Self and Subjectivity in Social Research

Donna Maria Thomas, Sarah Durston

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9781529767698
  9781529767704
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781529616477
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

This is a book that thinks about what it means to be human and what this could mean for social research. 

Addressing ontological shifts across the social sciences, the book reconsiders the nature of self, experience and social reality and their implications for doing research differently. It delves into wide-ranging topics from the self in crisis, through the self and the nature of language, to ethics and the self. 

The book also:

• Helps you understand epistemology and ontology in practice with case studies of real world research;
• Critiques dominant approaches and examines global perspectives and contexts that challenge them;
• Explores the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to resolve tensions in social research;
• Discusses how ontology can shape research practice, policy development and social support systems.

This book will help postgraduate students, academics, researchers and teachers embrace new ways of thinking about self and subjectivity.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Authors
• Foreword
• Introduction: Self and Subjectivity in Social Research
• 1 The Trouble with ‘Self’ and ‘Subjectivity’ in Social Research
• 2 What are Self and Subjectivity?
• 3 Self and Subjectivity in the Context of Social Research
• 4 Who Knows? Self and Knowing in Social Research
• 5 The Importance of Epistemology and Ontology in Social Research
• 6 Self and the Intersection between Medical Science and Social Research
• 7 Cultural Perspectives on Self and Subjectivity
• 8 Self, Language and Social Research
• 9 Visualising Self: Literacies and Social Research
• 10 Doing Research Differently
• 11 Ideas of the World and Social Research
• 12 Society in Crisis: The Importance of Researching Self and Subjectivity
• References
• Index