Feminist Methodologies for Critical Researchers: Bridging Differences(Gender Lens)

This accessible text on social research methodology teaches students of sociology and related disciplines how standard methods can be adapted toward critical ends. The second edition has been updated throughout to incorporate the latest critical scholarship, enhanced discussion of qualitative methods, new material on global issues, sex/sexuality/gender, new discussion of intersectionality, how social media can shape research, and more. Author Joey Sprague describes and evaluates a wide array of methodological options—from quantitative to qualitative—and explores the links between epistemology and methodology. She proposes a program to overcome bias in standard methodologies and offers practical suggestions that can be used effectively by all progressive researchers. The second edition of Feminist Methodology for Critical Researchers is of value to scholars across disciplines and an essential text or supplement for methods classes.

Table of Contents:
The Field of VisionWhy Feminists? Who Am I? What Is Methodology? What’s Keeping Sociology from Its Promise? Knowing Choices Seeing through Science: EpistemologiesPositivism: Do the Facts Speak for Themselves? Radical Social Constructionism: Is Knowledge Illusion? Critical Realism Standpoint Theory Critical Realism or Standpoint Theory? Critically Seeking Reality Authority and PowerPower and Authority, Ideology and Knowledge The Subjectivist (MIS)Interpretation of Standpoint Epistemology Social Standpoint Epistemology How Feminists Count: Critical Strategies for Quantitative MethodsProblems with Standard Quantitative Methodology How Feminists Use Quantitative Methods Conclusion Qualitative Shifts: Feminist Strategies in Field Research and InterviewingFeminist Critiques of Qualitative Methodology Increasing the Researcher/Researched Connection Compensating for the Researcher’s Standpoint Constructing Collaborations Conclusion Whose Questions? Whose Answers?Asking Critical Questions To Whom Are We Providing Answers? Changing Sociology/ Changing the WorldChanging Research Changing Our Discipline Changing Ourselves Bibliography

About the Author :
Joey Sprague is professor of sociology at the University of Kansas and president and executive officer of Sociologists for Women in Society. An award-winning teacher and nationally respected scholar, she is also an editor for Rowman & Littlefield’s Gender Lens Series.

Review :
Joey Sprague is a major theorist in the field of feminist methodologies and theory, and her work is very accessible to students. The scope of Feminist Methodologies is great for framing why feminist methodologies and feminist theory are necessary in scholarship. This book is a wonderful contribution to the field of feminist methodologies. Sprague does an excellent job of making readers aware of the differences among human populations along the lines of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Most importantly, this text forces us to think about how marginalized communities have been treated in knowledge production, and how these differences construct the relationship between the researcher and the researched. Feminist Methodologies is the best introductory book for teaching research. It’s clear, jargon-free, and manages to make complex ideas and concepts—many rooted in critical theory—accessible for graduate and undergraduate students. I have found this book to be both very useful and simple to understand. The first edition of Joey Sprague’s book has always been required reading in graduate courses I teach. There simply is no other book like it. The second edition improves on an already exceptional book. This book is a must-read for any critical researcher and, more broadly, any social scientist. The issues of epistemology, methodology, and methods transcend feminist research and should be required reading for anyone concerned with how power and biases shape our understandings of how we build knowledge, as well as influence how we come to understand the world around us. Previous edition praise: Sprague writes exceptionally clearly and expresses difficult issues in language that undergraduates can easily grasp. At the same time, her ideas are sufficiently sophisticated that readers who are well read in feminist research in sociology also have a great deal to gain from reading this book. Previous edition praise: Sprague presents her work in a scholarly manner that is accessible to all readers, regardless of their level of competence in feminist methodologies. Her approach allows readers to think critically about feminist issues and the ways they can contribute to the field in the future. . . As mentioned, it presents a valuable framework for any researcher to use in community-based research. Previous edition praise: Sprague writes exceptionally clearly and expresses difficult issues in language that undergraduates can easily grasp. At the same time, her ideas are sufficiently sophisticated that readers who are well read in feminist research in sociology also have a great deal to gain from reading this book. . . Sprague has given us a vision of standpoint methodology that has come of age.