reading notes

'Epistemologically, postpositivism recognizes the absurdity of assuming that it is possible for a human inquirer to step outside the pale of humaness while conducting inquiry... To overcome these problems postpositivists counsel a modified objectivity, hewing to objectivity as a 'regulatory ideal' but recognizing that it cannot be achieved in any absolute sense. It can be achieved reasonably closely, by striving to be as neutral as possible; by coming clean about one's own dispositions so that the reader can make whatever adjustments to the proffered interpretations of findings that seem appropriate; by relying on critical tradition, that is, requiring the reports of any inquiry to be consistent with the existing scholarly tradition of the field; and by subjecting every inquiry to the judgement of peers in the critical community, that is, the editors and referees of journals as well as their readers.'

------ Egon C. Guba 'the alternative paradigm dialog'