Hi all,

I've not been on here for a while as I'm preparing for my upgrade. I've just been looking at possible questions I may be asked, and one question is 'clarify your philosophy'.

Now, what does my 'philosophy' actually mean? Am I right in thinking I would talk about my epistemological and ontological stances?

I hate all this stuff!

Any help would be much appreciated!

======= Date Modified 18 Sep 2011 14:25:19 =======
the area I'm least comfortable talking about; I know what I am but find it difficult to articulate it! In basic terms what is your outlook on life, how do you see the world, what is your worldview? And yes talking about your epistemology and ontology is it; just try not to tie yourself up in knots doing so. If you can, keep it simple, elaborate only if asked. However, never mind your research topic, ask yourself, how DO you see the world?

Lots of good method books cover this in their introduction but I guess you can't beat The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Have a look at the introduction in particular. Available through google books at:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qEiC-_ELYgIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+sage+handbook+of+qualitative+research&hl=en&ei=0-91TqX9IMq58gPkxdWADg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false