Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm
Pragmatism and critical realism have been proposed as research philosophies that can be used by development studies researchers as alternatives to the dominant but criticized positivism and constructivism. Pragmatism and critical realism themselves have identified shortcomings for which a number of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Development Studies Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2439407 |
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| author | Richard Heeks P. J. Wall Mark Graham |
| author_facet | Richard Heeks P. J. Wall Mark Graham |
| author_sort | Richard Heeks |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pragmatism and critical realism have been proposed as research philosophies that can be used by development studies researchers as alternatives to the dominant but criticized positivism and constructivism. Pragmatism and critical realism themselves have identified shortcomings for which a number of possible responses have been proposed, including the combination of some elements from each. In this paper, we explore what it would mean not to fully integrate the two but to bring together complementary aspects as a new research paradigm: ‘pragmatist-critical realism’. We review the philosophical nature of this complementary form but the main contribution here is to show how it could be operationalized. We outline a four-step operational methodology for pragmatist-critical realism based on the Fairwork action research project that has sought to improve working conditions for platform workers in global South countries. We argue that pragmatist-critical realism could provide a useful foundation for development studies research – particularly action-oriented research – and we encourage other development studies researchers to assess whether it could form a facilitative basis for their future research. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e24379815554fd6a8926027acb47cb4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2166-5095 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Development Studies Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e24379815554fd6a8926027acb47cb42025-08-20T01:59:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupDevelopment Studies Research2166-50952025-12-0112110.1080/21665095.2024.2439407Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigmRichard Heeks0P. J. Wall1Mark Graham2Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UKADAPT Centre, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, IrelandOxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKPragmatism and critical realism have been proposed as research philosophies that can be used by development studies researchers as alternatives to the dominant but criticized positivism and constructivism. Pragmatism and critical realism themselves have identified shortcomings for which a number of possible responses have been proposed, including the combination of some elements from each. In this paper, we explore what it would mean not to fully integrate the two but to bring together complementary aspects as a new research paradigm: ‘pragmatist-critical realism’. We review the philosophical nature of this complementary form but the main contribution here is to show how it could be operationalized. We outline a four-step operational methodology for pragmatist-critical realism based on the Fairwork action research project that has sought to improve working conditions for platform workers in global South countries. We argue that pragmatist-critical realism could provide a useful foundation for development studies research – particularly action-oriented research – and we encourage other development studies researchers to assess whether it could form a facilitative basis for their future research.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2439407Development studiespragmatismcritical realismphilosophymethodology |
| spellingShingle | Richard Heeks P. J. Wall Mark Graham Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm Development Studies Research Development studies pragmatism critical realism philosophy methodology |
| title | Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| title_full | Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| title_fullStr | Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| title_short | Pragmatist-critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| title_sort | pragmatist critical realism as a development studies research paradigm |
| topic | Development studies pragmatism critical realism philosophy methodology |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21665095.2024.2439407 |
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