Something a Little Out of the Ordinary: Reflections on Becoming an Interpretivist Researcher in Special Education

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Abstract
Qualitative research is both a set of methods for gathering and analyzing data and a worldview or paradigm about the nature of knowledge and inquiry. As a set of methods, qualitative research has increasingly gained acceptance in special education, although it is still not as common as more traditional quantitative methods. As an epistemological paradigm, however, the qualitative (or interpretivist) perspective remains much more controversial and rare in the field of special education research. Early career researchers face the dual challenge, then, of not only becoming comfortable with new methods commonly associated with qualitative research, such as participant observation and in-depth interviews, but also learning about a worldview that challenges some of the basic assumptions of traditional research in the social and behavioral sciences. The article describes one way of addressing both challenges through a process of self-reflection as well as methodological virtuosity. The author argues that not only should specific methodological techniques match the research questions being asked, but also those questions should be consistent with the view of the world that one finds most persuasive. It is a process of “discovering who you are as a researcher.” Three aspects of becoming competent and three aspects of becoming adept as an interpretivist researcher are also described as a guide for those who might wish to know a little more about the methods and the paradigm, and for those who wish to explore either one or both of these topics in earnest Feature Article

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