The present paper reflects a practical activity undertaken by the Nutrition Society's qualitative research network in October 2005. It reflects the structure of that exercise. First, there is an introduction to feminist methodology and methods. The informing premise is that feminist methodology is of particular interest to practitioners (professional and/or academic) engaged in occupations numerically dominated by women, such as nutritionists. A critical argument is made for a place for feminist methodology in related areas of social research. The discussion points to the differences that exist between various feminist commentators, although the central aims of feminist research are broadly shared. The paper comprises an overview of organizing concepts, discussion and questions posed to stimulate discussion on the design and process of research informed by feminist methodology. Issues arising from that discussion are summarized.
Feminist methodology and methods: Social reality: Lived experience BackgroundThe workshop reported here was part of a programme focused on qualitative research methods. As stated in the network convenor's introductory remarks, the importance of sustained professional attention to this area rests on the imperatives for competency in qualitative research methods now expected of public health practitioners. This is the better to establish the foundation for the participatory, transformative work in community development that the current policy context demands. In this context, nutritionists grapple with the challenges of quality in qualitative research, as do other health professionals. The workshop provided an opportunity to engage with a philosophy underpinning qualitative research methods and methodology, drawing on the presenter's experience of teaching feminist research methodology and methods within a postgraduate programme for health professionals. Specifically, such competence requires a critical understanding that the nature of evidence, for the development of policy and practice that are effective, should take account of lived experience that cannot be captured in experiments or trials; i.e. to generate understanding of the attitudes, challenges, aspirations, uncertainties and emotions contexts that inform decisions about food and feeding. Nutritionists, therefore, are increasingly required to engage with broader definitions of evidence; that which is context-sensitive and associated with social science-oriented research (Canadian Health Services Research Foundation, 2005). In the present workshop the focus was on the contributions of feminist methodology to the enterprise of building quality in generating evidence about the lived experience of women; the informing premise is that social realities are gendered and, in the interests of context-sensitive evidence, this factor has to be acknowledged at all stages of the research process.