Critical Realism and Qualitative Research in Psychology

Article


Willis, M. 2022. Critical Realism and Qualitative Research in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 20 (2), pp. 265-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2022.2157782
AuthorsWillis, M.
Abstract

Qualitative researchers wishing to circumnavigate the limitations of positivism, on the one hand, and strong constructionism, on the other, tend to be attracted to critical realism (CR), which offers a middle ground between the two: CR combines ontological realism and epistemological relativism. As a philosophical position for qualitative research, CR has been adopted by researchers utilising diverse data collection and analytic methods. However, there are at least two distinct approaches claiming the CR name: one developed by Joseph Maxwell, with qualitative research specifically in mind, and one developed by Roy Bhaskar and colleagues, as a general philosophy of natural and social sciences. In this paper I compare these two forms of CR on four dimensions, which on the surface they appear to share: (1) what does “critical” mean; (2) epistemological relativism; (3) ontological realism; (4) causality. It is obvious that, below the surface when the details are examined, the two approaches to CR differ considerably on at least the last three dimensions, if not all four. I propose four reasons for preferring Bhaskar’s CR over Maxwell’s CR, arguing the former is more appropriate for qualitative research in psychology.

Keywordsphilosophy of science; ontology; epistemology; qualitative research; critical realism; Roy Bhaskar; Joseph Maxwell
JournalQualitative Research in Psychology
Journal citation20 (2), pp. 265-288
ISSN1478-0895
Year2022
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2022.2157782
Publication dates
Online16 Dec 2022
Print03 Apr 2023
Publication process dates
Accepted08 Dec 2022
Deposited08 Dec 2022
Copyright holder© 2022, The Author(s)
Additional information

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Qualitative Research in Psychology on 16 Dec 2022, available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/

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