constructivist

emancipatory

deconstructivist

interpretivist

critical theory

post-positivist

feminist (or post-structural)

neomarxist

postmodern

constructivist

race-based

multicultural

critical (or deconstructivitst)

interpretivist

discourse analysis

case studies

ethnography

action research

oral history

naturalistic inquiry

document analysis

observations

reflexive journal

member-checking

rich description

transcription

coding

prolonged engagement

survey

re-representation through alternative media

These are organized systems of ABSTRACT beliefs that undergird research. They are related to the researcher's beliefs about the world in general and what beliefs underlie ideas.

These represent the researcher's "lens" or point of view. It's a philosophical orientation to the research subject. The paradigm affects the perspective, especially in regard to critical studies in general.

These are collections of methods that have a tradition of being associated with one another, a collection of actions that hang together, that are cohesive. (For example, ethnography is associated with case studies; naturalistic inquiry is associated with member checking, emergent interviewing, and member checking, etc.)

These are ways of generalizing and analyzing data. They are CONCRETE, observable, specific actions taken by the researcher.

Judi commented that a major problem that researchers have is caused by their not designing CONSISTENT qualitative research.  That is, although much of qualitative research doesn't fit within a "pure" research slot, the person designing a research study must make the research plan consistent across the PPSM categories outlined above.  Judi said that many of the "horror stories" heard about the dissertation defense arise because the candidate has fundamental inconsistencies inherent in the original research design.