POSITIVISM vs. INTERPRETIVISM DEBATE

Epistemology and Ontology

For my part, however, I no longer want to be labeled as a positivist researcher or an interpretive researcher. It is time for us to move beyond labels and to see the underlying unity in what we are trying to achieve via our research methods. The commonalities in my view are compelling and paramount. We ought to celebrate them because they underpin the value of our role as scholars. The differences, on the other hand, are ancillary. We should understand them, but they should not divide us. The challenge for us now is to rethink and develop a new rhetoric so we come to a deeper understanding of the metatheoretical assumptions that underlie our research. (Weber, 2004, X)

Weber's declaration is at the heart of this paper's examination. The paper attempts to gauge the frameworks of three articles in relation to Weber's concerns...
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