Methods
Members:
Christina Altenstraßer, Sven Bergmann, Konstanze Hanitsch, Florian Kappeler, Cornelia Möser, Márcia Moser, Kerstin Piepenstock, Sarah Speck, Stefan Wünsch
Time Frame: seit Januar 2008
Research Questions
Working format: a meeting took place once a month in which methods / theory were presented/ discussed. Up to now we planed to work with discourse analysis and grounded theory.
Why a working group about gender and methods/methodology?
First, the work group offered doctoral fellows and postdocs interested in diffusing methods and methodology a space in which they could do so. The group’s discussions centered around questions of method selection; of options, applications and evaluations of research material; of the limitations of specific methods; and the question of possibilities for critical perspectives. What potential do the typical methods, method mixes, or new experiments in gender research offer and what do they not offer?
When it is easier to talk about topics and theories in interdisciplinarily ways, it is often harder to talk about the related methodologies. While some methods have crossed disciplinary borders and become “traveling concepts”, not all have made the leap: they sometimes even “avoid” any critical examination. So it is possible to reflect on hand of a methodological level why some methods tend to be used for gender research and other not. Which methods are considered “soft” and “hard”? Which gendered codings have been written into them? But also: which trends, thinking stales and schools of thought do we conform to more readily than others?
1) Methods reflection
The first part of the working group for method reflection is practical and research oriented, posing the question: Which methods are appropriate for my research project, for example why have I chosen specific methods? Further questions follow naturally — just for example, questions such as: how does gender come in the method? How can I operationalize class/race/gender… in interview questions? What effect does my own gender performance have on my field of research? What roles does my body play in my field of research? Which problems and conflicts (from questions of data privacy protection to research ethics to physical conflicts) can be / are present during research? How can I write about this and explain it in my evaluation and analysis practices? This part of the working group is planed to take place in meetings or workshops, in which each time one person will present a problem as well as the procurance / translation of their methods.
2) Methodology
On a second (meta) level (methodology) methods will be discussed more generally and especially their application to gender studies: Why are certain methods more masculine, while others are coded as being feminine? Why are some methods considered “neutral”? Which in- or exclusions produce the epistemological foundation and the practice of various schools of methods? To what extent does the relationship between academic use and exchange value and discourse hegemonies determine the application or propagation of a method? Why does gender studies prefer certain methods over others? Why is one research design considered “funky” and another not? Should we be against forced methods or for a more calculation and responsibility in research? This working group pursued these questions since 2008.