WHAT IS CRITICAL REALISM PHILOSOPHY: WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
Abstract
Critical realism (CR) still has a much lower profile in Africa than it does in the UK or, for that matter, many other parts of the world. CR to all intents and purposes, remains unknown to the younger generation of African researchers and sociologists. Theoretically, the CR philosophy is an opportunity for researchers to confront the ontological layers of reality and to continuously iterate between the data and extant literature exploring the underlying mechanisms at work. Researchers carry out their work influenced by different assumptions about the environment in which they operate, experiencing reality from their point of view. The paradigm underpinning CR will be discussed in the next sections explaining the rationale behind this philosophy.
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