Philosophical assumptions are less apparent in research than the theories that are employed, but they underlie the fundamental choices that are made in answering research questions. In other words, there are certain basic assumptions about how research should be done (and reported) that are deeply engrained through scholarly training, and these philosophical assumptions guide researchers to different methods (i.e. theories) of conducting their research (Creswell, 15-18).
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion (Aristotle 1946, Book I.2. as cited in O’Neill, 1998). The rhetorical structure of your paper is how you go about persuading your reader that what you are saying is worth something. There are certain formatting expectations for all scientific research reports (such as APA style) and more specific expectations for different types of research. The specific rhetorical assumption you will use depends on the type of study being conducted (e.g. ethnographic, grounded theory, case study, etc.) and is the basis for the structure of your research report. No matter what type of research you are doing, the overall rhetorical assumption in qualitative research is that you are not “truth seeking” or omniscient but instead reporting what reality is through the eyes of your research participants. Chapter 9 of Creswell outlines these formatting expectations for each different type of study.
This is important for all of our studies because it means that we are reporting on what we saw and heard in the most objective way possible, but we are not concerned with gathering quantitative data and doing statistical tests. Rather the rhetorical style of our research reports is more humanistic and about thorough descriptive and interpretive writing about our research results.
O’Neil, J. (1998). Rhetoric, science, and philosophy. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 28(2), 205-225.