Current Issues, Problems, and Trends to Advance Qualitative Paradigmatic Research Methods for the Future

Abstract

Paradigmatic research has great potential to discover some of the most covert, complex, and difficult human problems and concerns. There remain, however, a number of critical issues and problems related to the misuse of qualitative methods and a lack of knowledge about the purposes, goals, and proper uses of the qualitative paradigmatic methods. Moreover, there are still too few researchers who have been prepared and mentored to use the nearly 20 different kinds of qualitative research methods in light of specific epistemic and ontologic philosophies related to specific research methods. In addition, many researchers tend to violate data analysis by using quantitative criteria instead of qualitative criteria to establish the credibility and accuracy of findings. These problems and many others reflect a general lack of substantive knowledge about qualitative methods that is leading to serious abuses and misuses of methods. It is, therefore, time to rectify past problems and to address realistic issues related to qualitative methods in order to move forward new and important discoveries in different disciplines.