The Origins of a Theory of Career Decision‐making: a case study of hermeneutical research

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This article analyses a recently completed research project, to answer the question, on what were the findings based? It draws on the hermeneutics of Gadamer to explore the relationship between researcher and research subject in qualitative educational research. It argues that all qualitative research findings are simultaneously subjective and objective, being essentially constructed interpretations of data which are partly, but only partly, external to the researcher. Yet many contemporary educational researchers tend to focus almost exclusively on either the subject matter under investigation or upon the standpoint of the researcher him/herself. A simultaneous combination of both is necessary to understand the nature of research findings.