Rethinking positivism in social research: Lessons from the Hawthorne experiments and the rise of action research

Abstract

Based on its historical roots to Auguste Comte’s vision of a “science of society” patterned on the natural sciences, this editorial scrutinizes the limitations of positivism in social research. Besides, it is explained how efforts to prove causal laws in human behavior were unsuccessful focusing on the Hawthorne experiments (1924–1932), when social meaning and action emerged as principal variables. As a participatory alternative combining knowledge generation with practical transformation, Kurt Lewin’s creation of action research is explained. Emphasizing trustworthiness, multiple realities, and value-added inquiry, positivist assumptions, based on opposite theoretical critiques by Ernest G. Guba and Yvonna S. Lincoln are also questioned. Accordingly, a paradigm shift from reductionist methodologies of natural sciences based on radical structuralist and functionalist paradigms toward participatory and context-based approaches based on interpretive and radical humanist paradigms are underlined via these perspectives and views. The paper concludes that the future of social research lies in accepting complexity, collaboration, and the lived experiences of participants rather than seeking universal laws detached from human context.