Positioning Research Paradigm in the Development of the Social Housing Management Model in a Semi-Arid Climate

Abstract

This paper examines the philosophical perspectives in research and the justification for the adoption of an appropriate paradigm in conducting social housing management research. An extensive review of established literature related to philosophical perspectives in social science research was conducted which forms part of the methodology. The review revealed several philosophical paradigms for conducting research such as positivism, realism, interpretivism, and pragmatism; and each of these paradigms aimed towards solving the many problems in research through appropriate methodologies. The review also indicated that effective strategy for housing management should be considered through research that is inclined to a relevant philosophical paradigm that dictates the appropriate research tools and design. The paper suggests that pragmatism with its methodological traditions was conceptualized by researchers to ensure not only adequate study of a given social phenomenon in the realm of social science as it views objective reality is embedded in the environment which is encountered through human experience; but also is a set of tools of value for addressing practical problems in the real world regardless of the peculiarity of research environment. Therefore, pragmatism has the potential to offer a suitable methodology to the social science research investigating social housing management in a peculiar environment such as the semi-arid climate by using different methodological combinations to address the research questions through either intermixing of interviewing, observation, and document analysis; relying on interviews rather than observations, or the intermixing of qualitative and quantitative data to address their research question.