Research philosophy is a vast topic and here we will not be discussing this topic in great details.

In
business and economics dissertations at Bachelor’s level, you are not expected to discuss research
philosophy in a great level of depth,
Research philosophy deals with the source, nature and development of knowledge[1]. In simple
terms, a research philosophy is belief about the ways in which data about a phenomenon should be
collected, analysed and used.

A research plan is the foundation of a research project because it defines the methods, methods, and
goals, and helps to describe the research project from beginning to end. A research plan is the
foundation of a research project because it defines the methods, methods, and goals, and helps to
describe the research project from beginning to end. This type of plan is usually used: to apply for
funding or internal funding. It can be said that the main purpose of the research plan is to persuade
another person to support the research, and the main function of the research plan is to guide the
researcher to complete the project.

Why is it important for researchers to have

a sound philosophical foundation for their research projects?

Research philosophy is a very vast topic that is not easy to discuss on good detail.It is very difficult to
study in the depth of Research philosophy in early study.

So I define the definition of the research philososphy that R-P dare related and deals with the nature or
source and development of the knowledge.On the other hand and simply mean that’s Research
philosophy are trust and belief that related to data about a phenomenon should be colledted and
analysed and used.

It is very important for researcher to have the sound of philosophical foundation of a research project
because it is describe the method and destination and it is also describe start to end point of the
research project.This is mostly used for the to getting the sources like funding that could internal and
external .On the other word the basic goal of research plan to persuade the other person that support
the research and main objective and goal or function of plan is guide to the complete the project

4 Five management philosophies

In this section, we discuss five major philosophies in business and management: positiv ism, critical
realism, interpretivism, postmodernism and pragmatism (Figure 4.1).

Positivism
We introduced the research philosophy of positivism briefly in the discussion of objectiv ism and
functionalism earlier in this chapter. Positivism relates to the philosophical stance of the natural scientist
and entails working with an observable social reality to produce law-like generalisations. It promises
unambiguous and accurate knowledge and originates in the works of Francis Bacor, Auguste Comte and
the early twentieth-century group of philosophers and scientists known as the Vienna Circle. The label
positivism refers to the importance of what is 'posited -i.e. 'given'. This emphasises the positivist focus
on strictly scientific empiricist method designed to yield pure data and facts uninfluenced by human
interpretation or bias (Table 4.3). Today there is a bewildering array of positivisms', some counting as
many as 12 varieties (Crotty 1998).

Positivism are related to the philoso

* Gives validity and objectivity to a research.

It is based on precise methods and can support a research with statistical and objective data.

Lack of in-depth understanding of a context.

Ontology

(nature of reality or being)

Real, external, independent One true reality (universalism) Granular (things) Ordered

Stratified/layered (the empirical, the actual and the real) External, independent Intransient

Objective structures Causal mechanisms

Epistemology (what constitutes acceptable knowledge)

Scientific method
Axiology (role of values)

Positivism

Value-free research

Researcher is detached, neutral and independ- ent of what is researched Researcher maintains objective
stance

Observable and measur- Law-like generalisations Numbers

able facts

Causal explanation and prediction as contribution

Critical realism

Value-laden research Researcher acknowl edges bias by world views, cultural experi- ence and
upbringing Researcher tries to mini- mise bias and errors Researcher is as objec- tive as possible

Epistemological

relativism Knowledge historically situated and transient Facts are social constructions Historical causal
expla nation as contribution.

Typical methods

Typically deductive, highly structured, large samples, measurement, typically quantitative methods of
analysis, but a range of data can be analysed
Retroductive, in-depth historically situated anal ysis of pre-existing struc tures and emerging agency
Range of methods and data types to fit subject matter

World accurately. By contrast,

the philosophy of critical realism focuses on explaining what we see and experience, in terms of the
underlying structures of reality that shape the observable events. Critical realism originated in the late
twentieth century in the work of Roy Bhaskar, as a response

to both positivist direct realism and postmodernist nominalism (discussed later), and

occupies a middle ground between these two positions (Reed 2005).

Critical realism

Value-laden research Researcher acknowl edges bias by world views, cultural experi- ence and
upbringing Researcher tries to mini- mise bias and errors Researcher is as objec- tive as possible

Stratified/layered (the empirical, the actual and the real) External, independent Intransient Objective
structures Causal mechanisms

Epistemological

relativism Knowledge historically situated and transient Facts are social constructions Historical causal
expla nation as contribution

Retroductive, in-depth historically situated anal ysis of pre-existing struc tures and emerging

agency
Range of methods and data types to fit subject matter

INTERPRETIVISM

Micro Approach

Researcher should develop rapport and empathy (Verstehen)

• Validity

Unstructured interviews, Ethnography, Participant observation

Postmodern philosophy is an