Research Paradigm: A Philosophy of Educational Research

Abstract

This paper attempts to provide insights on research paradigm as the philosophical foundation for educational research. The main purpose of writing this paper is to provide basic idea and knowledge about research paradigm to the prospective researcher with a claim as it is a philosophy of educational research. Different books and journal articles were consulted, reviewed and discussed to prepare this write up. After accumulating the idea and insights on research paradigms, the paper begins with the overview of research in terms of basic features. Then, it introduces about the research paradigms as the research philosophy and followed by the major components of research paradigms viz. ontology, epistemology, methodology and axiology. The key components of research paradigms are defined and discussed in terms of their basic premises in relation to the educational research contexts. Moreover, the paper also presents a brief discussion on the implications of research paradigms in educational research.