In postmodern research the goals are to challenge the content and form of dominant models of knowledge and also to produce new forms of knowledge through breaking down disciplinary boundaries and giving voice to those not represented in the dominant discourses. Postmodernism focus on what is nonobvious, left out, and generally forgotten in a text and examines what is unsaid, overlooked, understated, and never overly recognized. We emphasize the importance of postmodernism as an epistemology that redirects attention to phenomena in the world. We follow the tradition of American pragmatism in asserting that there is a real world that can be systematically investigated. We argue that contexts can be considered relatively stable and this relative stability allows for coherent interpretation.
Postmodernism is characterized by an increasing plurality of beliefs.
The postmodernist emphasizes on paradox, irony, eclecticism, and pluralism. Postmodernists champion the simultaneous availability of many different theoretical positions, and the importance of an over-present critical discussion of underlying assumptions. Postmodernists seek to demystify the technology of mediation by explicitly detailing the involvement of the researcher. All texts represent a series of choices concerning how arguments should be presented, and these choices are embodied in the text. Hermeneutics involves an attempt to describe and study meaningful human phenomena in a careful and detailed manner as free as possible from prior theoretical assumptions, based instead on practical understanding.