I find that there are truths in all the philosophical frameworks when we conduct research. The question on which philosophical framework to subscribe to in my opinion depends on what kind of research that we are going to undertake. I am glad to discover I am in the social constructivism category that after undergoing the philosophical framework self-assessment. While I acknowledge the truths in other philosophical frameworks, I feel I am more comfortable with the social constructivism framework. The main reason is that I believe very strongly that researchers must interact frequently with the participants of the research.

All researchers when conducting research should possess critical thinking skills such as analysis, inference, explanation, evaluation, interpretation and self-regulation in order to produce the best research outcomes. They should be able evaluate and analyze their research questions, research procedures and data collection. The researchers would also have to assess the statements of participants and determine if a given argument is relevant or applicable.

After evaluating the data, researchers also should be able to interpret and form inferences from their observations and data. To do this they need skills in querying evidence and conjecturing alternatives. Then there is the explanation part where the results of the research are presented. Researchers need to justify the research procedures and present their arguments. Finally researchers also should practice self-regulation when conducting research. This means that he needs to consciously monitor and examine one’s cognitive activities, the analyzed results, evaluating and correcting either one’s reasoning of the results.

Apart from these attributes, researchers also must display the correct disposition toward critical thinking when conducting research such as truth seeking, being open-minded, analytical, systematic, and judicious and be confident in reasoning. All these dispositions will help researchers in producing the best results of research and finding the solutions for the research problem.