Paradigm space

A paradigm or framework is, in straightforward terms, a function of three main factors, shown in Figure 1.

Individual preferences:

The personal means, motivation and talents of an indivudual person.

Social preferences:

The power structure of the senior teacher, examiner, researcher, funding agent, employer, reviewer and the student, junior teacher, examinee, project researcher, employee, applicant.

Methodological preferences:

The selection of a formulation for a theory, empirical methods of interpreting a theory in terms of a model of the perceived world, and the segment of the perceived world selected for modelling.

 
Figure 1: Paradigm space.