Table 1.
Views and Assumptions | Utilitarian Tradition | Liberatory Tradition |
---|---|---|
Decision making | Open, rational | Closed, based on politics and power |
Stakeholders | Non-hierarchical, roughly equal resources and power | Hierarchical, inequitable distribution of resources and power |
Problem solving | Cooperative and consensual | Conflictual, the powerful and powerless are opposed |
Role of the researcher | Discover facts and create knowledge to use in decision making | Advise and assist the less powerful in creating their own knowledge for advocacy, network building, and reflection |