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Disentangling paradigm and method can help bring qualitative research to post-positivist psychology and address the generalizability crisis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2022

Moin Syed Open the ORCID record for Moin Syed [Opens in a new window]  and
Kate C. McLean
Moin Syed
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN55455, [email protected]; https://cla.umn.edu/about/directory/profile/moin
Kate C. McLean
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Western Washington University (KCM), Bellingham, WA98225, [email protected]; https://wp.wwu.edu/katemclean/
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Abstract

For decades, psychological research has heavily favored quantitative over qualitative methods. One reason for this imbalance is the perception that quantitative methods follow from a post-positivist paradigm, which guides mainstream psychology, whereas qualitative methods follow from a constructivist paradigm. However, methods and paradigms are independent, and embracing qualitative methods within mainstream psychology is one way of addressing the generalizability crisis.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e32
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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