Metatheory's Three Primary Components

1. Thoroughly explain metatheory and its three primary components, including the continuums discussed in the reading. Metatheory is defined in the book as the theory of theory. The study of metatheory consists of three parts: ontology, epistemology, and axiology. Those three parts seek to understand the nature of reality, the nature of knowledge, and even our own personal values. Within each of those parts exists a continuum that can be as different as plus and minus, or as circumstantial as possible. With these components metatheory tries to explain our decisions regarding research designs, methods, and even our analysis. Ontology is study of the nature of reality. It wants to answer how do we know what we know, what do we believe exists,

Our values influence our science in many ways that include what we study, how we study it, and what we conclude about that study. Although a continuum does exist in axiology it is not really labeled as ontology and epistemology's continuums are labeled. A continuum exists between where the authority on a study should come from. On one side of the coin some people think that the researcher should be the expert authority on the study. And on the other side some people think that along with the researcher that the culture, people, or group being studied should also be authorities on the study. Another continuum exists which depends upon how much a researcher decides to allow their values to be considered part of their research. Metatheory when taken in as a whole is actually the study of the nature of reality, the nature of knowledge and of our values. It is also the attempt to answer many questions as far reaching as what do we believe and why do we believe it. while perspective and objectivity both play huge roles in the continuums that exist throughout metatheory's parts it is the values of the researcher which seem to play the biggest role as they can decide what point of view the researcher ultimately

Positivists tend to use empirical data and use formal theoretical perspectives in their work. Metatheoretically when it comes to ontology they lean toward being realists, however they believe that other possibilities exist as well. They fall into the objectivist part of the epistemology continuum and believe that social regularities exist. Classical positivists believed that the researchers values were a contaminating factor, but post positivists believe that values are the whole point of doing research. The difference between classical and post positivists is that classical positivists will often try to prove something true and post positivists will try and prove it false. Often the point of a post positivists research is to explain, predict, and/or control a communication phenomenon. In the end positivists believe in learning through being an objective observer with the goal of explaining