Prólogo a la llamada ‘investigación cualitativa’ en ciencias sociales

Abstract

This article offers a panoramic view of what it is commonly known in the social sciences as “qualitative research”. It could well be considered an introduction, as it simply poses questions and points to areas of future research. The text begins with a general discussion on the meaning of qualitative research, based upon the concept of paradigm, and analyzes its genesis and the reason of its expansion in the last two decades of the twentieth century. The author affirms that it is a difficult and conflicting expansion and, that its legitimacy is far from assured: opposition to this approach, in particular by academic positivism, continues to present a difficult barrier to overcome, despite contemporary voices of integration or dialogue. Subsequently, the article discusses qualitative analysis’ epistemological status and the elements that distinguish it from other conceptions of research. The paper concludes with an interpretative proposal that differs from this entire intellectual project in the social sciences: making use of Bourdieu, it opens a path to analyzing this phenomenon more as the product of games within a social field than as an exclusively epistemological rebellion.