The Methodological Dilemma Revisited

Book excerpt: In The Methodological Dilemma Revisited, authors examine what in their research processes has given pause, thwarted the process of seamless productivity, or stalled the easy research output but has, instead, insisted upon a deeper analysis. This resistance of the expedient explanation has consequences both for the research topics under study and the ways in which qualitative research is conducted in a globalized era of deepening social inequality. The book is pedagogical in its orientation and reflects upon the politics of knowledge construction. Working with queer and minoritized youth communities, and other precarious publics, the authors convey their relationships to groups they are inside or outside of, or allied with—posing ethical questions about research designs and worldviews. Themes such as representation, refusal, and resistance of hegemonies are nuanced by investigations into the ethical, practical, and scholarly dimensions of the turn toward collaboration in qualitative inquiry. Other chapters examine the place, value, and concerns of aesthetic representation of qualitative research. Finally, the authors consider issues of criticality in research, and the concepts of compassion and humility. This book contains contributions from some of the most imaginative qualitative researchers, making the most of their research dilemmas in order to reflect upon the challenges and resistances they encounter in the work of qualitative research.