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Glossary

Constructionism

 

Constructivism and constructionism are often used synonymously, yet the paradigms differ. While both theories highlight the subjectivity of reality and knowledge, constructionism maintains knowledge and reality, are influenced by, and exist only within social interactions – in other words, there is nothing outside the speech of an encounter, and you cannot speculate or infer conclusions beyond this. Constructionist research emphasises interaction, more frequently adopting observational methods of data collection and employing methods of analysis that focus on language.

Glossary

Summary (bullet points)

  • Paradigm with a subjectivist ontology and epistemology
  • Nothing exists outside of social interactions, focus is on social groups and interactions themselves
  • Analysis focused on observational methods and exploration of language

Classification (s)

Research term

Classification (s)

Metatheory

Foundational paper (s)

Rees CE, Crampton PE, Monrouxe LV. Re-visioning academic medicine through a constructionist lens. Academic Medicine. 2020 Jun 1;95(6):846-50.