Paper One
  • Ontological Assumption: The paper assumes a social constructivist ontology, considering stress as a subjective and multi-faceted phenomenon that varies according to personal, environmental, and social factors. This is linked to the constructivist theory that perceives reality as a social construct open to personal interpretation.
  • Epistemological Assumption: The paper adopts an interpretivist epistemology, using semi-structured interviews to understand the subjective experiences and interpretations of occupational stress among individuals. This corresponds with the interpretivist approach that stresses understanding individuals' subjective meanings and interpretations.
  • Research Question: The research aims to understand what people mean when discussing job stress, how their views overlap with academic models and theories of stress, and how they believe it can be managed. This question aligns with the interpretivist viewpoint, aiming to comprehend individuals' understanding of stress.
  • Method for Gathering Material / Justification: The research uses semi-structured interviews with 45 working adults from various occupations, allowing participants to freely express their views on occupational stress, aligning with the research question. Using open-ended, neutral questions devoid of psychological terminology aids in obtaining a more authentic and individualised comprehension of stress from a constructivist standpoint.
  • Material Analysis / Justification: The research uses computer-based thematic content analysis with NuD*IST data analysis software, identifying themes and sub-themes within the data to provide a detailed understanding of participants’ views on occupational stress. The emphasis on reliability and quantitative descriptive statistics resonates with the constructivist notion that multiple realities can co-exist, provided they are dependable and reproducible. The independent researcher's supplementary analysis enhances the findings' consistency, ensuring that the identified themes are not simply by-products of the original researcher's interpretation.
Paper Two
  • Ontological Assumption: The research assumes a social constructivist ontology, as it considers stress a subjective and multi-faceted phenomenon that varies according to personal, environmental, and social factors.
  • Epistemological Position: The research adopts an interpretivist epistemology. It uses semi-structured interviews to understand the subjective experiences and interpretations of occupational stress among individuals.
  • Research Question: The study aims to understand what people mean when they say their jobs stress them, how their views overlap with academic models and theories of stress, and how they believe work stress can be managed.
  • Method for Gathering Material / Justification: The research uses semi-structured interviews with 45 working adults from various occupations. The justification for this method is that it allows participants to freely express their views on occupational stress, which aligns with the research question. The questions used in the interviews are open-ended, neutral, and free of psychological jargon.
  • Material Analysis / Justification: The research uses computer-based thematic content analysis with the help of NuD*IST data analysis software. The justification is that thematic analysis identifies themes and sub-themes within the data, providing a detailed understanding of participants’ views on occupational stress. To ensure reliability, a portion of the data was analysed by another researcher.
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