Philosophical Assumptions in Communication Qualitative Research: A Scoping Review

: Philosophical assumptions are typically the first ideas in developing a study. This paper presents an overview of philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks in communication qualitative research. Upon adhering to a five-step scoping review, this study combed through articles that looked into philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks in communication qualitative research retrieved from six databases. Articles published in the past two decades were selected for this scoping review. As a result of reviewing 35 selected research papers, there are five stages to conceptualize the research process and situate philosophy and interpretive frameworks within the research process. In addition, the results show four philosophical assumptions including Ontological, Epistemological, Axiological, and Methodological assumptions. Furthermore, the findings revealed nine types of interpretive frameworks that can be used in qualitative research. In conclusion, although the philosophical assumptions are not always stated, the interpretive frameworks do convey different philosophical assumptions, and qualitative researchers need to be aware of this connection.