Challenging Relativism: The Problem of Assessment Criteria

Autor/in	Hammersley, Martyn
Titel	Challenging Relativism: The Problem of Assessment Criteria
Quelle	In: Qualitative Inquiry, 15 (2009) 1, S.3-29 (27 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1077-8004
DOI	10.1177/1077800408325325
Schlagwörter	Qualitative Research; Evaluation Criteria; Realism; Epistemology; Constructivism (Learning); Methods + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Qualitative Forschung; Realismus; Erkenntnistheorie; Method; Methode
Abstract	This article raises serious questions about the relativist approach to assessing qualitative research that has been championed by John K. Smith and various colleagues. They reject not just empiricism but also what they refer to as "neorealism." Against both these positions, they advance an antirealist, anti-ontological argument to the effect that we should not assume the reality of social phenomena as existing independently of our knowledge claims about them; insist that assessing the value of research findings is always a practical matter, rather than an issue of method; and claim that we must abandon epistemic in favor of moral criteria in assessing social research. On the basis of detailed scrutiny of their arguments, it is shown that neither the critique of neorealism they present nor the alternative approach they recommend is coherent or convincing. (Contains 21 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10