Remaking the Link: Qualitative Research and Feminist Standpoint Theory

Historical and contemporary developments in feminist thinking on theory and method are considered. The critique of positivism is outlined, together with the affinity between feminist research and qualitative methods. Dilemmas are raised concerning: a false dualism between quantity and quality; ethical concerns; and writing in the personal. There are contradictory positions within the contemporary argument for methodological pluralism, such that it does not resolve tensions surrounding issues of women's experience and the warranting of interpretations. Epistemological debates involving feminism and post-modernism have created a changed intellectual landscape for reconsidering the link between qualitative research and standpoint theory. These raise issues of grounding, depth and evaluating knowledge by appeals to a notion of strong (or feminist) objectivity, together with the need to mitigate against appropriation of the `other'. Exemplars of qualitative feminist analysis are presented.