Feminist Methods in Social Research

by Shulamit Reinharz, Lynn Davidman (Primary Contributor)

Shulamit Reinharz here examines the wide range of experiments feminist researchers undertake. Her goal is to help explain the relationship between feminism and methodology and to challenge stereotypes that might exist about 'feminist research methods'. Reinharz concludes that there is no one feminist method, but rather a variety of perspectives or questions that feminists bring to traditional methods. She argues that this diversity of methods has been of great value to feminist scholarship. She also includes an extensive bibliography which catalogues feminist scholarship over the last two decades. There are a few edited volumes on the subject but currently no authored text.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Research

Paperback

First published March 31, 1992

About the author

Shulamit Reinharz's areas of teaching include group dynamics, history of sociology, social psychology, the relation between Jews, gender and art. Since 1991, she has been deeply engaged in institution building, first as director of the Women's Studies Program at Brandeis, and then as founder of two research institutes housed in a renovated building that she designed.

Reinharz is deeply engaged in community development, in Jewish women's studies, and empowering students and scholars through various new programs including investigative journalism, a college women's health website, a flourishing art gallery, a book publication series, etc. All of these new activities are propelled and shaped by her sociological imagination.

Reviews

[C.]

I've read bits of this, and it's very exciting. I'm a little weirded out by how exciting it is to me. I'm not quite sure what to do with this. I suppose I will have to read the book. But it is very long. And it makes me want to read EVERYTHING

(it has 80 pages of footnotes in small font and I want to read every single thing cited.)

I just don't think this can end well.

And I think this is the longest review I've written in several years.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Reinharz works through 11 types of research and provides examples of feminist methods. It offers a survey of how women have worked to have their voices heard in a variety of ways, across a variety of disciplines in the Social Sciences.

[Lorette · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you need to read about research methods, this is a surprisingly good read about feminism as an orientation and standpoint that seeks to free those who are oppressed, hear those who are ignored, honor those who are marginalized. Its good thinking from the beginning of research design to the end, interpretation and reporting. This is loaded with citations and examples and while maybe a bit older now (1992) it's really quite a worthy read for those about to embark on their dissertation:-)