Feminist Dilemmas in Qualitative Research

Public Knowledge and Private Lives

How can researchers produce work relevant to the traditions and requirements of public academic knowledge while remaining faithful to the experiences and accounts of research participants based in private settings? Feminist Dilemmas in Qualitative Research explores this key dilemma and examines the interplay between theory, epistemology, and the detailed practice of research. It does this across the whole research process: access, data collection and analysis, and writing up research. It goes on to consider ways of achieving high standards of reflexivity and openness in the strategic choices made during research, examining these issues for specific projects in an open and accessible style. Particular themes examined include the research dilemmas that occur from feminist perspectives in relation to researching private and personal social worlds, the position of the researcher as situated between public knowledge and private experience, and the dilemmas raised for researchers seeking to contribute to academic discourse while remaining close to other knowledge forms. Feminist Dilemmas in Qualitative Research will be essential reading for social science research students and qualitative researchers. It raises wider issues of the nature of the academic project ofd concern to students and academics in the areas of sociology, social policy, anthropology, psychology, womenÆs studies, family studies, and research methods.