Feminist Methods of Research

Prof. Dr. Raana Malik

Fundamentals of Research

• Research is a logical and systematic search for knowledge, that is, a discovery of hidden
truths.

• Here knowledge means information about matters.

• The information might be collected from different sources like experience, human beings,
books, journals, nature, etc.

• A research can lead to new contributions to the existing knowledge. Only through research
is it possible to make progress in a field.

• Research is indeed civilization and determines the economic, social and political
development of a nation
Cont…

• Research has to be an active, diligent and systematic process of inquiry in order to

discover, interpret or revise facts, events, behaviors and theories.

• Applying the outcome of research for the refinement of knowledge in other subjects, or in
enhancing the quality of human life also becomes a kind of research and development
Meaning of Research

• Research is a voyage of discovery –unfolding truth by systematic scientific search for

pertinent information on a specific topic.

• Research is considered to be a formal, systematic, and intensive process of fact finding,

experimentation, analysis of data and arriving at valid conclusions
Steps in Research Process

• Identity the research problem

• Review of literature

• Designing research

• Data collection

• Analysis and Interpretation

• Conclusion
• Suggestions
RESEARCH APPROACHES

• Quantitative research

• Qualitative research

• Mix Method research

• Feminist research
Quantitative research

• Quantitative research is generally associated with the positivist/post positivist paradigm.

• It usually involves collecting and converting data into numerical form so that statistical
calculations can be made and conclusions drawn
Qualitative research

• Qualitative research is the approach usually associated with the social constructivist
paradigm which emphasizes the socially constructed nature of reality.

• It is about recording, analyzing and attempting to uncover the deeper meaning and
significance of human behaviours and experience, including contradictory beliefs,
behaviours and emotions
Research Methodology

• Research methodology explains the overarching theoretical and philosophical frameworks

which guide the research.

• Research methodology works as a framework within which the researcher works. It is even
accurate to consider it as the inception of the research.

• For various researches, the researcher can employ different methodologies. This will allow
the person to look at the research problem from different angles and use different methods,
techniques and even perspectives
Methods are Informed by Methodology

• Methodology – two issues:

– What are the appropriate means for discovering / producing knowledge?

 – How valid is the knowledge produced by the use of different methods?
What do We Mean by “Methods?”

• Methods – the actual tools that we use to do research.

– Examples:
• Face-to-face interviews

• Surveys

• Unobtrusive observations

• Participant observation

• Experiments

• Secondary data

Methodology Determines Which Methods Will Be Most Appropriate

• Examples:

– Many researchers employ structural methodologies, and thus use methods that
permit them to collect and analyze data about broad social patterns.

– Many researchers employ social constructionist methodologies, and thus use

methods that permit them to collect and analyze data about the social construction of
reality.
Social Sciences Require Methods That Are:

• Valid – does the method accurately capture social reality?

• Reliable – does the method produce replicable results?

Methodologies and Methods May Differ by Discipline

• Humanities

• Education
• Social Sciences

• Physical Sciences

• Arts

• Engineering

• Etc.
GOAL OF METHODOLOGIES & METHODS: KNOWLEDGE

• This goal is shared across disciplines, but scholars:

– Use various means for achieving this goal, and

– May define “knowledge” differently.
Formal Knowledge

• Formal knowledge may be analytical or empirical:

– Analytical knowledge is based on accepted principles of logic.

– Empirical knowledge is based on the analysis of observational evidence.
“Discovery” and “Construction” of Knowledge

• “Discovery” of knowledge – suggests that an objective reality awaits discovery.

• “Construction” of knowledge – suggests that our understanding of reality is shaped (and

limited) by our own experiences.
Specific Methods of Research are Used to Develop Specific Kinds of Knowledge

• Example:

– Empirical methods areEmpirical

used to develop empirical knowledge.
Methods of Research
• Involves:

– Collection of empirical evidence.

– Testing of theories and/or hypotheses.
– Clear presentation of data.
– Clear presentation of analysis of data.
– Potential for refuting theories / hypotheses.
Many Also Argue That:

• Empirical methods are:

– “Value free” and

– Not concerned with how the world “should be” but with “objective” facts only.
• This suggests that “empirical” methods are not “political.”
Feminist Critique of
“Value Free” Assumption

• “Empirical” methods and the knowledge produced are never completely “value free.”

For Example:

• Effects of individual subjectivities:

– Who decides which topics are worthy of investigation?

• Effects of social context:

– How does social context shape how we frame research questions, collect data,
analyze data, and interpret data?
Feminist research is guided by feminist theory

• Feminist theory always examines gender, but may also focus on race, class, disability, age,
legal systems, agency, health care, access and control over resources etc., as they affect the
 deployment of gender and the experiences of women.

Feminism is a perspective, not a specific research method…..

The feminist perspective is that women’s lives (Both as individuals and as members of the social
category “women”) are valuable and worth studying.
But this perspective does not tell us which methods to use in our research.

FEMINIST METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

*Feminist methods are informed by feminist methodologies.

Feminist Methods:

• Seek to reveal and overcome androcentric biases in research.

• Seek to create social change.

• Seek to represent human diversity.

• Acknowledge the positionality of the researcher.

Revealing Androcentric Biases

• Methods must involve:

– Women (not men alone) as participants.

– Women’s experiences within social hierarchies.

• Example:

– In depth interviews with women that reveal women’s understanding of power

structures in workplace, family, etc.
Approaches to Interviewing

• Research for social change

• Research for, not of, women

• Non-exploitative relationship

• Interview as conversation
• Researcher should talk about their lives

• Participant may become a friend

• Participants active in the research process

• Only women can interview women

• Encourage women to tell it like it happened

Creating Social Change

• Methods must involve and respect participants as agents of change.

• Examples:

– Participatory action research.

– Ethnography.
“A feminist interviewing women is by definition both „inside‟ the culture and
participating in that which she is observing” (Oakley, 1981)
Representing Human Diversity

• Methods must acknowledge that:

– Not all women (and not all men) experience social world in the same way.

• Examples:

– Interviews (data collection) and life history analyses that examine unique life
experiences of Jewish, Hindus and Muslim men (and women).

– Statistical methods that examine how sex category interacts with religious practice
in their effects on individual outcomes.
Acknowledging Positionality of Researcher

• Methods must acknowledge that the researcher’s positionality shapes the research process:

– Researchers’ experiences shape:

 • What she or he views as important topics for study.
• How participants respond (e.g., in face to face interviews).
• How she or he interprets data.

• “However effective a male interviewer might be at getting women interviewees to talk, there
is necessarily an additional dimension when the interviewer is also a woman, because both
parties share a subordinate structural position by virtue of their gender. This creates the
possibility that a particular kind of identification will develop” (Finch, 1993)

Developing Relations with People & Reader

• Feminist research frequently attempts to develop special relations with the people studied
(in interactive research).

• Feminist research also special relationship with the reader.

Feminist Research…….

• “Making the invisible visible, bringing the margin to the center, putting the spotlight on
women as competent actors, understanding women as subjects in their own right rather
than objects for men – all continue to be elements of feminist research” (Reinharz, 1992).)

Why to Use Feminist Research?

• produces more successful research

• mobilizes the subjects you are working with

• provides an educated and activated group of stakeholders

• helps to create social and political conditions for the policy changes.

Conclusions

• Any method of research can be used to attain feminist (gender justice) goals.

• Method depends on specific methodology and research questions.

• Feminist methodologies and methods assume that knowledge is socially constructed.

• Developing the most accurate and complete “knowledge” requires use of methods that
reveal and embrace diversity of social experience.