Description

Carspecken’s critical methodology – A theoretical assessment

COLIN A HOLMES AND WENDY SMYTH

School of Nursing, Midwifery and Nutrition, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on the authors’ earlier introduction to Carspecken’s highly theorized ‘critical qualitative research’ methodology, also referred to as ‘critical ethnography’, and reviews its diverse theoretical origins. In particular, it briefly reviews the contribution of philosophical pragmatism, critical social theory, phenomenology, and the expressivism of J. G. Herder. It goes on to describe and assess the extent to which Carspecken successfully integrates these in order to create a coherent theoretical foundation for research, and outlines the virtues and weaknesses that characterise his methodology. Through an appeal to pragmatic philosophy, Carspecken sets aside the host of theoretical problems raised by his eclecticism, and for researchers similarly unmoved by theoretical anomalies and contradictions, his methodology offers a potentially productive, flexible approach to critical ethnographic research.

Keywords: critical ethnography, qualitative methodology, Carspecken, critical qualitative methodology, critical qualitative research