Epistemological Issues in Educational Research

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the nature of knowledge. A conflation of the Greek episteme, which refers to knowledge or science, and logos, which refers to thought or the principle of reasoning, epistemology seeks to explore fundamental philosophical issues regarding what knowledge is, how we acquire knowledge, and how we know what we think we know. In educational research, epistemology is also used in a wider sense to refer to the following:

• The philosophical stance of the researcher in relation to the research
• The philosophical basis of the methods used for producing knowledge through research
• The philosophical basis of the justification of knowledge claims made in research reports, articles, and outcomes

Epistemology is often twinned with ontology, which concerns questions about the nature ...