The effect of research infrastructures on the convergence of studies of fixed and flexible design

The methodology of fixed-design research was initially developed under the dominance of positivism, while flexible-design research emerged in direct opposition to it. Fixed-design methodology was structured as a process of justifying specific research hypotheses, whereas flexible-design research focused on the discovery of new theories and empirical descriptions.

The two methodologies not only differed from one another but also targeted different phenomena. The success of each in describing the phenomena it examined prevented either from achieving complete dominance. The decline of positivism created the conditions for a reevaluation and greater convergence between the two methodologies.

At the same time, the adoption of a new methodological paradigm, referred to as the biphasic approach, which involves the development of research infrastructures, further contributed to the convergence of the two methodologies.