Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

THE MEANINGS OF METHODOLOGY

CHART 4 Summary of Critical Social Science

1. The purpose of social science is to reveal what is
   hidden to liberate and empower people.


2. Social reality has multiple layers.


3. People have unrealized potential and are misled
   by reification; social life is relational.


4. A bounded autonomystance is taken toward
   human agency.


5. Scientific knowledge is imperfect but can fight
   false consciousness.
   6.Abductionis used to create explanatory
   critiques.


6. Explanations are verified through praxis.


7. All evidence is theory dependent, and some
   theories reveal deeper types of evidence.


8. A reflexive-dialectic orientationis adopted
   toward knowledge that is used from a
   transformative perspective.


9. Social reality and the study of it necessarily
   contain a moral-political dimension, and moral-
   political positions are unequal in advancing
   human freedom and empowerment.

ISS and CSS. They have gained visibility only
since the 1980s.

Feminist Research

Feminist researchis conducted by people, most of
them women, who hold a feminist self-identity and
consciously use a feminist perspective. They use
multiple research techniques, attempt to give a voice
to women, and work to correct the predominant
male-oriented perspective. Works such as Women’s
Ways of Knowing(Belenky et al., 1986) argue that
women learn and express themselves differently
than men do.
Feminist research assumes that the subjective
experience of women differs from that of men.^23
Many feminist researchers see PSS as presenting a
male point of view; it is objective, logical, task
oriented, and instrumental. It reflects masculine

emphases on individual competition, on dominat-

ing and controlling the environment, and on the

“hard facts.” It reflects a patriarchal orientation that

emphasizes finding forces that act on the world

rather looking for ways to interact with and coop-

erate within the world.

In contrast, women emphasize accommodation

and gradually developing human bonds. They see

the social world as a web of interconnected human

relations, full of people linked together by feelings

of trust and mutual obligation. Women emphasize

the subjective, empathetic, process-oriented, and in-

clusive sides of social life. Feminist research is also

action oriented and seeks to advance feminist val-

ues (see Expansion Box 2, Characteristics of

Feminist Social Research).

Feminist researchers argue that much of non-

feminist research is sexist. This largely happened as

a result of broader cultural beliefs and a preponder-

ance of male researchers. The research generalizes

from the experience of men to all people, ignores

gender as a fundamental social division, focuses on

men’s problems, uses males as points of reference,

and assumes traditional gender roles. For example,

a traditional researcher would say that a family has

a problem of unemployment when the adult male in

EXPANSION BOX 2

Characteristics of Feminist Social

Research

Advocacy of a feminist value position and perspective

Rejection of sexism in assumptions, concepts, and

research questions

Creation of empathic connections between the re-

searcher and those he or she studies

Sensitivity to how relations of gender and power per-

meate all spheres of social life

Incorporation of the researcher’s personal feelings

and experiences into the research process

Flexibility in choosing research techniques and cross-

ing boundaries between academic fields

Recognition of the emotional and mutual-

dependence dimensions in human experience

Action-oriented research that seeks to facilitate per-

sonal and societal change