Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research by Vincent A. Anfara & Norma T. Mertz

Author:Vincent A. Anfara & Norma T. Mertz
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781483324685
Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Published: 2014-11-04T05:00:00+00:00

The theory is really a “fusion of horizons” between the elements of the analytic fields as I blended them and what the subjects of the study said and did. I let the subjects lead me to the language and understandings that could only be found on the field of perception for which I had prepared. (p. 6)

By working back and forth between the detailed data and the broader concepts of the framework, researchers and readers can highlight why research can be relevant for other contexts and social settings. Qualitative researchers often talk about the continual comparisons and multiple iterations they perform with their data during analysis, but the theoretical framework is also part of this iterative process—the part that adds greater weight to the mundane data we gather and pore over.

Another way to think about this expansive process is to consider the researcher at the conjunction of two different communities of discourse. In effect, the researcher is involved in social constructions via interactions with the participants in the study and with intellectual colleagues who have helped formulate the framework being used in the study. The study involves both making sense of the research site and participants’ meanings in light of larger theoretical ideas as well as making sense of the larger theoretical framework in light of the specific things learned in data collection. Each perspective informs the other as the researcher brings both to bear in the interpretive process, and the multiple layers of the conversation make the research context speak to issues and in terms meaningful beyond its boundaries. By using multiple theoretical frameworks, we were able to extend the breadth of the dialogues through which our research project spoke.

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