Politics of Qualitative Research
All research is political insomuch as it comes out of a particular view of the world, makes claims about reality, and supports or refutes existing knowledge claims. Qualitative research, which generally makes no pretense of disinterested objectivity, has been more likely than quantitative research to be labeled as political. Qualitative researchers have risen to this challenge and engaged in a variety of discussions regarding the politics of their work.
Although some have characterized the qualitative– quantitative debate as a dialogue, it might be more accurate to describe it as a struggle on the part of qualitative researchers for legitimacy and place.
Qualitative researchers are concerned about what knowledge is being uncovered as a result of their work, and they are concerned with having their work taken seriously by their colleagues and by other policy actors. As a result, they have over the years sought to establish rigor in a variety of ways. Some have discussed the importance of the credibility of the results.
They have encouraged the use of strategies such as constant comparative method, using a variety of data collection methods, and returning transcripts and analyses to participants to verify conclusions. Others have talked about establishing the trustworthiness of the research by describing all aspects of the research process in sufficient detail.
Research is always and forever a political enterprise. Because of the predominant societal perspective of qualitative research, positioned as it is alongside critical and questioning movements, it will more often than not be characterized as political, whereas quantitative work within a positivist paradigm will be characterized as scientific and therefore neutral.
What distinguishes the current political debate surrounding qualitative research from previous debates is that it has involved people from outside the research community and that it is so clearly part of a larger movement against all manner of critique and dissent. Qualitative researchers are increasingly becoming activists within and outside of the academy, forming their own links and coalitions with other outsiders who continue to challenge the status quo.