FOUNDATIONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS IN THE SOCIAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the epistemological, theoretical, and methodological foundations that underpin the structure of the methodological framework in qualitative research projects within the social and human sciences, with the purpose of strengthening their internal coherence, interpretative rigor, and scientific relevance. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm, the research conceives social reality as an intersubjective construction mediated by language, social practices, and historical and cultural contexts. From this perspective, qualitative inquiry prioritizes the understanding of meanings over causal explanation, in line with the contributions of Berger and Luckmann and Geertz.

The study adopts a qualitative approach and employs the hermeneutic method as its central analytical strategy, understanding interpretation as a reflexive and systematic process that establishes a critical dialogue between academic texts, theoretical frameworks, and the researcher’s pre-understandings. Through a critical and comparative review of specialized literature, the analysis identifies key analytical categories, theoretical convergences and tensions, as well as methodological distortions associated with instrumental and fragmented approaches to the methodological framework.

The findings demonstrate that the methodological framework functions as an articulating axis of the research process, integrating epistemological assumptions, theoretical decisions, and technical strategies that guide the production of qualitative knowledge. The study concludes that a reflective and coherent formulation of the methodological framework is an essential condition for ensuring interpretative validity, scientific robustness, and academic legitimacy in qualitative research within the social and human sciences.