Abstract:
The purpose of the present paper is to advance arguments that reflect on the researcher’s dilemma
caused by tendencies to conflate metatheory and paradigm in the crafting of dissertations and theses. Philosophy
as an umbrella concept under which metatheory and paradigm are subsumed proves evasive in some social science
dissertations and theses. Consequently, most novice researchers become confused by the conflated and unexplained
use of these concepts in research. The researcher attempted to clarify philosophy, paradigm and metatheory as
used in the social sciences in this paper. To this end, the paper demystified the use and relationship of research
philosophy concepts normally found in dissertations and theses. This paper is primarily a theoretical exploration
intended to guide beginning researchers on the scientific and scholarly use of the philosophy of research concepts
in their dissertations and theses.
