Blackwell Reference Online

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Reflexivity can be broadly defined to mean an understanding of the knowledge-making enterprise, including a consideration of the subjective, institutional, social, and political processes whereby research is conducted and knowledge is produced. The researcher is part of the social world that is studied and this calls for exploration and self-examination. A reflexive researcher “intentionally or self-consciously shares (whether in agreement or disagreement) with her or his audiences the underlying assumptions that occasion a set of questions” ( Robertson 2002 : 786). The recent interest in reflexivity has been linked to the influence of postmodernism and poststructuralism whose insights have drawn attention to the problematic nature of research, the dubious position of the researcher, the crisis of representation, and the constructive nature of language, as well as an admission of the fact that there is no “one best way” of conducting either theoretical or empirical work. Reflexivity is about dealing with “a sense of uncertainty and crisis as increasingly complex questions are raised concerning the status, validity, basis and authority of knowledge claims” ( Mauthner & Doucet 2003 : 417). Leading philosophers of science and intellectuals have struggled with issues similar to those brought forward by the “reflexive turn” for a long time. The work of Kuhn (1970) has been vital ... log in or subscribe to read full text