Positivism & Post-Positivism

A "research paradigm" is simply a way of looking at the world. It is the core set of beliefs that guides how a researcher decides what is true and how they should go about finding that truth. In research, there are two main worldviews you need to know: Positivism and Post-Positivism.

1. The Positivist Paradigm

Positivism believes that there is one absolute, objective truth in the world, and it exists completely outside of our own opinions (Comte, 1853). It treats human social behavior the same way scientists treat gravity or chemistry.

• Founding Figure: Auguste Comte.
• Core Belief (Epistemology): We can only gain real knowledge through things we can measure, observe, and test with our senses. Feelings and guesses don't count.
• How they work (Methodology): They use numbers, statistics, and highly controlled experiments to prove their guesses (hypotheses) and create strict universal laws.
• Key rule: The researcher must act like a robot—completely detached, unbiased, and separate from what they are studying.

2. The Post-Positivist Paradigm

Post-positivism came later to say that Positivism was too strict. It argues that while a real world exists out there, humans can never perfectly understand it because our own biases, cultures, and limited brains get in the way (Popper, 1959).

• Key Thinker: Karl Popper.
• Core Belief (Epistemology): Believes in "Critical Realism"—meaning our observations are always colored by the theories and biases we already hold in our heads.
• Principle of Falsification: Popper (1959) argued that science doesn't move forward by proving things are true (which is impossible to do perfectly), but by trying to prove them wrong (falsify them). If a theory survives being tested, we accept it for now.
• How they work (Methodology): They use a mix of numbers and words (mixed methods), look at different angles (triangulation), and openly admit that the researcher's own background might affect the results.

Key Differences