Illustrating the Value of Critical Methodologies Through Third-sector Gender Studies: A Case for Pluralism (original) (raw)
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VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations., 2023
This article examines ways of leveraging gender and outsider positionalities in a manner that benefits the research process in international third sector field research. International research is conducted by individuals collecting data outside their country of origin or long-term residence. In the article I reflect on the role of researcher outsider status as it intersects with gender, and how these positionalities can be used to positively influence data collection in the field. I argue that aspects of female outsider status often experienced as negative also can offer unexpected benefits to research fieldwork, such as access as an outsider to conflict-affected communities, additional assistance to the “vulnerable” female, extra explanation to the “naïve” female researcher, and access facilitated by third gender or honorary male status assigned to female outsiders.
Feminist Research Methodology: challenges to the main (male) stream research
Feminism and feminist movement in the 70's aimed at ending the subordination and suffering of women. Its endeavor was to emancipate women and bring gender equality in various fields including that of theory and research. The feminist critique of research in general and of social science research in particular has emerged as a legitimate, relevant and popular research model against the male bias prevalent in the existing theory and research. With the rise of the feminist movement many feminist scholars argued that traditional social sciences reflected a deep rooted male centric, sexist and patriarchal representation of society in theory and knowledge. This approach was condemned for neglecting or ignoring the standpoint of women, her values and experiences in the society. Hence with the advent of critical theoretical approach* and strong feminist movements, a model was introduced which aimed to "serve the interests of
Critical Realism, Feminism, and Gender: A Reader
2020
In assessing the current state of feminism and gender studies, whether on a theoretical or a practical level, it has become increasingly challenging to avoid the conclusion that these fields are in a state of disarray. Indeed, feminist and gender studies discussions are beset with persistent splits and disagreements. This reader suggests that returning to, and placing centre-stage, the role of philosophy, especially critical realist philosophy of science, is invaluable for efforts that seek to overcome or mitigate the uncertainty and acrimony that have resulted from this situation. In particular, it claims that the dialectical logic that runs through critical realist philosophy is ideally suited to advancing feminist and gender studies discussions about broad ontological and epistemological questions and considerations, intersectionality, and methodology, methods, and empirical research. By bringing together four new and eight existing writings this reader provides both a focal point for renewed discussions about the potential and actual contributions of critical realist philosophy to feminism and gender studies and a timely contribution to these discussions. Purchase here: https://www.routledge.com/Critical-Realism-Feminism-and-Gender-A-Reader/Ingen-Grohmann-Gunnarsson/p/book/9781138083707 Google books preview here: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e7fjDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123&dq=critical+realism+feminism+gender+reader&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjd2eijvtvpAhWORhUIHZdTCEUQuwUILDAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Women in the Field: Critical Feminist Methodologies and Theoretical Perspectives
Professional Geographer, 1994
Feminist scholars have traditionally emphasized the importance of incorporating "the everyday'' worlds of women into the historically masculinist theoretical and empirical foundations of the social sciences. Such emphases have commonly resulted in smaller-scale research projects and more interactive kinds of research methods and methodologies. Feminist geographers have uniquely contributed to the body of feminist scholarship through drawing out the importance of place in everyday constructions of gender and, more recently, sexuality. Critical field-based research has therefore from the beginning been the mainstay of subdisciplinary research. L k e the discipline as a whole, however, little explicit attention has been given in publications or pedagogically to the politics of fieldwork (including how a "field" is defined and the politics involved in choosing and working in a particular "field") or the politics of representation (which includes considerations of the partiality of knowledge and how and to whom we represent our work, ourselves and others in various kinds of texts). These "Opening Remarks" show how these issues are addressed in the papers that follow and how feminist geography has much to contribute to critical analyses of global and multinational processes, including patriarchy, capitalism, and racism.
The Methodological Impact of Feminism: A Troubling Issue for Sociology?
Sociology, 2011
As British sociology seeks to overcome a historical distaste for quantitative research methods, one of the discipline's most dynamic sub-fields may prove troublesome. Feminist research thrives both within and outside sociology. As such it provides new insights and enriches the discipline, something recognized by the 2010 Benchmarking Review of Sociology. Yet feminist research has long been associated with an antipathy towards quantitative methods. This article explores the extent to which this persists. Methodological patterns in articles from 19 journals in the interdisciplinary field of 'women's studies' are analysed. Perhaps surprisingly, a large proportion of articles employed quantitative methods. Those engaged with feminist literature or epistemologies were, however, unlikely to be quantitative. This article also highlights the importance of national contexts, suggesting perhaps we should not ask why UK research is so qualitative, but why US research is so quantitative. Sociology 45(4) 570-586