Response to Commentary on “Value Acquisition in an Occupational Therapy Curriculum”

Abstract

Hasselkus hasgiven us,authors and readersalike, much to think about, puzzle over,and debate. We welcome the opportunity to discuss research issues in occupational therapy and thank the Occupational Therapy Journal of Research for providing a forum for criticalexchange. In response to Hasselkus, we will address the following issues: (a) the inability to shrug offthe yoke of positivistic epistemology, (b) the need to pose the proper questions and considerthe levelof theorydevelopment when choosing a researchmethodology, and (c) the reportingof thick description in journal articles.A major issue raised by Hasselkus is the paradigmatic choice of positivism versus naturalistic inquiry. In our opinionHasselkus advocates an adherence