Gough, B and Madill, A (2012) Subjectivity in psychological science: from problem to prospect. Psychological Methods, 17 (3). 374 - 384. ISSN 1082-989X
Abstract
The problem of subjectivity within psychological research has long been recognized. The practices of scientific psychology, however, continue to assume that objectivity is desirable, even if not completely possible, and that subjectivity is a source of bias that must be minimized or eliminated. Such a dispassionate stance has offered and continues to offer a range of benefits, not least a tight focus on participants' relevant responses. Nonetheless, in this article, we question the wisdom of always or automatically working to minimize participant and researcher subjectivity, and we invite psychological researchers to consider the benefits of a more, what we term, reflexive scientific attitude. We turn in particular to recent theoretical and methodological innovations within qualitative research in order to help us progress toward a more reflexive psychological science where subjectivity is re-viewed as a resource that can be tapped in order to contextualize and enrich the psychological research process and its products.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2012, American Psychological Association. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Psychological Methods. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. |
Keywords: | subjectivity; psychological science; qualitative research; reflexivity; psychosocial |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Mar 2014 11:54 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2018 01:18 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029313 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Psychological Association |
Identification Number: | 10.1037/a0029313 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:78005 |