Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2019, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (1): 98-128.

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Understanding Qualitative Methods by Intellectual History Approach: A Focus on the Construction of Meaning in Research Context

LUO Yinan   

  1. Department of Political Science, School of Government, Peking University
  • Online:2019-01-20 Published:2019-01-20

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Abstract:

This article argues that the intellectual history approach generates new ways for understanding qualitative research. The approach focuses on the processes,in which the meanings of qualitative methods emerge in concrete contexts, and thus enables the researcher to interpret such meanings from authors' writings that claim the legitimacy of the methods in application. Through an in-depth discussion of three methodological perspectives,this article shows how the intellectual history approach can deepen our understanding of qualitative methods by shifting our focus from the taken-for-granted meaning structures bestowed outwardly,to the mechanism by which the concrete meanings emerge,alter and are retained within the subjective world of the authors. These concreate meanings can be seen as an outcome of the researchers' intention to reconcile the enduring insufficiency of methodological designs with the actual changing situation that they intend to explain in the real world. This article thus brings back the issue of meanings to the current discussion of qualitative methods. It is argued that theexisting discussion tends to emphasize either the normative or the structural dimension of qualitative methods while ignores the concrete and fluid meanings of those methods as well as the contexts that produce them. With this in mind, the article suggests a new direction for understanding qualitative research.

Key words: methodology, meaning, qualitative research methods, intellectual history approach