The primacy of ontology: a philosophical basis for research on religion in prison

Irfan, Lamia; Quraishi, Muzammil; Schneuwly Purdie, Mallory; Wilkinson, Matthew

Abstract

This paper suggests philosophical foundations for mixed methods research based on the philosophy of critical realism. In particular, it suggests that the critical realist idea of the primacy of ontology helps bridge the apparent paradigmatic gap between qualitative and quantitative research. It illustrates this foundational idea by showing why and how a multi-disciplinary team used a mixed methods approach to understand the significance of religion in prison through a multi-site study of religious conversion to Islam in prison and how this gives a better account than a single method approach. The mixed method research design used in the project sets out a new way of mapping and understanding religious conversion and differences within a faith group that draws on the emancipatory potential of critical realist thought.

Citation

Irfan, L., Quraishi, M., Schneuwly Purdie, M., & Wilkinson, M. (2022). The primacy of ontology: a philosophical basis for research on religion in prison. Journal of Critical Realism, 21(2), 145-169. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2021.2007463

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Dec 27, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 15, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 7, 2022
• Journal: Journal of Critical Realism
• Print ISSN: 1476-7430
• Electronic ISSN: 1572-5138
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 145-169
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2021.2007463
• Keywords: Philosophy
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2021.2007463
• Related Public URLs: https://tandfonline.com/toc/yjcr20/current
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** Article version: VoR ** From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for VoR version of this article starting on 27-12-2021: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ **Journal IDs: pissn 1476-7430; eissn 1572-5138 **History: issued 27-12-2021; published_online 27-12-2021