New materialist social inquiry: designs, methods and the research-assemblage

Alldred, P. ORCID: 0000-0002-5077-7286 and Fox, N.J., 2015. New materialist social inquiry: designs, methods and the research-assemblage. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18 (4), pp. 399-414. ISSN 1364-5579

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Abstract

This paper discusses issues of research design and methods in new materialist social inquiry, an approach that is attracting increasing interest across the social sciences as an alternative to either realist or constructionist ontologies. New materialism de-privileges human agency, focusing instead upon how assemblages of the animate and inanimate together produce the world, with fundamental implications for social inquiry methodology and methods. Key to our exploration is the materialist notion of a ‘research-assemblage’ comprising researcher, data, methods and contexts. We use this understanding first to explore the micropolitics of the research process, and then – along with a review of 30 recent empirical studies – to establish a framework for materialist social inquiry methodology and methods. We discuss the epistemological consequences of adopting a materialist ontology.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: International Journal of Social Research Methodology
Creators: Alldred, P. and Fox, N.J.
Publisher: Informa UK
Date: 4 July 2015
Volume: 18
Number: 4
ISSN: 1364-5579
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.1080/13645579.2014.921458DOI
1299329Other
Rights: © 2014 the author(s). Published by Routledge. This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.
Divisions: Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by: Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added: 28 Feb 2020 15:22
Last Modified: 28 Feb 2020 15:22
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/39334

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