had a debate as Thomas Kuhn’s theory did not incorporate this idea of falsification. It has influenced contemporary research methodologies. Thomas Kuhn is credited with having popularized and at least in part originated the post-empiricist philosophy of science. Kuhn's idea of paradigm shifts offers a broader critique of logical positivism, arguing that it is not simply individual theories but whole worldviews that must occasionally shift in response to evidence. Postpositivism is not a rejection of the scientific method, but rather a reformation of positivism to meet these critiques. It reintroduces the basic assumptions of positivism: the possibility and desirability of objective truth, and the use of experimental methodology. The work of philosophers Nancy Cartwright and Ian Hacking are representative of these ideas. Postpositivism of this type is described in social science guides to research methods. Structure of a postpositivist theory Robert Dubin describes the basic components of a postpositivist theory as being composed of basic "units" or ideas and topics of interest, "laws of interactions" among the units, and a description of the "boundaries" for the theory. A postpositivist theory also includes "empirical indicators" to connect the theory to observable phenomena, and hypotheses that are testable using the scientific method. According to Thomas Kuhn, a postpositivist theory can be assessed on the basis of whether it is "accurate", "consistent", "has broad scope", "parsimonious", and "fruitful". Main publications Karl Popper (1934) Logik der Forschung, rewritten in English as The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1959) Thomas Kuhn (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Karl Popper (1963) Conjectures and Refutations Ian Hacking (1983) Representing and Intervening Andrew Pickering (1984) Constructing Quarks Peter Galison (1987) How Experiments End Nancy Cartwright (1989) Nature's Capacities and Their Measurement See also Antipositivism Philosophy of science Scientism Sociology of scientific knowledge Notes References Alexander, J.C. (1995), Fin De Siecle Social Theory: Relativism, Reductionism and The Problem of Reason, London; Verso. Phillips, D.C. & Nicholas C. Burbules (2000): Postpositivism and Educational Research. Lanham & Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Zammito, John H. (2004): A Nice Derangement of Epistemes. Post-positivism in the study of Science from Quine to Latour. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press. Popper, K. (1963), Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, London; Routledge. Moore, R. (2009), Towards the Sociology of Truth, London; Continuum. External links Positivism and Post-positivism History of philosophy Positivism Metatheory of science Epistemological theories