Feminist Methodologies for Critical Researchers

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.

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.

• The Field of VisionWhy Feminists?Who Am I?What Is Methodology?What’s Keeping Sociology from Its Promise?Knowing ChoicesSeeing 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 EpistemologyHow Feminists Count: Critical Strategies for Quantitative MethodsProblems with Standard Quantitative Methodology How Feminists Use Quantitative Methods ConclusionQualitative 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 ConclusionWhose Questions? Whose Answers?Asking Critical QuestionsTo Whom Are We Providing Answers?Changing Sociology/ Changing the WorldChanging Research Changing Our Discipline Changing OurselvesBibliography