5.2 Choosing methods
5.2 Choosing methods
Feminist researchers have increasingly proposed that methods of social research should often be plural (Reinharz,1992;Skinner et al.,2005).Using a variety of methods rather than a single one (Burns &Walker,2005).Multiple-methods enable researchers to link past and present,'data gathering' and action,and individual behaviour with social frameworks,and to reflect the wish to be responsive to the people studied.The various and plural research methods suggest a commitment to thoroughness,the desire to be opened-ended,and to take risks (Reinharz,1992),and in many instances it is superior to the use of one single method (Skinner et al.,2005).
On the other hand,there are no methods which are specific to feminist research(Somekh &Lewin,2005) and include quantitative and qualitative methods.These approaches are the two broad methodological approaches in social science research.They are not totally opposing approaches although they are often seen as very different in relation to the relationship between ideas and evidence (Miller &Brewer,2003).
As some academics such as Denscombe (2003),Bryman (2008) and Punch(1998) have explained,quantitative research tends to be associated with numbers as the unit of analysis,while qualitative research tends to be associated with words as the unit of analysis and gives importance to individual experiences.This means that quantitative research focuses on numerical measurement of specific aspects of phenomena and qualitative research centres on intensive study of as many features as possible of one or a small number of phenomena (Miller and Brewer,2003).Quantitative research is suitable for large-scale studies,while qualitative research is suitable for small-scale studies.In respect to the quantitative approach,researchers may be detached from participants.With regard to the qualitative approach,researchers engaged more fully in in-depth or phenomenological investigation(Grbich,2004).
In particular,the quantitative approach has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism,and also embodies the view of social reality as an external,objective reality.This approach links to deductive theory,which indicates the relationship between theory and research.Its emphasis is placed on the testing of theories.By contrast,qualitative research has rejected the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and embodies the view of social reality as a constantly shifting emergent property of an individual's creation(Bryman,2008).This approach predominantly uses inductive theory to link theory and research but its emphasis is placed on the generation of theories.
Some feminists express a clear preference for qualitative methods,believing them to be more humane and more likely to produce valid results about sensitive issues(Dobash &Dobash,1998).However,more and more feminists have recognised that feminist research deals with dilemmas that have no absolute solutions.This crucial insight that there is no one truth,no one authority,and no one objective method lies at the heart of feminist ideas (Reinharz,1992).Thus they may prefer a wider range of methods and techniques,and therefore my own research into domestic violence combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches.