The ologies

The field of epistemology - research philosophy - is broad and technical. Epistemologies/philosophies can be divided into the following four categories: "intuitive knowledge" is what we believe or feel; authoritarianism relies on what 'experts' tell us in books, papers, etc; "logic" is the application of logical reasoning; and empiricism relies on objective, evidenced facts which can be demonstrated and replicated. It is this last section, that of empiricism, which fits with research methodology (Dudovskiy, 2022).

We can think of methodological epistemology as a taxonomy similar to that of plants and animals (i.e. Kingdom; Phylum/Division; Class; Order; Family; Genus; Species; Bali, 2022). Beginning at the animal 'kingdom' we have ontology: how we are, how we exist. Then we have epistemology (how we know we know things; or how we come to learning). After that we have our classes of epistemology, two meta categories of objectivity versus subjectivity. Then we have orders (see the examples below). The next layer down, like the family, is inquiry strategy (inductive, deductive, abductive or mixed). Then - like genus - we have our research design (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed). And lastly, we have our method or data collection instruments... such as interview/focus group; survey (Bali, 2022; Dudovskiy, 2022).

However, we have to know where we START in order to progress logically through the hierarchy. For example, if we start with a plant when we are actually classifying an animal, we will end up a long way from an appropriate choice. So we must know if we are undertaking objective or subjective research. In the social sciences, we are usually undertaking subjective research, which leads us to interpretivism, pragmatism and constructivism.

So, to come back to empiric epistemology, there are a number different orders, such as the six examples below:

Research philosophy	Meta-category	Epistemology: the researcher’s view regarding what constitutes acceptable knowledge
Positivism	Objective	"Only observable phenomena can provide credible data, facts. Focus on causality and law-like generalisations, reducing phenomena to simplest elements" (Dudovskiy, 2022). This is objective.
Pragmatism	Subjective	"Either or both observable phenomena and subjective meanings can provide acceptable knowledge dependent upon the research question. Focus on practical applied research, integrating different perspectives to help interpret the data" (Dudovskiy, 2022).
Realism	Objective, or subjective	"Observable phenomena provide credible data, facts. Insufficient data means inaccuracies in sensations (direct realism). Alternatively, phenomena create sensations which are open to misinterpretation (critical realism). Focus on explaining within a context or contexts" (Dudovskiy, 2022). This is generally objective, but can be subjective (e.g. critical realism).
Interpretivism	Subjective	"Subjective meanings and social phenomena. Focus upon the details of situation, a reality behind these details, subjective meanings, motivating actions" (Dudovskiy, 2022).
Constructivism	Subjective	"Knowledge is constructed, rather than innate, or passively absorbed." "Learning is an active process", "All knowledge is socially constructed", "personal" and "exists in the mind" (McLeod, 2019). Subjective.
Relativism	Subjective	"[T]here are no absolute grounds for truth or knowledge claims. Thus, what is considered true will depend on individual judgments and local conditions of culture, reflecting individual and collective experience. [This] challenges the validity of science except as a catalog of experience and a basis for ad hoc empirical prediction" (APA Dictionary of Psychology, 2022). Subjective.

I hope this is useful!

Sam

References:

APA Dictionary of Psychology. (2022). Relativism. American Psychological Association. https://dictionary.apa.org/relativism 

Bali, A. (5 April 2022). Taxonomic Hierarchy of Plants and Animals: Biological classification. Collegedunia. https://collegedunia.com/exams/taxonomic-hierarchy-of-plants-and-animals-biological-classification-biology-articleid-1648 

Dudovskiy, J. (2022). Epistemology. Business Research Methodology. https://research-methodology.net/research-philosophy/epistomology/ 

McLeod, S. (2019). Theories: Constructivism. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.htm