Social Science Paradigms

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What is the connection between the six social science paradigms and the three methodological approaches (the analytical approach, the systems approach, and the actors approach) in business, and what are the key assumptions that drive the three methodologies?

Which, if any, of the three methodologies have created the most significant body of knowledge within management?
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RESPONSE:

1. What is the connection between the six social science paradigms and the three methodological approaches (the analytical approach, the systems approach, and the actors approach) in business, and what are the key assumptions that drive the three methodologies?

Quantitative research is the systematic scientific investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships. Quantitative research is widely used in both the natural and social sciences, from physics and biology to sociology and journalism. The analytical approach is rooted in the positivist social science paradigm, which is quantitative. Like the positivism approach (quantitative research) int eh social sciences, the analytical approach is generally approached using scientific methods, which include:

· The generation of models, theories and hypotheses
· The development of instruments and methods for measurement
· Experimental control and manipulation of variables
· Collection of empirical data (e.g., questionnaires, etc.)
· Modelling and analysis of data
· Evaluation of results http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_method

The analytical approach assumes an objective reality that can be quantified and measured. Knowledge is assumed to be objective and there is natural laws governing truth.
Paradigms, such as the naturalistic, systems, and post-positivist paradigms, are based on qualitative assumptions, from which the systems and actors approach stem. Knowledge is assumed to be subjective and socially constructed by the actor or actors. Several writers have identified what they consider to be the prominent characteristics of qualitative, or naturalistic, research (see, for example: Bogdan and Biklen, 1982; Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Patton, 1990; Eisner, 1991). The list that follows represents a synthesis of these authors’ assumptions of qualitative research, which are also assumed in the actors approach for example.

1. Uses the natural setting as the source of data. The researcher attempts to observe, describe and interpret settings as they are, maintaining what Patton calls an “empathic …