Radically changing the research framework during a health geography study

This paper focuses on the issue of how a research project can shift from a positivist to a nonpositivist framework. Specific attention is given to changes in research methods and philosophical paradigm that emerged while conducting a study on the replacement of immigrant physicians in rural America. In its original conceptualization, the study was expected to yield a simple, right answer. Specifically, one or more types of health professionals (e.g., nurse practitioners, National Health Service Corps physicians) would be identified as expected replacements in the event of a cutback on immigrant physicians. However, as the research progressed, the quest for a simple, right answer became less realistic. The theoretical framework, methods, and research question changed, thereby allowing for greater complexity and ambiguity than anticipated at the outset of the study. What had been a positivist, statistical study was now a nonpositivist, qualitative study, and the research question shifted to include individual perspectives. An overview of such transitions leads to a discussion of the importance of context and ambiguity in research.