1. Winston Jackson and Norine Verberg Methods: Doing Social Research, 4e
Chapter 7 Critical Approaches to Research: Action and Feminist Research
Winston Jackson and Norine Verberg
Methods: Doing Social Research, 4e

2. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Critical Research
Social change orientation of critical schools
See inequality as rooted in exploitative social relations
Advocate greater equality
Advocate sociopolitical and structural change
Examples of critical schools
Marxism
Feminism
Action research
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

3. Core “Methodologic Themes” Common to All Critical Approaches
Research topic concerns disadvantaged, oppressed, marginalized group
Research process/results have the potential to benefit the marginalized group
Researcher’s assumptions are made explicit and examined
Prior scholarship is critiqued to expose bias
Researchers and participants interact as collaborators (Berman, Ford-Gilboe & Campbell)
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

4. The Premise of Critical Research – Knowledge Is a Political Process
We live in a world in which knowledge is used to maintain oppressive relations. Information is interpreted and organized in such a way that the views of a small group of people are presented as objective knowledge, as “The Truth.” We believe that Maria Meis was right when she said that “Research, which so far has been largely the instrument of dominance and legitimation of power elites, must be brought to serve the interests of dominated, exploited, and oppressed groups.” (Kirby and McKenna)
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

5. Research by, for, and with Participants
Advocate “research from the margins”
“Research from the margins is not research on people from the margins, but research by, for, and with them.”
Identifies social change as a specific goal or outcome of research (Kirby and McKenna)
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

6. Which Research Method or Research Design Should Be Used?
Considerable debate and disagreement
Many critical researchers reject positivist assumptions (i.e., objective and value free)
Hence, some reject quantitative methods
Others agree with the critique of positivism but believe quantitative research designs are useful for exposing social inequality
Critical researchers employ quantitative or qualitative methods, or both
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

7. Which Research Method or Research Design? (cont’d)
Many emphasize “methodological triangulation” – i.e., use several methods
“Stories and numbers” – qualitative + quantitative
E.g., Browne used a quasi-experimental design to measure impact of interventions on parents and children living on social assistance and a cost analysis of providing the assistance
In addition to showing that the interventions had a positive impact, showed them to be cost effective
Argue that “numbers” can impact policy reform
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

8. Institutional Ethnography
A relatively new critical method
Developed by Dorothy Smith
Explores how everyday life is organized
Focuses on the way structural conditions influence consciousness
e.g., examine how texts shape and reproduce social relations (texts refer to the organizational features of institutions: school policy, workplace regulations, government policy, etc.)
Adopted by many feminists
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

9. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Action Research
Action research proceeds in cyclical stages that involve planning, implementing, reflecting, and evaluating, and it involves collaboration between researchers and participants throughout the entire process
Action research:
Is educative
Deals with individuals as members of social groups
Is problem-focused, context-specific, and future-oriented
Involves a change intervention (cont’d)
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

10. Action Research (cont’d)
Aims at improvement and involvement
Involves a cyclic process in which research, action, and evaluation are interlinked
Is founded on a research relationship in which those involved are participants in the change process
Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a subset of action research.
Has three elements: research, adult education, and sociopolitical action
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

11. Steps in Action Research
Entry into the community
Assessment of the situation
Planning for research and action
Implementation of plan and reflection
Evaluation of the implementation
Report and reassessment
Planning future action
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

12. Challenges in Conducting Action Research
Involving community members as members of the research team
Understanding and respecting diversity of values, perspectives, and abilities among community members and researchers
Ensuring that all members of the research team are sensitive and responsive to the needs of different forms and types of leadership at different stages of the research process
Action research takes a great deal of time
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

13. Strengths of Action Research
Offers opportunities for researchers to plan, implement, and evaluate change simultaneously
Empowers participants
Researchers gain practical knowledge; participants gain research skills, political knowledge, and a sense of empowerment
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

14. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Example: Kim Travers
Conducted participatory action research
Goal: to initiate nutrition education as well as to explain the social organization that permitted nutritional inequalities among socially disadvantaged women and their families
Involved women attending a Parent Centre
Explored women’s experiences shopping for food
Women initiated actions to address nutritional inequalities
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

15. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Feminist Research
Feminists share many views but differ on key issues: hence, may say there are feminisms
Shared assumptions and orientations:
Value women and their experiences, ideas, and needs
See phenomena from the perspective of women
Recognize the existence of conditions that oppress women
Desire to change conditions through research leading to political action
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

16. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Feminist Research
Uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, but more emphasis on qualitative methods including in-depth interviews, oral histories, comparative and field studies
Emphasis on subjectivity and the personal experiences of the participants
Data are analyzed within the context of women’s lives in such a way that women are empowered rather than portrayed in ways that stereotype them
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

17. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Feminist Values
Women’s subjective experiences
The context in women’s lives
Relationship between researcher and participant
Inclusion of diverse women
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

18. Feminist Research Questions
Issues that are of primary concern to women
Encourage women to report their experiences in their own voices
Allow for a structural analysis of the conditions of women’s lives with a goal of improving the conditions
E.g., accessing health care, women’s work, women’s health, poverty, motherhood
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

19. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Role of the Researcher
Non-hierarchical, reciprocal relationship
Views self as a partner with participants
Vulnerable one, shares experiences and emotions with participants as team member
Reflexivity is expected of the researcher
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

20. Types of Data Collection
Oral history interviewing
Multiple in-depth interviews
Participant observation
Focus group interviews
Structured/semi-structured interview guides
Documents such as diaries, letters, photos
Questionnaires and indexes
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

21. Approaches to Data Analysis
Content is analyzed in terms of artifacts produced by women, about women, for women
Patriarchy and ethnocentric bias are major themes examined in the analysis
Participants are active partners in the data analysis process
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

22. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Reporting Findings
Use descriptive, non-sexist language
Portray women’s voices
Provide a structural analysis of the everyday lives of women
Avoid academic jargon; make findings accessible to all women, not just academics
Include an analysis of the role of the researcher
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

23. Feminist Activism and Research in Atlantic Coastal Communities
Linda Christiansen-Ruffman conducted feminist-based participatory action research with women living in coastal communities during the closure of the cod fishery
Notes that women had been excluded from the decision-making process
Many women did not qualify for the compensation package because their work was not recognized
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

24. © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Feminist Activism and Research in Atlantic Coastal Communities (cont’d)
Women in coastal communities established Nova Scotia Women’s FishNet
Women saw the need to become organized and engage in planning by, for, and with the local communities
Rejected the official response
Produced fact sheets and an action plan for women in coastal communities
Response reflected their more holistic understanding of coastal communities
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada

25. Advantages and Limitations
Provides opportunity to make research methods available to communities
In the case of feminism, it redresses a gender bias in past research
Limitations
Many challenges to working with community groups: time consuming, need for reflection on process, roles, values, etc.
© 2007 Pearson Education Canada