From Critical Thought to Emancipatory Action: Contradictory Research Goals?

This article results from reading Lather's Getting Smart (1991)and Hammersley's The Politics of Social Research (1995). Thetheme is the debates between ‘traditional’ research approaches and‘emancipatory’ research approaches. It is argued that these debates are based onstereotypical views which obscure important characteristics held in common, andboth require to be interrogated. The article examines two of thesecharacteristics, appeals to a metanarrative of emancipation and the will topower, and considers the implications of the privileging of scientific knowledgeover other forms of knowledge. It concludes by considering the possibilities fora praxis-oriented research which may lead to possibilities for emancipatoryaction.