Ontology: (Source of knowledge)
Ontology is the branch of metaphysics which deals with the nature of being, existence as well as category of being and their relations. Ontology as a branch of philosophy is the science of what is, of the kinds and
structures of objects, properties, events, processes and relations in every area of
reality.
Eg. For a religious person, god exists but for an atheist the God may not exist.
Therefore, to determine the ontological perspective of an individual, the culture, environment, education, interactions, society, religion and various other aspects play a vital role.
Epistemology: (Nature of knowledge, way of getting knowledge)
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy which deals with the way of obtaining valid knowledge. It is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge.
Eg. For hardcore natural scientists, knowledge derived from experiment is valid. (i.e. positivism)
For those who believe in theology, knowledge in religious books is valid. (i.e. Theology)
For marxist and feminists knowledge is situated.
Methodology:
Methodology is a body of rules, methods and postulates employed by a field of study in order to gain a valid knowledge about a subject matter. Methodology is the study of methods applied in research. Eg. Qualitative, quantitive, Mixed etc.
