S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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and sometimes ‘bracket’ their values, but do not expect to eliminate them. In adopting an interpretivist approach, the researcher in the present study embraced the notion that his ability to know is affected by his perceptions and values. In response, the researcher kept a reflexive journal throughout the study, to minimise any distortion on the research caused by his own values. 4.2.3 Rhetoric The language employed to present a piece of research to an intended audience is called rhetoric, and is directly influenced by a researcher’s epistemological and axiological position. Detachment, objectivity and emotional neutrality in a research role are central to the positivist approach. Positivists use rhetoric to present their results and findings as precise, objective and ‘scientific’. Conversely, an interpretivist adopts a more subjective approach that acknowledges the interactive involvement of a researcher : ‘The researcher’s own experience, expectations, biases, and values are detailed comprehensively’ (Ponterotto, 2005, p. 132). A degree of subjective reporting is employed in this study concerning the experiences of the research process, the researcher’s own ‘life’ experiences (e.g., working remotely for approximately nine years in various clinical and managerial positions), and the researcher’s emotional and intellectual life (Ponterotto, 2005). 4.2.4 Ontology The word ‘ontology’ derives from the Greek onto (meaning ‘being’). It concerns the nature of reality (Hudson & Ozanne, 1988) and is a branch of metaphysics, the study of first principles and the essence of things, or what kinds of things exist. Ponterotto (2005) posited that the central question of ontological enquiry is: ‘What is the form and nature of reality and what can be known about that reality?’ (p. 130). Positivists assert a ‘realist’