The Methodological Impact of Feminism: A Troubling Issue for Sociology?
As British sociology seeks to overcome a historical distaste for quantitative research methods, one of the discipline's most dynamic sub-fields may prove troublesome. Feminist research thrives both within and outside sociology. As such it provides new insights and enriches the discipline, somet...
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Published in | Sociology (Oxford) Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 570 - 586 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London, England
SAGE Publications
01.08.2011
Sage Publications Sage Publications Ltd Cambridge University Press |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | As British sociology seeks to overcome a historical distaste for quantitative research methods, one of the discipline's most dynamic sub-fields may prove troublesome. Feminist research thrives both within and outside sociology. As such it provides new insights and enriches the discipline, something recognized by the 2010 Benchmarking Review of Sociology. Yet feminist research has long been associated with an antipathy towards quantitative methods. This article explores the extent to which this persists. Methodological patterns in articles from 19 journals in the interdisciplinary field of 'women's studies' are analysed. Perhaps surprisingly, a large proportion of articles employed quantitative methods. Those engaged with feminist literature or epistemologies were, however, unlikely to be quantitative. This article also highlights the importance of national contexts, suggesting perhaps we should not ask why UK research is so qualitative, but why US research is so quantitative. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
ISSN: | 0038-0385 1469-8684 |
DOI: | 10.1177/0038038511406599 |