Post-qualitative inquiry : four balancing acts in crafting alternative stories to live by

Abstract

<div lang="en" class="abs"><p class="abs_header">Abstract</p><p>Post-qualitative inquiry can be seen to challenge—not fix—at least four elements of what Elizabeth St. Pierre calls conventional humanist qualitative inquiry: the nature of data, the role of methods, the quest for increasing clarity, and the idea of an individual “voice.” In conducting post-qualitative research rather than offering replacements for these or completely renouncing them, I outline four key balancing acts. Unless understood as continuous acts of balancing, post-qualitative inquiry runs a risk of being identified as yet another isolated fortress of righteousness.</p></div>