Ontology: Ideology or doctrine, guiding values that inform a researcher's attitude toward his or her research. The research was carried out in Nairobi's Kibera slums where we have an established Citizen Journalism group called Kibera News Network operating under Map Kibera Trust. Additionally, Joanne suggested a discussion of our philosophical worldviews as a topic for our blog [“Creswell (2009) describes 4 philosophical worldviews that shape many researchers’ perspectives. This essay will critically examine the benefits and disadvantages of post-positivism in light of this split, as part of what Yosef Lapid has called ‘the third debate’. igm of positivism, examining its definition, history, and assumptions (ontology, epistemology, axiology, methodology, and rigor). Clear examples and definition of Positivism. In preparing for my final project, which is a research proposal, I really wanted to ascertain my philosophical worldview, according to Creswell’s text. Positivism is a philosophical system deeply rooted in science and mathematics. Positivism is aligned with the hypothetico-deductive model of science that builds on verifying a priori hypotheses and experimentation by operationalizing variables and measures; results from hypothesis testing are used to inform and advance science. Key to the set-up used below: Primary Method(s): The main way a researcher goes about his or her research. Most people chose this as the best definition of postpositivism: (philosophy) A metatheore... See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. Epistemology: In German it is Wissenschaftslehre, In French, épistémologie. As such, we propose a reconciled worldview, which unites post-positivism and post-modernism. Although postpositivist research scientifically strives to explore the phenomena, it believes, unlike positivist research, that the absolute truth is nowhere to be found (e.g., Wildemuth, 1993; Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Phillips and Burbules, 2000). It’s based on the view that whatever exists can be verified through experiments, observation, and mathematical/logical proof. This worldview can be used as a guide by climate change researchers and practitioners, whether they are studying the decision-making behavior of various stakeholders or conducting physical science research for the purpose of informing actions on the ground. Milja Kurki has commented that International Relations (IR) is a ‘divided discipline’, split between a ‘positivist mainstream…camp’ and a post-positivist ‘camp’, and she is not alone in this assessment.