Summary

The contributors and editor of this work are to be commended for their successful efforts in delineating many of the concerns current within education and in calling for frank debate on these issues by all interested parties. Furthermore, they have stimulated good scholarship by readily admitting to the current state of affairs being one of more questions than answers and more confusion than clarity. They thus remind us that the search for knowledge is one fraught with conflict in a public arena. The appropriate audience for this volume is assessed to be the reader who derives satisfaction from critical thinking. It would be appropriate for graduate students in education, human services, social sciences, or theology, or any person committed to the endeavor and process of education. "The Paradigm Dialog is one of those rare books that simultaneously stretches the mind while projecting one into self-reflection. For the applied practitioner, whether teacher, counselor, or consultant, the possibility of gaining further insight into the underlying assumptions which constrain one′s pedagogy or practice is highly possible upon a critical reading." --The Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling Is scientific positivism, long the reigning paradigm for research in the social sciences, the "best way" to conduct social research? This is the central question examined in The Paradigm Dialog. Recently three key challengers have appeared--postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism. All three offer researchers new methodological approaches, and all three present fundamental questions that must be addressed. Can research be conducted between paradigms? Are they equally useful in answering questions of applied research? What constitutes good, or ethical, research in each? In this volume, these and other significant questions are examined by a multidisciplinary group of leading figures in qualitative research. Not surprisingly, there is no agreement on the "best" paradigm question, but the dialog offered in this compelling volume deftly explores important issues in selecting the proper paradigm for tackling a variety of research questions. With a group of contributors that reads like a veritable who′s who in qualitative research, The Paradigm Dialog is a must for anyone conducting research in the social sciences.