質性研究與實證主義的關係

The Relationship between Qualitative Research and Positivism

實證主義看似與質性研究的觀點背道而馳，或者被歸類為量性研究的哲學立論，然而若經仔細檢視，許多質性方法學仍可見實證主義的影子。筆者舉質性研究中廣被使用的茁根理論及現象學為例，檢視及討論其方法學中引用實證主義的觀點。進而提醒質性研究者須充實社會科學相關哲學，特別是對於認識論及方法論的知識，以求在進行研究設計時，能清楚其所運用的哲學脈絡。

Historically, positivism has been the dominant approach in the philosophy of science. In nursing, most quantitative researchers tend to employ positivism as their epistemological underpinning, which could be why positivism has long been identified as the epistemology of quantitative research. It can be argued, however, that some of the procedures of qualitative research reflect the perspectives on which positivists insist. This article takes grounded theory and phenomenology as examples, in order to observe how positivism influences their methodologies, evidence obtained is then used to support the aruthors' arguments. The article, furthermore encourages beginning researchers to familiarize themselves with background knowledge of philosophy of social sciences, especially epistemologies and methodologies, in order to make clear the philosophical context in which their research is conducted.