Paradigms Lost and Paradigms Regained

摘要

Almost a year since my inaugaral editorial: Managing Movement, Leading Change (Freshwater, 2012) where I highlighted the importance of challenging philosophical and epistemological stances; we are taking the opportunity to do just that in relation to the elusive concept of "paradigm" through the highly versatile and dialogic form of the editorial. Conceptualizing the concept of paradigms as "elusive" is an important metaphor and one to which we will allude througout this editorial. In our editorial: Why Write (Freshwater & Cahill, 2012), we put into tension some competing definitions of paradigm in order to open up the debate on what constitutes a paradigm and to outline why we felt it is important for this debate to be held in the mixed methods community. Since that editorial, we have had a very interesting response from the coeditor, Donna Mertens: What Comes First? The Paradigm or the Approach? (Mertens, 2012).