Ontology and Epistemology in Research

In Kantian terms, a researcher’s ontology is “nomothetic” if s/he regards the universe as a rule-governed reality that exists independently of human perceivers and formed from objective structures and tendencies uninfluenced by subjective observation. A researcher’s ontology is “idiographic” if s/he believes reality lacks intrinsic cohesion but is instead socially constructed and made comprehensible through the subjective involvement and perceptions of human actors. Ontology shapes epistemology. Knowledge (epistemology) takes the form of the philosophical container in which it evolves (ontology). Thus, if the majority of research in a field is undertaken by positivists, the resultant knowledge repository is likely to be positivist in its claims and nature.