service Links
    MyCourses - Instructions for Teachers - Teacher book your online session with a specialist - Digital tools for teaching - Personal data protection instructions for teachers - Instructions for Students - Workspace for thesis supervision WebOodi Into portal for students Courses.aalto.fi Library Services - Resourcesguides - Imagoa / Open science and images IT Services Campus maps - Search spaces and see opening hours Restaurants in Otaniemi ASU Aalto Student Union Aalto Marketplace
  • ALLWELL?
    Study Skills Support for Studying Starting Point of Wellbeing About AllWell? study well-being questionnaire
  •   ‎(en)‎
      ‎(en)‎   ‎(fi)‎   ‎(sv)‎
  • Toggle Search menu
  • Hi guest! (Log in)

close

MNGT-E3001 - Researching Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Master's thesis seminar), 26.10.2020-04.12.2020

  1. Home
  2. Courses
  3. School of Business
  4. department of...
  5. mngt-e3001 - ...
  6. Sections
  7. topic 2 - res...
Syllabus

Topic 2 - Research Paradigms in a Nutshell

  • Topic 2 - Research Paradigms in a Nutshell

    Topic 2 - Research Paradigms in a Nutshell

    Social and business science is all about gaining knowledge of the world around us. However, while natural sciences assume that, no matter at what time and what place you observe a phenomenon, the same scientific explanation should hold. In social sciences where human behaviour is the focal point of attention, one might assume a different view of reality. In philosophy, thinking about one’s assumptions on reality and how it can be understood is captured by the terms ontology and epistemology. In essence ontology and epistemology are quite easy to understand, and regularly asked by four-year old children:

    • ‘What is there?’ (ontology) 
    • ‘How do you know?’ (epistemology)
    To make it a little more sophisticated, ontology is concerned with being and with what exists. “It considers what types of things there are in the world and what ‘parts’ or ‘substances’ the world can be divided into” (McQueen and McQueen 2010: 151). In contrast, epistemology is concerned with how we come to have knowledge of things, i.e. it is about theories of knowledge. For example:

    • If we ask “Does God exist?” this is a question of ontology.
    • If we ask “How do we know if God exists?” this is an epistemological question.  

    If you wanted to investigate those questions, your methodological choices were strongly driven by your assumptions of the world, a paradigm as it is often called in research. As a teaser, two of the most common paradigms in social science research are: 

    The positivist paradigm – including objectivist ontology and positivist epistemology 

    The interpretivist paradigm – including constructionist ontology and interpretivist epistemology 

    Thus, your choice regarding a quantitative or qualitative research method would be firmly grounded in one of the two, or another, philosophical paradigm.

     

    I am sure by now you have well understood the difference between the ontology and epistemology, but it might still not be clear how to apply it in entrepreneurship and innovation management research. Therefore, this session helps you to get familiar with different philosophies in social science research, and ultimately becoming comfortable when reasoning your decisions in a Master thesis or any other research project. Hopefully, by the end of the session you agree that ontology and epistemology are not difficult philosophical concepts that one has to grapple with to please the evaluator of your research project; both ontology and epistemology are primary issues in any research, underpinning everything that we do. 

     

    Readings

    Creswell, J. (2007). Chapter 2: Philosophical, Paradigm, and Interpretive Frameworks, in Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches.p.15-32. 


    Videos

     1. Introduction to Epistemology and Ontology

    https://mycourses.aalto.fi/pluginfile.php/1269590/course/section/169594/Introduction%20to%20Epistemology%20and%20Ontology.mp4
     

    2. Ontology for Social Actors

     

    https://mycourses.aalto.fi/pluginfile.php/1269590/course/section/169594/Ontology%20for%20Social%20Actors.mp4
     

    3. Ontology for Researchers

     

    https://mycourses.aalto.fi/pluginfile.php/1269590/course/section/169594/Ontology%20for%20Researchers.mp4
     


    4. Epistemology

     

    https://mycourses.aalto.fi/pluginfile.php/1269590/course/section/169594/Epistemology.mp4
     


    Exercises

    Exercise 2.1 – Comprehend

    Mention four different scientific paradigms, and explain the core assumptions/ideas of each paradigm in 2-3 sentence. Which one do you find most suitable for your own research on entrepreneurship or innovation management?

    What is the difference between methodology and research method?

     

    Exercise 2.2 – Critique

    According to your reading of Munoz and Cohen (2017), which worldview did they choose? Imagine the authors had chosen a postpositivist, constructivist, advocacy/participatory, or pragmatic worldview in their study. Briefly discuss the ways that these worldviews could have changed the design of their study.

     

     

    Self-Assessment Checklist

     Please check. Did you gain an understanding of the following?

    • What is ontology
    • What is epistemology
    • What is methodology
    • The difference between interpretivist and positivist paradigm

    If you can answer everything with a confident Yes!  then you have achieved the learning objective of this session.


    Previous section

    ◄Topic 1 - Usefulness of Theory in Research

    Next section

    QUALITATIVE RESEARCH►
    Skip Upcoming events
    Upcoming events
    Loading There are no upcoming events
    Go to calendar...
    • MNGT-E3001 - Researching Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Master's thesis seminar), 26.10.2020-04.12.2020
    • Sections
    • Introduction
    • Materials
    • Assignments
    • For Aalto users
    • Topic 1 - Usefulness of Theory in Research
    • Topic 2 - Research Paradigms in a Nutshell
    • QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
    • Topic 1 - Different Qualitative Research Approaches
    • Topic 2 - Observation and Note-taking
    • Topic 3 - Interviews as a Data Collection Method
    • Topic 4 - Qualitative Data Analysis
    • QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
    • Topic 5 - Quantitative Data
    • Topic 6 - From Theory to Empirics
    • Topic 7 - Quantitative Analysis
    • Topic 8 - Interpreting and Publishing Research Findings
    • Home

    Aalto logo

    Tuki / Support
    • MyCourses help
    • mycourses(at)aalto.fi
    Palvelusta
    • MyCourses rekisteriseloste
    • Tietosuojailmoitus
    • Palvelukuvaus
    About service
    • MyCourses protection of privacy
    • Privacy notice
    • Service description
    Service
    • MyCourses registerbeskrivining
    • Dataskyddsmeddelande
    • Beskrivining av tjänsten
    
    Hi guest! (Log in)
    • Schools
      • School of Arts, Design, and Architecture (ARTS)
      • School of Business (BIZ)
      • School of Chemical Engineering (CHEM)
      • –sGuides for students (CHEM)
      • – Instructions for report writing (CHEM)
      • School of Electrical Engineering (ELEC)
      • School of Engineering (ENG)
      • School of Science (SCI)
      • Language Centre
      • Open University
      • Library
      • Aalto university pedagogical training program
      • UNI (exams)
      • Sandbox
    • CORONAVIRUS INFO
      • Koronavirus - tietoa opiskelijalle
      • Coronavirus - information for students
      • Coronavirus - information för studerande
      • Koronaviruksen vaikutus opiskeluun: kysymyksiä ja vastauksia
      • Effects of the coronavirus on studies: questions and answers
      • Coronaviruset och studierna: frågor och svar
      • Corona help for teachers
    • Service Links
      • MyCourses
      • - Instructions for Teachers
      • - Teacher book your online session with a specialist
      • - Digital tools for teaching
      • - Personal data protection instructions for teachers
      • - Instructions for Students
      • - Workspace for thesis supervision
      • WebOodi
      • Into portal for students
      • Courses.aalto.fi
      • Library Services
      • - Resourcesguides
      • - Imagoa / Open science and images
      • IT Services
      • Campus maps
      • - Search spaces and see opening hours
      • Restaurants in Otaniemi
      • ASU Aalto Student Union
      • Aalto Marketplace
    • ALLWELL?
      • Study Skills
      • Support for Studying
      • Starting Point of Wellbeing
      • About AllWell? study well-being questionnaire
    •   ‎(en)‎
      •   ‎(en)‎
      •   ‎(fi)‎
      •   ‎(sv)‎