Interpretivism (interpretivist) Research Philosophy
Interpretivism, also known as interpretivist involves researchers to interpret elements of the study. Therefore, interpretivism integrates human interest into a study. It has been noted that, “interpretive researchers assume that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings, and instruments”.[1]
Interpretivism is a research philosophy that emphasizes the subjectivity of human experience, the importance of meaning-making, and the social construction of reality. It stands in contrast to positivism, which emphasizes objectivity, quantifiable data, and causal relationships.
The main objective of interpretivist research is to understand how individuals interpret and assign meaning to their experiences within social and organizational contexts. Rather than identifying universal laws or causal relationships, interpretivist studies aim to develop a rich understanding of complex social phenomena. In business and management research, this often involves exploring how managers, employees, customers, or entrepreneurs perceive and respond to organizational practices, workplace environments, or market changes.
Development of interpretivist philosophy is based on the critique of positivism in social sciences. Accordingly, this philosophy emphasizes qualitative analysis over quantitative analysis. Moreover, interpretivism is “associated with the philosophical position of idealism, and is used to group together diverse approaches, including social constructivism, phenomenology and hermeneutics; approaches that reject the objectivist view that meaning resides within the world independently of consciousness”[2]. According to interpretivist approach, it is important for the researcher as a social actor to appreciate differences between people.[3] Interpretivism studies usually focus on meaning and may employ multiple methods in order to reflect different aspects of the issue.
Interpretivist philosophy is widely applied in business and management research where understanding human experiences and perceptions is essential. For example, a study exploring how employees experience the integration of artificial intelligence tools in their daily work would typically adopt an interpretivist approach. Similarly, research examining how entrepreneurs perceive uncertainty and risk when launching start-up ventures or how employees interpret organizational culture during digital transformation would also align with interpretivist philosophy.
Important Aspects of Interpretivism
Interpretivist approach is based on naturalistic approach of data collection such as interviews and observations. Moreover, interpretivist studies tend to avoid rigid structural frameworks and they usually adopt more personal and flexible research structures. These types of studies acknowledge interdependency between researcher and primary data sources.
.Secondary data research is also popular with interpretivism philosophy. In this type of studies, meanings emerge usually towards the end of the research process.
The most noteworthy variations of interpretivism include the following:
- Hermeneutics refers to the philosophy of interpretation and understanding. Hermeneutics mainly focuses on biblical texts and wisdom literature and as such, has a little relevance to business studies.
- Phenomenology is “the philosophical tradition that seeks to understand the world through directly experiencing the phenomena”.[4]
- Symbolic interactionism accepts symbols as culturally derived social objects having shared meanings. According to symbolic interactionism symbols provide the means by which reality is constructed
In general interpretivist approach is based on the following beliefs:
1. Relativist ontology. This approach perceives reality as intersubjectively that is based on meanings and understandings on social and experiential levels.
2. Transactional or subjectivist epistemology. According to this approach, people cannot be separated from their knowledge; therefore there is a clear link between the researcher and research subject.
The basic differences between positivism and interpretivism are illustrated by Pizam and Mansfeld (2009) in the following manner:
| Assumptions | Positivism | Interpretivism |
| Nature of reality | Objective, tangible, single | Socially constructed, multiple |
| Goal of research | Explanation, strong prediction | Understanding, weak prediction |
| Focus of interest | What is general, average and representative | What is specific, unique, and deviant |
| Knowledge generated | Laws
Absolute (time, context, and value free) |
Meanings
Relative (time, context, culture, value bound) |
| Subject/Researcher relationship | Rigid separation | Interactive, cooperative, participative |
| Desired information | How many people think and do a specific thing, or have a specific problem | What some people think and do, what kind of problems they are confronted with, and how they deal with them |
Assumptions and research philosophies
The use of interpretivism approach in business studies involves the following principles as suggested by Klein and Myers (1999):
1. The Fundamental Principle of the Hermeneutic Circle. The hermeneutic circle is that all understanding is achieved through an iterative process of moving between the parts and the whole. This means that we cannot understand a text, event, or phenomenon in isolation. Instead, our understanding of the whole is constantly informed by our understanding of the parts, and vice versa.
2. The Principle of Contextualization. The principle of contextualization refers to the process of interpreting and understanding something within its specific context. This means taking into account the various factors that influence the meaning and significance of the phenomenon.
3. The Principle of Interaction between the Researchers and the Subjects. The principle of interaction between researchers and subjects, also known as the principle of co-construction or reflexivity, emphasizes the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between the researcher and the subjects in the research process.
4. The Principle of Abstraction and Generalization. This refers to the process of moving from specific observations to more generalizable conclusions.
5. The Principle of Dialogical Reasoning. The principle of dialogical reasoning emphasizes the importance of ongoing dialogue and critical reflection throughout the research process.
6. The Principle of Multiple Interpretations. The principle of multiple interpretations emphasizes the inherent subjectivity and multiple perspectives present in any research context.
7. The Principle of Suspicion. This principle also known as the hermeneutics of suspicion, refers to a critical approach to interpretation that aims to unmask hidden meanings, uncover power dynamics, and demystify false truths.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Interpretivism
Main disadvantages associated with interpretivism relate to subjective nature of this approach and great room for bias on behalf of researcher. Primary data generated in interpretivist studies cannot be generalized since data is heavily impacted by personal viewpoint and values. Therefore, reliability and representativeness of data is undermined to a certain extent as well.
On the positive side, thanks to adoption of interpretivism, qualitative research areas such as cross-cultural differences in organizations, issues of ethics, leadership and analysis of factors impacting leadership etc. can be studied in a great level of depth. Primary data generated via Interpretivism studies might be associated with a high level of validity because data in such studies tends to be trustworthy and honest.
Generally, if you are following interpretivism research philosophy in your dissertation the depth of discussion of research philosophy depends on the level of your studies. For a dissertation at Bachelor’s level it suffices to specify that you are following Interpretivism approach and to describe the essence of this approach in a short paragraph. For a dissertation at Master’s level discussion needs to be expanded into 2-3 paragraphs to include justification of your choice for interpretivist approach.
At a PhD level, on the other hand, discussion of research philosophy can cover several pages and you are expected to discuss the essence of interpretivism by referring to several relevant secondary data sources. Your justification for the selection of interpretivism need to be offered in a succinct way in about two paragraphs.
My e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Dissertation in Business Studies: a step by step assistance contains discussions of theory and application of research philosophy. The e-bookalso explains all stages of the research process starting from the selection of the research area to writing personal reflection. Important elements of dissertations such as research philosophy, research approach, research design, methods of data collection and data analysis are explained in this e-book in simple words.
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[1] Myers, M.D. (2008) “Qualitative Research in Business & Management” SAGE Publications
[2] Collins, H. (2010) “Creative Research: The Theory and Practice of Research for the Creative Industries” AVA Publications
[3] Source: Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2012) “Research Methods for Business Students” 6th edition, Pearson Education Limited
[4] Littlejohn, S.W. & Foss, K.A. (2009) “Encyclopedia of Communication Theory” Vol.1, SAGE Publication
John Dudovskiy