The Constructivist-Interpretative Paradigm

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The constructivist-interpretative paradigm states that reality is constructed through interactions between a researcher and the research subject. According to Smith (2008), “[s]cientific knowledge can be created by virtual experience and conversations” (p. 102). Berger directly went into the Northern communities and spoke to many people about the Pipeline project. The indigenous people interviewed stated to Berger, how the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline would personally affect them; this is an example of a micro level of analysis, which is the ontology of this paradigm. The Inquiry focuses on individual counts of the pipeline rather then the whole community. Other paradigms, for example the critical paradigm, focus on how oppressed groups have been affected by a specific event. People in the North are being faced with pressures to change their ways of life and into a more colonized society (Berger, 1988, p. 166). Putting pressure on the Northern people will cause them to lose who they are, their traditions, native economy etc. According to Travers (2010), [c]onstructivist-interpretative s...

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