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Abstract: A paradigm is a worldview, a set of beliefs, values, traditions, and conventions that shape our understanding of how we know what we know and what knowing is. With this definition in mind, the purpose of this paper is to point out the added value of articulating the research paradigm of a mixed methods case study that examined the preparedness of university graduates for today's job market. The paper intends to examine how the exploration of participants' worldviews of the phenomena under inquiry lends itself to pragmatism, a paradigm that underpins the philosophical premise of mixed methods research (MMR). The discussion demonstrates (1) how pragmatism as a research paradigm informs the chosen mixed methods design, and (2) how the chosen research paradigm, pragmatism, values multiplicity of worldviews that enrich the development of viable solutions for the problem under inquiry. Articulating the research paradigm that informs the overall design of a study is oftentimes marginalized especially in case studies. This paper intends to explain the value for highlighting the philosophical paradigm of case studies.
Keywords: Pragmatism, Mixed methods research, Paradigm, Methodological pluralism, Case study
1. Introduction
A paradigm is a set of conventions that profile our understanding of how we acquire knowing. Articulating the research paradigm that guides a study explains the rationale that supports its chosen methodology. What derives a research paradigm is the theoretical/conceptual framework of the study. Therefore, there should be consistency between the conceptual framework and research paradigm.
2. Types of Research Paradigms
2.1 Positivism
Positivism emphasizes that we know what we want to know through objective and empirical observation. Investigating problems requires the analysis of observable facts to generate objective knowledge. Positivists value quantitative analysis of observable data that depend on testing hypotheses and identification of causal relationship between variables (Park, et al., 2020).
2.2 Constructivism/lnterpretivism
This school of thought emphasizes that we understand the world and its problems through the subjective and socially constructed nature of knowledge. Constructivists view the researcher as an active participant in interpreting the constructed knowledge of participants. That is, knowledge is not to be discovered but individually constructed. Each individual constructs and reconstructs his own views in accordance with his/her own background knowledge and experience (Elander and Cronje, 2016). Constructivists believe that it...