‘Régime of Truth’ as a Serendipitous Event: an essay concerning the relationship between research data and the generation of ideas

Abstract

AbstractThis 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.