The Interpretivist believes that the purpose of research is to develop a reflective understanding of a specific content. Interpretivists would say we cannot discover universals. We can only understand local situations. Interpretivists accept many research methods, however, the meaning of data is contextual. The Postpositivist Paradigm states that research and practice are separate activities.
Research guides practice and is superior to practice.
The Interpretivist paradigm insists that one can be a researcher and a teacher at the same time. A researcher does not need to step back to achieve an objective understanding of the subject studied, because one can never be truly objective. Observation is always within a certain context. To the Postpositivist researcher or teacher, language is a transparent medium for communicating information about external reality, Willis said. Language is a mirror of reality and is used to describe external reality.