Postmodernism and social research

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Title:

Postmodernism and social research

Author:

Alvesson, Mats, 1956-

ISBN:

9780335206315

9780335206322

Personal Author:

Alvesson, Mats, 1956-

Publication Information:

Phildelphia, Pa. : Open University, 2002.

Physical Description:

p. cm.

Series:

Understanding social research

Series Title:

Understanding social research

Contents:

1. Introduction -- 2. Postmodernism: a sceptical overview -- 3. Key themes in postmodernism -- 4. Taking language seriously -- 5. Unpacking categories -- 6. Postmodernism and interviews -- 7. Interpreting and writing -- 8. Selectively applying pomo thinking: an illustration -- 9. Conclusions.

Subject Term:

Postmodernism -- Social aspects.

Social sciences -- Research.

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168015741602	300.72 A474P 2002	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

* What is postmodernism?
* How can it be used to develop social research?
* How can we do social research in more creative ways?

This book integrates philosophical and theoretical ideas with fieldwork and supports the development of research methods with a sharper interpretive and self-critical edge. It provides an overview of postmodern themes, evaluates the possibilities and dangers of postmodernist thinking and develops ideas on how a selective, sceptical incorporation of postmodernism can make social research more conscious about problems and pitfalls, and more creative in working with empirical material (so called 'data'). A reflexive orientation runs throughout the book, which addresses themes such as how to understand the individual in research, how to deal with the knowledge/power connection, how to relate to language and how to unpack rather than take for granted socially dominant categories in research work. One chapter addresses the research interview in the light of postmodernist concerns about the naivity of assuming that the interviewee is simply an informant, a truth-teller authentically expressing his or her experiences and meaning. Other chapters address issues of voice, interpretation, writing and reflexivity. The book includes a range of empirical illustrations of how postmodernist ideas can inspire social research, and in all it represents an essential text for students and researchers alike.