What are the Questions in Psychology of Women? A Feminist Approach to Research

The importance of research questions and the question generation process is stressed. New approaches to research methods, including the communal along with the agentic, considering transactional and qualitative approaches, and underscoring the role values play in science, are explored as directions toward a feminist research paradigm. Three important question sources are delineated: (1) personal experience with qualitative and observational methodologies as important adjuncts; (2) public policy implications and consequences; and (3) attention to situational variables and person/situation interactions in contrast to a purely intrapsychic approach. Androgyny and sex difference research are discussed briefly in light of the feminist research process delineated.