Can Feminist Methodology Reduce Power Hierarchies in Research Settings?

Abstract

In this comment the issues of power hierarchies and the role of feminist methodology in fieldwork are addressed. Observations from fieldwork in Turkey for research on gender-based constraints faced by women micro- and small entrepreneurs are used to identify some of the power hierarchies involved in research settings and how the use of feminist methodology can be instrumental in reducing these hierarchies. Linking research with action-oriented programs is one important aspect of this fieldwork which contributed to the communities where the research took place. The methodology used in this research also validated personal experience through qualitative interviews and the use of interdisciplinary methods. The focus group interviews proved to be the most flexible, egalitarian and interactive of all the methods used in the fieldwork. In conclusion, while a feminist methodology cannot eliminate power hierarchies in the research process, it can be helpful in partly reducing them.