A relatively rational analysis of interpretative analysis

Matthews, CR ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8561-2863, 2025. A relatively rational analysis of interpretative analysis. International Review of Qualitative Research. ISSN 1940-8447

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Abstract

This essay takes aim at normal academic practice in interpretative analysis. Specifically, the ways methodological discussions are often stilted, wooden and don’t sufficiently attempt to trace the intellectual journeys which scholars have traveled to arrive at their understandings. Based on this I consider some of the epistemological under-laboring that sits at the foundation of social scientific analysis of much qualitative data. With a sound understanding of what it means to understand, we can grasp something of the “rational shadow” that is often cast over the realities of human knowledge production. That is because, while we scholars might organize our time so that we can have a moment when we are “doing our analysis,” such a moment, when understood as a bounded, linear and rational event or series of progressive steps, is an epistemological fiction. It is, then, more rational to acknowledge the diffuse, tacit, and non-rational features of human understanding, and build methodological and analytic strategies which lean into these realities. And, in that regard, we can provide a more rational analysis of our relatively rational analysis.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Review of Qualitative Research
Creators:	Matthews, C.R.
Publisher:	University of California Press
Date:	22 April 2025
ISSN:	1940-8447
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/19408447251334603 DOI 2390108 Other
Rights:	© 2025 International Institute for Qualitative Inquiry. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Melissa Cornwell
Date Added:	29 May 2025 09:05
Last Modified:	29 May 2025 09:05
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53660

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