A researcher is conducting a study to understand how people perceive mental health issues in different cultural contexts. They decide to use thematic analysis to interpret qualitative data from interviews. Which epistemological and ontological positions should the researcher consider to effectively frame their analysis?

The researcher should adopt a constructivist ontology, accepting that mental‑health meanings vary across cultures and that reality is socially built rather than fixed. Epistemologically, an interpretivist stance fits best, as it values the participants’ subjective experiences and the researcher’s interpretive role. By acknowledging that knowledge is co‑constructed, the researcher can use thematic analysis to uncover culturally specific meanings and how people actively give meaning to mental health. For example, a participant in a collectivist society might describe depression as a “family burden,” while someone from an individualistic context might frame it as a personal weakness; both perspectives are equally valid within this epistemological and ontological framework.