Pragmatic is the study of meaning and context-dependency in human communication, particularly language. It aims to understand how one word can mean different things in different contexts, and how meaning is created through interactions between speakers and their listeners. Its branches include the theory of semantic ambiguity and indexicality; speech act theory; and conversational implicature.
Pragmatism is an analytical philosophy with a strong emphasis on context and interaction that provides a useful framework for researching complex, dynamic organizational processes. This research approach emphasizes the importance of social action and change and enables researchers to view their subjects as agents of such changes (Onwuegbuzie and Leech, 2005). As a result, it encourages a flexible investigative technique which can adapt to different situations.
This flexibility can be particularly useful when studying NGOs which operate in complex, uncertain and changing socio-political environments. It can also allow for the investigation of non-obvious aspects of a situation such as the impact that a change may have on people within an organization or how they respond to it.
In addition, pragmatism provides an epistemological foundation that can help combat the perceived limitations of overly ‘practical’ research and support the development of a deeper understanding of research processes and outcomes (Morgan 2014a). It is an empirist approach to philosophical inquiry which seeks to identify ‘what works’ rather than what might be possible or theoretically correct. This can help to overcome the dilemma faced by William James in 1907, who identified a clash of two ways of thinking – the tough-minded empiricists who are committed to experience and going by ‘the facts’ and the tender-minded philosophers who prefer a priori principles which appeal to ratiocination (James, 1907).
The pragmatist approach to research is an attempt to bridge this gap between the ‘two worlds’ of practice and theory and thereby create an original form of a posteriori epistemology. The ‘Background’ section below presents three selected methodological principles of pragmatism and explores how these were applied throughout our two research projects, with a particular focus on how they were linked to our practice-oriented research design.
Using an iterative process, the ‘Results and discussion’ section of this article highlights the key practical and epistemological implications that emerge from adopting a pragmatist approach to research into NGOs. It explores how each of the three selected pragmatic principles – detection, detection of problems and action – could be applied throughout the research process from initial research question formulation through to data collection, analysis and dissemination.
It is hoped that the present article will provide an accessible introduction to the pragmatism and will support other researchers in the navigation of qualitative research into NGO processes. A discussion of the practicalities of each of the three selected pragmatic principles is offered through detailed analysis of our project examples. Moreover, the links to practice are highlighted through an examination of how these three selected principles have developed over time in our own doctoral research. This demonstrates that pragmatism is a valid and useful paradigm for navigating research on NGO processes and contributes to the ongoing debate about the epistemological and ontological status of pragmatics.
