Library and Information Science Commons^™

The Use Of Empiricism, Rationalism And Positivism In Library And Information Science Research, Nadia Abbas Shah, Amjid Khan, Pervaiz Ahmad, Muhammad Arshad

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper aims to study the significance/importance of “empiricism”, “rationalism” and “positivism” and their application in library and information science (LIS) research. The objectives of this paper covered in two parts. Part one describes the historical development of these epistemologies, explore its main characteristics and presents the criticism that has been nurtured against these views. In the second part, the importance and use of these epistemologies in the context of LIS research have been discussed. Since philosophy is the least touched subject in LIS, therefore, limited literature is available to review these epistemologies from the perspective of LIS.

Empiricism, rationalism …