Creative Thinking in Qualitative Research and Analysis

• Authors: Krzysztof T. Konecki
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

I would like to present the possibility of broadening the traditional methodological and technical skills of researcher and analyst, but also the intellectual capacity of the researcher associated with combining data, categorizing, linking categories, as well as the interpretation of the causes and consequences of the emergence of certain social phenomena. Some methodologies, methods, and research techniques are more conducive to creative conceptual and interpretive solutions. Therefore, I describe the serendipity phenomenon in such methodologies as grounded theory, ethnography, phenomenological research, and contemplative inquiry. The problem of intuition in qualitative research will be also described in the paper. There will be presented also some suggestions how to be creative in qualitative research. From the review of issues of creativity in qualitative research we can derive the following conclusions: Creativity in qualitative research depends on the strength of a priori conceptualization and stiffness of the adapted methods of research and analysis. If the methodology is more flexible (as the methodology of grounded theory), the researcher can get to phenomena that he/she has not realized and which are still scantily explored in his/her field of expertise. The phenomenological and contemplative approaches allow the use of the investigator’s feelings and experience as they appear in the studied phenomena, which usually does not take place in objectifying and positivistic research. The investigator may therefore consciously use these methodologies and approaches that foster creativity. The researchers can improve their skills in thinking and creative action by doing some methodical exercises (journal writing, writing poetry as a summary of the collected data, the use of art as representation of the phenomenon, the use of meditation, observation of the body feelings, humor, etc.).

Keywords

EN

Contemplation; Meditation; Creativity; Grounded Theory; Phenomenology; Serendipity; Qualitative Research; Ethnography

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Qualitative Sociology Review
• Year: 2019
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 6-25

Dates

published

2019-07-31

Contributors

author

Krzysztof T. Konecki

• University of Lodz, Poland

References

• Becker, Howard S. 1982. Art Worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Bentz, Valerie Malhotra. 1965. “Husserl, Schütz, ‘Paul’ and Me: Reflections on Writing Phenomenology.” Human Studies18(1):41-62.
• Bentz, Valery Malhotra and Jeremy J. Shapiro. 1998. Mindful Inquiry in Social Research. London: Sage.
• Blumer, Herbert. 1954. “What Is Wrong with Social Theory.” American Sociological Review 18:3-10.
• Boon, Wouter. 2014. Defining Creativity: The Art and Science of Great Ideas. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers.
• Byczkowska-Owczarek, Dominika and Honorata Jakubowska. 2018. “Sociology of the Body-Teaching Embodied Approach through Autoethnography.” Qualitative Sociology Review 14(2):152-164.
• Charmaz, Kathy. 2006. Constructing Grounded Theory. A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.
• Charmaz, Kathy. 2009. Teoria ugruntowana. Praktyczny przewodnik po analizie jakościowej. Warsaw: PWN.
• Chomczyński, Piotr. 2017. “Dylematy etyczne i metodologiczne w etnograficznych badaniach terenowych w Meksyku” [Ethical and Methodological Dilemmas in Ethnographic Field Studies in Mexico]. Roczniki Nauk Społecznych 8(44)4:143-159.
• Chomczyński, Piotr. 2018. “Doing Ethnography in a Hostile Environment: The Case of a Mexico Community.” Research Method Cases. London: Sage.
• Depraz, Natalie. 2002. “Michel Henry’s I Am the Truth.” New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy 2:397-401.
• Depraz, Natalie, Francisco J. Varela, and Pierre Vermersch. 1999. “The Gesture Awareness. An Account of Its Structural Dynamics.” Pp. 121-137 in Investigating Phenomenal Consciousness. New Methodologies and Maps, edited by M. Velmans. Amsterdam: Benjamin Publishers.
• Einstein, Albert. 1919. “Induction and Deduction in Physics.” Berliner Tageblatt, Dec. 25, CPAE 7:28.
• Englander, Magnus. 2016. “The Phenomenological Method in Qualitative Psychology and Psychiatry.” International Journal Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 11. Retrieved June 29, 2019 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4788767/).
• Fine, Gary A. 1991. “On the Macrofoundations of Microsociology: Constraint and the Exterior Reality of Structure.” The Sociological Quarterly 32(2):161-177.
• Fine, Gary A. 2004. Everyday Genius. Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Fine, Gary A. and James Deegan. 1996. “Three Principles of Serendipity: Insight, Chance, and Discovery in Qualitative Research.” International Qualitative Studies in Education 9(4):434-447.
• Giorgino, Vincenzo M. B. 2014a. “Contemplative Methods Meet Social Sciences: Back to Human Experience as It Is.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 45(4):461-483.
• Giorgino, Vincenzo. 2014b. The Pursuit of Happiness and the Traditions of Wisdom. Cham, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London: Springer.
• Glaser, Barney and Anselm L. Strauss. 1967. Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine.
• Hall, Dewana. 2010. A Phenomenological Inquiry of Chronic Homeless Individuals’ Challenges to Independence. Doctoral Dissertation, Walden University Scholar Works. Retrieved January 01, 2018 (https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1818&context=dissertations).
• Heidegger, Martin. 2005. Elucidations of Hölderlin Poetry. New York: Humanity Books.
• Isaacson, Walter. 2007. Einstein. His Life and Universe. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Janesick, Valerie J. 2015. Contemplative Qualitative Inquiry: Practicing the Zen of Research. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
• Kacperczyk, Anna. 2014. “Autoetnografia – technika, metoda, nowy paradygmat? O metodologicznym statusie autoetnografii” [Autoethnography-Technique, Method, or New Paradigm? On the Methodological Status of Autoethnography]. Przegląd Socjologii Jakościowej 10(3):32-74.
• Kacperczyk, Anna. 2016. Społeczne światy. Teoria – empiria – metody badań [Social Worlds. Theory-Empirical Research-Methods of Research]. Lodz: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
• Kacperczyk, Anna. 2017. “Rozum czy emocje? O odmianach autoetnografii oraz epistemologicznych przepaściach i pomostach między nimi” [Reason or Emotions? On Varieties of Autoethnography and the Epistemological Chasms and Bridges between Them]. Kultura i społeczeństwo (3):127-148.
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2005. Ludzie i ich zwierzęta. Interakcjonistyczno-symboliczna analiza społecznego świata właścicieli zwierząt domowych [People and Their Animals. Symbolic Interactionist Analysis of the Social World of Pet Owners]. Warsaw: Scholar.
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2008. “Zarządzanie talentami – zarządzanie lamentami, czyli jak rozwija się geniusz?” [Talent Management-Lament Management. How Does Genius Develop?]. Pp. 411-427 in Problemy Socjologii Gospodarki, edited by S. Banaszak and K. Doktór. Poznan: Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Komunikacji i Zarządzania.
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2009. “Teaching Visual Grounded Theory.” Qualitative Sociology Review 5(3):64-92.
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2014. “Socjologia emocji według Thomasa Scheffa” [Sociology of Emotions by Thomas Scheff]. Pp. 11-38 in Emocje w życiu codziennym. Analiza kulturowych, społecznych i organizacyjnych uwarunkowań ujawniania i kierowania emocjami, edited by K. T. Konecki and B. Pawłowska. Lodz: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2015. Is the Body the Temple of the Soul? Modern Yoga Practice as a Psychosocial Phenomenon. Cracow: Jagiellonian University Press
• Konecki, Krzysztof T. 2016. “Meditation as Epistemology: How Can Social Scientists Profit from Meditation?” Pp. 193-238 in Contemplative Social Research: Caring for Self, Being, and Lifeworld, edited by V. M. Bentz and V. M. B. Giorgino. Santa Barbara: Fielding University Press.
• Konecki Krzysztof T. 2018. Advances in Contemplative Social Research. Lodz: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego / Cracow: Jagiellonian University Press.
• Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. 1962. Phenomenology of Perception. London: Routledge.
• Merton, Robert. 1968a. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York, London: Free Press, Collier – Macmillan.
• Merton, Robert. 1968b. “The Mathew Effect in Science.” Science 159(3810):56-63.
• Merton, Robert K. and Elinor Barber. 2004. The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Moustakas, Clark. 1994. Phenomenological Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Müller, Thaddeus. 2019. “Cannabis, Moral Entrepreneurship, and Stigma: Conflicting Narratives on the 26 May 2016 Toronto Police Raid on Cannabis Shops.” Qualitative Sociology Review 15(2):148-171.
• Partis, Mary. 2003. “Hope in Homeless People: A Phenomenological Study.” Primary Health Care Research & Development 4(01):9-19.
• Pawłowska, Beata. 2013. Emocje społeczne w pracy nauczyciela i przedstawiciela handlowego [Social Emotions in the Work of Teachers and Sales Representatives]. Lodz: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
• Petitmengin-Peugeout, Claire. 2002. “The Intuitive Experience.” Pp. 43-77 in The View From Within. First-Person Approaches to the Study of Consciousness, edited by F. Varela and J. Shear. Thorverton: Imprint Academic.
• Rehoric, David A. and Valerie M. Bentz. 2008. Transformative Phenomenology. Changing Ourselves, Lifeworlds, and Professional Practice. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
• Reichenbach, Hans. 1938. Experience and Prediction: An Analysis of the Foundations and the Structure of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Runco, Mark A. 1988. “Creativity Research: Originality, Utility, and Integration.” Creativity Research Journal 1(1):1-7.
• Runco, Mark A. and Garrett J. Jaeger. 2012. “The Standard Definition of Creativity.” Creativity Research Journal 24(1):92-96.
• Scheff, Thomas J. 1990. Microsociology. Discourse, Emotion, and Social Structure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Simpson, Sandra. 2009. “Experiencing Phenomenology as Mindful Transformation. An Autobiographical Account.” Pp. 51-64 in Transformative Phenomenology. Changing Ourselves, Lifeworlds, and Professional Practice, edited by V. M. Bentz and D. Rehorick. New York: Lexington Books.
• Stein, Morris I. 1953. “Creativity and Culture.” Journal of Psychology 36:311-322.
• Strauss, Anselm L. 1987. Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Strzemiński, Władysław. 1958. Teoria Widzenia [The Theory of Seeing]. Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie.
• Sy, Felicia Washington. 2010. A Grounded Theoretical Approach to Embodiment among Homeless Youth. Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Retrieved June 29, 2019 (https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/637).
• Topolinski, Sasha and Rolf Reber. 2010. “Gaining Insight into the ‘Aha’-Experience.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 19:402-405.
• Wojciechowska, Magdalena. 2015. “Men Who Like Using and Abusing Women: The Perspective of Clients on Escort Agency Workers.” Studies in Symbolic Interaction 45:1-21.

Identifiers

DOI

10.18778/1733-8077.15.3.01