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Chapter 3 Research Framework
and tested in practice (Weaver and Olson, 2006). Pragmatism is believed to have
originated in the work of the American philosopher Pierce (1839-1914). According
to Creswell (2003), there are many forms of pragmatism but the main aim is for
knowledge claims to arise out of actions, situations and consequences. Ontologically,
pragmatism recognises the existence and importance of the natural or physical world
and places a high regard for the reality of, and influence of, the inner world of human
experience in action (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004). Murphy (1990) explained
that in pragmatism the truth value of an expression is determined by the experiences
or practical consequences of belief in or use of the expression in the world. In other
words, there may be academic definitions or explanations of a concept but how it is
understood or applied in everyday practice situations is what pragmatism is about.
Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) stated that pragmatists consider empirical and
practical consequences in judging ideas and take an explicitly value-oriented
approach to research. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) also stated that
epistemologically, pragmatism rejects traditional dualism (objectivity versus
subjectivity: in the philosophy of science, dualism often refers to the dichotomy
between the "subject" (the observer) and the "object" (the observed)) and generally
prefers more moderate and commonsense versions of philosophical dualisms based
on how they work in solving problems (interactions between the subject and the
object). Creswell (2003) stated that pragmatists are interested in “what works”.
Patton (2002) stated that pragmatism allows the researcher freedom with
methodological choices, and that methodological decisions are made based on
appropriateness to answer the research question. Patton (2002) stated that multiple
methods may subsequently be used to gather data. Pragmatism is not committed to
any one system of philosophy or reality and applies mixed methods of qualitative
and quantitative forms of inquiry (Creswell, 2003). Weaver and Olson (2006)
supported this and stated that a pragmatic approach can move nursing beyond the
boundaries and restrictions of a single paradigm towards theory construction tailored
to fit particular situations.
Mertens (2003) argued that pragmatism may fail to answer the question “for whom
is a pragmatic solution useful?” However, Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004) stated
that pragmatists view theories instrumentally - in other words, they become true and