Collaborative Feminist Research and the Myth of Objectivity (From Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse, P 269-281, 1988, Kersti Yllo and Michelle Bograd, eds. -- See NCJ 119043)

• NCJ Number: 119056
• Author(s): L A Hoff
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This chapter examines some of the methodological issues that emerged during a one-year field study on violence against women.

Abstract

A central issue that emerged pivotal to the problem of collaborative feminist research was the relationship between the researchers, the topic, methods of study, and the theory guiding the research. The division between mainstream and feminist researchers can be traced in part to differing theoretical orientations: intra-individual, social-psychological, and social-cultural theories versus sociocultural and political factors. Analysis of the "problem of access" and "secondary effects of the research process" reveals the importance of making values explicit when embarking on the study of a sensitive topic with political and ethical ramifications for study participants. Evidence from this study helps to dislodge the myth of objectivity in research and supports the counterclaim that research is intervention. 26 references.