Assignment 2 – Philosophy of Science

Sofia Ellmén, 072270 QRM, 23019 Instructor: Veronica Liljander Individual assignment 2 HT 2011

The aim of marketing research is to conduct empirical studies, which generate theory through the findings that the researcher makes in his or her study. In marketing research the object of research is usually concerned with consumer behavior and other social matters. When conducting academic research, one must not only be familiar with the appropriate theoretical framework to use, but also know which methods are suitable for conducting that particular study. Theory and methodology cannot be separated from each other, but should be seen instead as a whole. Depending on the theoretical framework you also commit yourself into using specific tools in the empirical research you aim to do. In other words, your world view directs what methodology you can and should use in your empirical work (Desphande,1983).
The different world views are in this case broadly classified as research philosophy and when discussing different research stances one can take, we are talking about research paradigms. The three assigned articles by Desphande(1983), Brand(2009) and Tadajewski(2004) discuss the various research paradigms and how they can and should be contrasted to one another in order to form a more functional whole. In the first article by Desphande, a definition for paradigms by Thomas Kuhn is offered. Paradigms are described as a guide for professionals, which points out the important issues and problems within that discipline. Furthermore paradigms offer tools for solving these issues and defines what methods are suitable for studying those particular research problems.
The article goes on to discuss the problem behind having only one theoretical philosophy to rely on in the research of marketing. This has according to the