Abstract

CATALAN-VAZQUEZ, Minerva  and  JARILLO-SOTO, Edgar C.. Research paradigms applied to the study of public perception of air pollution. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2010, vol.26, n.2, pp.165-178. ISSN 0188-4999.

This work reviews the research concerning public perception of air pollution that has been published during the last two decades. Its goal is to identify research paradigms under which these studies were conducted in order to show how they positioned in either paradigm, as well as the distinct philosophical, theoretical, and methodological techniques of each paradigm and, therefore, its differences with the rest. The authors seek to demonstrate that the selection of a paradigm position entails the use of certain analytical and methodological approaches, including the researcher's practices and the outcomes. To this purpose, this work assumes that nowadays there are four main paradigms in social research: positivist, post-positivist, critical theory and constructivist. The first part of the paper outlines the philosophical origins and assumptions underlying the paradigms of research. In the second, empirical studies are discussed that illustrate how it is conceived and apprehended the perception of air pollution according to the research paradigm assumption. The third part presents some relevant findings.

Keywords : perception; pollution; paradigm.

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