PLACEHOLDER: What is Epistemology? (BA)
This page is written for BA students encountering epistemology for the first time. There is also a version for MA/PhD students that engages more directly with the philosophical literature.
1 What is Epistemology?
Placeholder content — this page is a structural scaffold for the Method and Inquiry Phase 1 build. Full content will be written in a subsequent phase.
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge. In everyday terms: how do we know what we know, and how confident should we be in that knowledge?
For social scientists, epistemological questions are not merely abstract. The assumptions you make about what counts as valid knowledge directly shape the research designs you consider appropriate, the methods you use, and how you interpret your findings.
2 Two Foundational Positions
Content to be added — will cover positivism and interpretivism as accessible entry points.
3 Why Does This Matter for Research Design?
Content to be added — connecting epistemological positions to method choice.
4 What to Read Next
Content to be added — suggestions for moving from this concept page to more applied research design resources.
Citation
@inreference{graebner2026-epistemology-ba,
author = {Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Claudius},
editor = {Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Claudius},
title = {What Is {Epistemology?} {(BA)}},
booktitle = {Method and Inquiry},
date = {2026-06-15},
url = {https://euf-methodology-hub.netlify.app/resources/epistemology-ba},
langid = {en}
}