Iiris Aaltio and Heather J. Hopfl, Guest Editors, TAMARA JOURNAL special issue http://tamarajournal.com This print issue will solicit papers until September 1 2007, with reviews to be completed, in April, and reviews to be completed in November, 2007. Submit manuscripts to hopfl@essex.ac.uk or iiris.aaltio@econ.jyu.fi
The nature of the production of knowledge and scientific “fact” has received growing attention in the study of organizations. Organizations cannot be perceived directly, experienced as such and, therefore, come to be understood through theory and conceptualization. The whole field of organizational research is highly determined by antecedent knowledge, metaphors and concepts. This call for papers is inspired by emergent developments in the field, and notably by two recent articles: “Reflexivity in Organization and Management Theory: A Study of the Production of the Research 'Subject'”, by C. Hardy, N. Phillips and S. Clegg, Human Relations, May 2001, and “The Problem of Experience in the Study of Organizations”, by L. Sandelands and V. Srivatsan, Organization Studies, 1993, 14/1. Both of the papers, in different ways, contribute to a broader understanding of knowledge production and reflexivity.
Over the past 10-15 years qualitative approaches to research in organizations and management have become increasingly popular. at least this is the case in Europe and there is evidence of a broader coalition of interests in qualitative work across the international management academy. Many of these studies share similar concerns albeit at a range of different levels of analysis and with different means of conceptualization: the position of the researcher in the research process, the special features of data gathering and, even more importantly, the analysis and interpretations of the data in the search for new knowledge. Positioning oneself as researcher in the study, the special nature of the data and various ethical considerations are everyday questions to be dealt with by researchers during the process of research. Attitudes to these issues have changed considerably over the past twenty five years as has the acceptability of various qualitative approaches.
Because qualitative studies do not usually start from a strict theory or model, reflexivity on the researcher's part is an essential part of the research process. Indeed, thet qualitative approach has sometimes been criticized for not being able to add to the knowledge in the studied field and ending up with isolated bits of knowledge and pieces of understanding. The subjectivity of the researcher is sometimes seen more as a threat than an opportunity for the outcome. Moreover, the polarity of quantitative and qualitative is something of myth since it is the extent to which interpretation is an acknowledged part of knowledge production which sometimes appears to characterize the distinction. Study designs such as case studies may use several kinds of data and analysis, qualitative as well as quantitative. However, iti is not just the use or non-use of numerical analysis that differentiates research. It is the whole research process covering data collection, analysis and interpretation, and the trajectory of theoretical development. We welcome insights and reflections concerning these questions. Theoretical and empirical approaches are both welcome, especially related to the following topics:
o Reflexivity and the “production” of the research “subject”
o Position of the researcher in the research process
o Auto-ethnography
o Voyeurism and the researcher
o Subjectivity, honesty and disclosure
o Subjectivity and selectivity in the presentation of findings
o The interpretative framework of research
o The research community and legitimization of research
o The production of “community in research”
o Evaluation by peers
o Researcher as ingénue
o Theory development as “production”
o The role of epistemology
o The manipulation of findings
Point of contact
Iiris Aaltio
professor
School of Business and Economics
P.O.Box 35 (MaE)
FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä
Finland
Tel. +358 (0)14 260 4390
Mobile:+358(0)40 5469755
Fax. +358 (0)14 260 3331
E-mail:iiris.aaltio@econ.jyu.fi
english-info@econ.jyu.fi
professori
Taloustieteiden tiedekunta
Jyväskylän yliopisto
PL 35 (MaE)
40014 Jyväskylän yliopisto
Puh: (014) 2604390
Fax: (014) 2603331
e-mail:iiris.aaltio@econ.jyu.fi
taltdk@econ.jyu.fi