Feminist Methods of Research

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Feminist Methods of Research

• Presentation by Sharon Bird
• Iowa State University

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BACKGROUND
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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?

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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

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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.

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Social Sciences Require Methods That Are

• Valid does the method accurately capture social
  reality?
• Reliable does the method produce replicable
  results?

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Methodologies and Methods May Differ by Discipline

• Humanities
• Education
• Social Sciences
• Physical Sciences
• Arts
• Engineering
• Etc.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Specific Methods of Research are Used to Develop
Specific Kinds of Knowledge

• Example
• Empirical methods are used to develop empirical
  knowledge.

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Empirical 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.

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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.

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Feminist Critique of Value Free Assumption

• Empirical methods and the knowledge produced by
  them are never completely value free.

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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?

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FEMINIST METHODS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

• Feminist methods are informed by feminist
  methodologies.

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Feminist Methods

• Seek to reveal and overcome andocentric biases in
  research.
• Seek to create social change.
• Seek to represent human diversity.
• Acknowledge the positionality of the researcher.

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Revealing Androcentric Biases

• Methods must involve
• Women (not men alone) as participants.
• Womens experiences within social hierarchies.
• Example
• In depth interviews with women that reveal
  womens understanding of power structures in
  workplace, family, etc.

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Creating Social Change

• Methods must involve and respect participants as
  agents of change.
• Examples
• Participatory action research.
• Performance ethnography.

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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, Catholic and Muslim men (and women).
• Statistical methods that examine how sex category
  interacts with religious practice in their
  effects on individual outcomes.

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Acknowledging Positionality of Researcher

• Methods must acknowledge that the researchers
  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.

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Conclusions

• Most 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.