Postpositivism and constructivism, compared row by row and then applied to hearing aid non-use, lead this PU565 Unit 2 memo to recommend a pragmatist stance. Searches like "pu 565 unit 2 assignment example", "pu565 unit 2 sample" and "pu565 unit 2 example" land here.
What a finished PU565 Unit 2 paradigm comparison memo looks like
Three pages in memo format carry a comparison table and four paragraphs of application. The table has six rows: what reality is taken to be, how knowledge is gained, the researcher's position, the role of values, typical methods and the criteria used to judge quality. Postpositivism fills one column with an external reality known imperfectly, distance from participants, validity and reliability. Constructivism fills the other with multiple constructed realities, knowledge built with participants and Lincoln and Guba's trustworthiness criteria. The application paragraphs show what each paradigm would count as non-use, a measured behavior or a meaning people give to not wearing an aid, and why those are different objects. A final paragraph recommends pragmatism, drawing on Morgan's 2007 argument, and says what the recommendation costs.
How a PU565 Unit 2 example is structured
The memo opens with its recommendation in two sentences, because a principal investigator wants the decision before the reasoning, then supplies the table that supports it. Rows follow the conventional sequence of ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology, with plain-language labels beside each technical term so the memo reads cleanly for a team member outside the field. Application comes after the table and turns on one concept, non-use, examined through each paradigm in turn, which keeps the comparison concrete. Quality criteria receive a paragraph of their own because the team will need to defend both strands to reviewers holding different standards. Its final paragraph repeats the recommendation with its cost: a pragmatist design must justify its sequencing by the question rather than by any paradigm's authority. References list the primary sources for each position rather than a textbook summary.
Recommendation above the table
Adopt a pragmatist stance and run the interview strand before the survey. The memo puts this first so the principal investigator can accept or query it without reading the table twice.
Six rows, two columns
Reality, knowledge, researcher position, values, methods and quality criteria, each stated for both paradigms in a sentence or less. Plain labels sit beside ontology, epistemology and axiology.
Non-use, defined twice
For a postpositivist, non-use is a behavior measured by self-report or fitting records. For a constructivist, it is what not wearing an aid means to the person. The memo argues these are different objects under one word.
Trustworthiness beside validity
Credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability are set against internal validity, external validity, reliability and objectivity, following Lincoln and Guba's pairing. The team will be judged on both sets.
What pragmatism costs
Without a paradigm's authority to lean on, every design choice has to be justified by what the question needs. The memo names that burden and cites Morgan's case for accepting it.
Where marks go in PU565 Unit 2
Defining terms without applying them is the typical weakness of a paradigm memo, producing a glossary of ontology and epistemology that could sit in any methods textbook. Many sections reward application to a specific research problem, and the double definition of non-use earns that credit directly. Precision about the paradigms is scored closely: calling constructivism unscientific, equating postpositivism with positivism or treating pragmatism as having no assumptions of its own will draw comment. Sources matter, and citing the originators of each position scores better than a secondary summary. The recommendation earns analysis marks because it commits to a stance and names its cost; memos that conclude both paradigms have strengths and stop there tend to fall short. Memo format is often graded too, so placing the recommendation in the opening lines counts.
Get a PU565 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Paradigm memos work best on a real problem, so name the research question your PU565 Unit 2 memo will test the paradigms against, and share the prompt, rubric and any assigned readings. Within 24-48h a free first custom sample comes back in memo form, applying each set of assumptions to that question and ending in a recommendation.
PU565 Unit 2 questions, answered
Is postpositivism the same as positivism?
No. Positivism holds that reality can be known directly and objectively through observation. Postpositivism keeps the commitment to an external reality but accepts that knowledge of it is always imperfect and probabilistic, which is why it speaks of rejecting null hypotheses rather than proving claims. Most contemporary quantitative health research sits within postpositivism, and memos using the two terms interchangeably tend to lose accuracy marks.
Where does critical or transformative research fit?
Many methods texts list it as a separate paradigm centered on power and social justice, where research aims to change conditions as well as describe them. A memo can add it as a third column if the prompt allows. The example gives it one sentence, noting that a study designed with disability advocates to change hearing care policy might adopt it, and explains why this study does not.
Does a mixed methods study need a single paradigm?
Not necessarily. Some researchers adopt pragmatism, which judges methods by what they can answer; others take a dialectical stance that keeps two paradigms in deliberate tension, and some align each strand with its own paradigm. What graders look for is a stated position with reasons. A mixed design that never mentions its philosophical footing leaves reviewers to assume the question was never considered.