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Qualitative Social Work, Vol. 5, No. 4, 423-440 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1473325006070285

Truth in Our Time

Margaret Arnd-Caddigan

East Carolina University School of Social Work, USA

Richard Pozzuto

East Carolina University School of Social Work, USA

The debate over the legitimacy of qualitative and quantitative research approaches has been of interest to social workers over the last 25 years. The authors suggest that a parallel debate among qualitative researchers is now taking shape. Where once the disagreement was between metaphysical or naive realists and post-positivists, the new debate is between critical realists and constructionists. Like the metaphysical realists before them, the critical realists are calling for methodological hegemony and reject as nonscientific research that is based on constructionist ontologies and epistemologies. The authors are calling for détente in this debate. Ontology is not provable; it is ultimately based on belief. Just as our profession champions diversity in belief systems regarding other phenomena, research that reflects ontological diversity can also strengthen social work by providing practitioners and scholars greater access to a wide range of information.

Key Words: constructionism • critical realism • fundamentalism • methodological • qualitative research • science

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