Citation
(2003), "Note from the publisher", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 6 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/qmr.2003.21606baa.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Note from the publisher
Forthcoming in this journal
Issue 3 will be a special issue on the topic of representation. Guest edited by Pauline Maclaran, Miriam Catterall and Lorna Stevens, the issue will feature five papers on a range of themes pertinent to this area. An excerpt from the guest editorial is provided below;
"The last two decades, however, have also witnessed a 'crisis of representation' throughout the social sciences, a crisis that has prompted considerable discussion on how qualitative research is undertaken and on the ways that researchers report their research findings. More specifically, a number of key questions have arisen, including;
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What should our relationship be with our research subjects?
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How do we know that what we observe is 'true'?
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How might we best communicate our research findings to our audience?
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Who should comprise our audience?
The postmodern critique has exposed the value-laden nature of terms such as reliability, validity, generalisability and trustworthiness, suspecting all "truth" claims as masking, and serving, particular interests. Whose voices(s) do we claim to represent - the subjects of our research or merely our own? As interpretive researchers, interpretation can too easily become misrepresentation. How much is too much, and when does researcher involvement become intrusive and at odds with the interests of our research subjects and, indeed, the reality of their experience? The representation of qualitative research thus presents us with many dilemmas and a bewildering range of voices and choices.
This special issue is designed to stimulate discussion on the assumptions and decisions that qualitative researchers make in representing their research subjects, their data and themselves. It is also intended to encourage dialogue between academic and commercial qualitative marketing researchers."