Challenging convention

Methodological explorations in contemporary qualitative inquiry

Bibliographic Data

ID12928676
AuthorsDean Garratt (0000-0002-6929-134X, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume7
Issue1
Pages7-18
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePower and Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1757-7438 • E-ISSN: 1757-7438
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1757743814567379
OpenAlexW2037863497
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited13

Based on a recent inaugural lecture, this article presents a critical appreciation and analysis of the application of different research methodologies to selected social and educational research contexts. The analysis is set against the backdrop of an ontological question concerning the possibility of truth. Specifically, it seeks to explore the untenability of any notion of absolute truth in contemporary qualitative inquiry, and examines the corollary implications for determining the nature, role and status of research. It is argued that the ability to challenge convention offers the possibility and the productive capacity to unsettle dominant research methodologies, while also critiquing normative social and professional research practices. Utilising three contrasting methodological frameworks – Gadamerian hermeneutics; Foucauldian theory; and Lacanian psychoanalytic theory – the narrative follows a journey of personal development and shows how seemingly different and diverse theoretical perspectives can reveal critical new insights on contemporary social research issues and practices, cultures, and communities

Convention · Critical theory · Epistemology · Hermeneutics · Narrative · Normative · Psychoanalytic theory · Qualitative research · Social research · Social science · Sociology · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Psychology

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access