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Abstract An inquiry paradigm is the sum of positions and beliefs on ontological,epistemological and methodological levels that drive the research in acertainfield .Thefour major research paradigms of social sciences,namely,positivism,postpositivism,critical theory and constructivism,have a powerful influence over all research fields within social sciences,including the fieldof language testing .With measurement as its core activity,language testing has,for a long time,been dominated by positivism .However,over the last few decades,influenced by the development of inquiry paradigms in social sciences,a richer varietyof paradigms has appeared in language testing .However,owing to factors such as the essential attribute of language testing,in the futurepositivismand postpositivism will most likely retain their dominancein the field .Studies featuring a mixed-paradigm,namely a combination of alternative paradigms such as critical theory and constructivism,and the more traditional paradigms,will also have a lasting influence on language testing research .
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Received: 25 July 2010
Published: 13 October 2010
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