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‘Régime of Truth’ as a Serendipitous Event: an essay concerning the relationship between research data and the generation of ideas
Author(s) -
Garratt Dean
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british educational research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.171
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1469-3518
pISSN - 0141-1926
DOI - 10.1080/0141192980240207
Subject(s) - serendipity , epistemology , reading (process) , perspective (graphical) , deconstruction (building) , sociology , relevance (law) , event (particle physics) , educational research , social science , political science , law , computer science , philosophy , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , biology
This article argues that realist social researchers tend to regard serendipitous events within the research process with great suspicion. One result of this has been the virtual absence of any serious analysis of the role that serendipity plays in the generation of research ideas. This article attempts to address this absence through the retrospective analysis of one case study, in which the significance and impact of serendipity is explored through an example of an epiphanous experience. In capturing this moment, a serendipitous, Foucauldian reading of school discipline as a ‘régime of truth’ is developed and examined. This is then juxtaposed with a second reading or deconstruction of the first account. The article contrasts the illumination within the first account with the sobering retrospection in the second, ultimately exposing several methodological weaknesses within the original perspective. As a result, the article deliberates upon the problematic nature of constructing plausible research stories, and examines what conclusions might be drawn from those deeply interpenetrated issues that inevitably beset educational researchers.