What is "antipositivism"

n. The view in social science that the social realm may not be subject to the same methods of investigation as the natural world.

Antipositivism (also known as interpretivism or negativism) is the belief within social science that the social realm may not be subject to the same methods of investigation as the natural world; the social realm requires a different epistemology in which academics work beyond empiricism and the scientific method. Antipositivists hold that researchers need to be, first, aware that our concepts, ideas, and language shape how we think about the social world. Therefore, antipositivists focus on understanding the interpretative method employed.