19.2 Constructivist

What is the purpose of constructivist research?

research seeks to develop a deep understanding of the meaning that people attach to events, experiences, or phenomena. It draws heavily from the idea that our realities are constructed through shared social interaction, within which each person holds a unique perspective that is anchored in their own position (where they are situated in the world) and their evolving life experiences to date. Constructivist research then seeks to bring together unique individual perspectives around a common topic or idea (the basis of the research question), to determine what a shared understanding for this particular group of participants might be. By developing a common or shared understanding, we are better able to appreciate the multiple sides or facets of any given topic, helping us to better appreciate the richness of the world around us. You can think about constructivist research as being akin to cultural humility. When we approach practice with a sense of cultural humility, we assume that people who participate in a shared culture experience it from their own unique perspective. As we work with them, we try our best to understand and respect their personal understanding of that culture. Similarly, in constructivist research, we attempt to bring together (and honor) these unique individual perspectives on a given topic and construct a shared understanding, attempting to take what might be one-dimensional and making it multidimensional.

Constructivist research, as a method of inquiry, originated out of the work of Lincoln and Guba (1985),^[1] although it was initially termed “naturalism”. In stark contrast to more

research traditions that make the assumption that the broad aim of research as an approach to knowledge building is to produce generalizable findings, constructivist research assumes that any knowledge produced through the research process is

. This means that constructivist findings are specific to those who contributed to that knowledge building and the situation in which it took place. That isn’t to say that these results might not have broader value or application, but the aim of the constructivist researcher is not to make that claim. The aim of the constructivist design is to provide a rich, full, detailed account of both the research process and the research findings. This inlcudes a detailed description of the context in which the research is taking place. In this way, the research consumer can determine the value and application of the research findings. The video by Robertson (2007)^[2] in the resources box offers a good overview of this methodology and many of the assumptions that underlie this approach.

If you are a researcher considering a constructivist design, Rodwell (1998)^[3] suggests that you should consider the focus, fit, and feasibility of your study for this particular methodology. While she provides a very helpful discussion across all three areas, her attention to ‘fit’ for constructivist inquiry is perhaps most relevant for our abbreviated overview of this methodology. In her discussion of ‘fit’, Rodwell argues that research questions well-suited for constructivist research are:

• Multi-dimensional: meaning that multiple constructions or understandings of the “reality” of the topic are being sought
• Investigator interactive: meaning that the topic is susceptible to researcher influence by virtue of the researcher having to be very involved in data collection and therefore accountable for considering their role in the knowledge production process
• Context-dependent: meaning that the circumstances surrounding the participants and the research process must be taken into account
• Complex: meaning we should assume there are multiple causes that contribute to the problem under investigation (and that the research is seeking to explore, rather than collapse that complexity)
• Value-laden: meaning that the topic we are studying is best understood in a way that accounts for the diverse values and opinions people attach to it.

What is involved with constructivist research?

As you may have surmised from the discussion above, the cornerstone of constructivist research is the researcher engaging in immersive exchanges with participants in an effort to ‘construct’ the meaning that they attach to the topic being studied.

Again, drawing on Rodwell’s (1998) ^[4] description of this methodology, a constructivist researcher needs to recruit a [pb_glossaryid=”918″]purposive[/pb_glossary] sample that has unique and diverse first-hand knowledge of the topic being studied. They will gather data from this sample regarding their respective realities or understandings of the topic. They will attempt to account for the context in which the study is taking place (including the researcher’s own influence as a

). Throughout the analysis process they will work towards producing

, taking time to clarify and verify that findings accurately capture the sentiment of participants; treating participants as experts in their own reality. Finally, they will bring this knowledge together in a way that attempts to reflect the complex and multidimensional understandings of the topic being studied.

Constructivist research findings are well-suited for being presented as a case report. This allows for many realities or understandings of a given topic to be constructed. When you think about the value of constructivist research for social work, review some of the research articles listed below as examples. Envision using the findings from Allen’s (2011)^[5] study about women’s resistance to abuse to help us improve shelter-based intervention and public health prevention efforts. Also, as a manager in an older adult care facility, you could use Cook and Brown-Wilson’s (2011)^[6] work focused on nursing home residents and their social relationships with staff to help inform ongoing staff training efforts that are more centered in nurturing social connections.