What are ontology and epistemology and why are they important in social science researchIntroductionThe study of any particular science involves adopting a particular and specific ontology, epistemology and methodologies that are different from each other. Ontology is the concept that defines and explains essential types of truth (Blaikie 2009). Each scientific domain constitutes its own ontology and in most cases, there are two types of ontologies: formal ontology and domain ontology (Blaikie 2009). Formal ontology type research always postulates something general related to reality while on the other hand domain ontology postulates something specific regarding different types of truths (Blaikie 2009). For its part, epistemology constitutes a scientific concept which defines the way in which man and the world population know and reason about a particular truth. The two concepts are differentiated by particular hypotheses associated with each of them. For example, assumptions associated with ontology include: surface realism, conceptual realism, careful realism, deep realism, and idealism (Blaikie 2009). On the other hand, assumptions related to epistemology include: empiricism, rationalism, falsificationism, neo-realism, and constructionism (Blaikie 2009). Therefore, the aim of this essay will be to define objectivism and integrativism as linked to ontology, to define positivism and interpretivism as linked to epistemology, to explain how ontology and epistemology are related and how they influence each other, before finally examining the importance of ontology and epistemology. are.Objectivism and Interprativism in OntologyBlaike (2000) asserted that ontology involves "claims and assumptions made about the nature...... middle of article...... functions of research practice consistent ways to collect and communicate information about nature. the world, a scenario made possible by the key concepts of ontology and epistemology.ConclusionSocial reality in general is seen as a complex of causal relationships between events that are described as a patchwork of relationships between variables. Generally, the causes of human behavior are considered to be external to the individual and knowledge is considered to be derived from sensory experience by means of experimental or comparative analysis and concepts and generalizations are summaries of particular observations. In reality, claims have been made that what is observed with the senses is what is real and that scientific laws are similar to empirical regularities. In summary, the key concepts of ontology and epistemology have played an important role in shaping and guiding social research processes..