If only I was positivist! : lived experience of contested space

This is a reflexive paper which considers the mediation of identity experienced by a researcher navigating the divide between the alternative inquiry paradigms presented by positivism and constructivist-interpretivism. Authors have theorised that there is a blurring of the distinctions drawn between research genres and that positivist paradigm proponents are becoming greatly influenced by interpretivistic perspectives. However, the issue of incommensurability between paradigmatic perspectives causes debate over the nature of doing research through a constructivist-interpretive framework. It is this contested space which I attempt to cross by providing a reflexive account of my own research journey (coming from a positivistic background) to develop the constructivist-interpretive perspective as an intrinsic function of the meaning making that is research as a social practice and process.