Queer and Feminist Research
A Guide to Qualitative Methodologies
- Rosie Ola-Marie - University of Bristol
In a world where gender and sexuality are constantly evolving, research must evolve too. This book breaks new ground, bringing queer and feminist approaches to research together for the first time.
Offering a fresh, reflexive perspective on qualitative methodologies, it explores the intersections of feminism and queer theory. Building on the work of critical theorists – feminist, queer, indigenous, Black, postcolonial and others – who have informed and transformed qualitative methodological approaches, the book demonstrates how feminist and queer methodologies can lead to more effective, rigorous, ethical and equitable research processes.
Understanding research as enveloped in power and social dynamics, the book challenges you to interrogate your scholarly identity and see qualitative research as an active process, not a neutral activity. It aims to help foster a sense of community and provide you with tools to enter into research spaces feeling able to tackle injustices and engage with forms of resistance through your research methodologies.
Full of features to support your learning, including case studies of real research, student activities, key concept boxes, study questions and further reading, this textbook is a must-read for postgraduate students or researchers involved in qualitative research, gender studies or queer studies.
Queer and Feminist Qualitative Research is both refreshing and reassuring in its inclusive and accessible approach. It's a lively and engaging text with rich examples from across the globe. There is a real appetite for this type of text and it acts as a stake in the ground for inclusive and non-discriminatory queer feminist research practice. It’s never felt more important to be backing this type of trans positive text.
This is a tremendously engaging, welcoming and, above all, thorough guide to queer-feminist research approaches. Easy-to-read chapters break down theoretical debates to offer readers straightforward access to big ideas, while case studies and activities help ground all of this in practical steps. This is an ideal book for students beginning their research journey, or for more established researchers wishing to explore queer feminist approaches for the first time.
Rosie Ola-Marie's Queer and Feminist Research is a welcome resource, not just for students and scholars seeking implement qualitative research methodologies, but also for those working to understand queer theory, feminist theory, and the relationship of these approaches to each other and to other related theoretical frameworks. Engaging the reader with rich examples and robust case studies, this rigorously-researched text addresses politics, power, language, history, and other relevant aspects of contemporary culture.
Queer and Feminist Research is an invaluable book that not only hones critical skills in queer feminist approaches but also empowers researchers through providing language around qualitative research more broadly. This book is packed with case studies, key concept explainers, study questions, and further readings. A key resource for students and teachers/researchers alike.
This is an excellent introduction to queer and feminist research that is accessible to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. It will be of interest to students studying education; sociology; anthropology; feminist, queer, women’s, gender and sexuality studies and beyond. I am looking forward to adding it as required reading for my own modules that focus on anti-oppressive research practices. Students will benefit from the overview of queer and feminist theories, research and activism as well as the study questions and activities. The writing style is both thoughtful and engaging, offering inspiration for those who may just be discovering what queer and feminist thought and practice means for them.
Thanks to Ola-Marie’s accessible and personable writing style, this book – unusually for a methodology textbook – manages to be thought-provoking and deeply engaging. It will be a vital resource not only for those new to doing queer and feminist research, but also for any qualitative researcher looking for a textbook that takes questions of research ethics, power and positionality seriously.
In Queer and Feminist Research: A Guide to Qualitative Methodologies, Rosie Ola-Marie gifts us with an accessible toolkit for developing queer feminist research perspectives that attend to issues of power, ethics, and reflexivity. An essential primer for students and early-career researchers in the humanities and social sciences!
This book is a must read for anyone embarking on queer and feminist research. It gives a thoughtful and accessible introduction to the issues and questions a researcher should be thinking about as they start to plan their project. It's the book I wish I'd read as I was starting my PhD.