Saltalamacchia, H. 2008. Casuística y subjetivismo: Falsos estigmas de la investigación cualitativa. Cinta moebio 33: 109-126

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Casuistic and subjectivism: False stigmas attached to qualitative research

Dr. Homero R. Saltalamacchia (hsaltalamacchia@yahoo.com) Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Proyecto: Santiago del Estero: estructura, coyuntura y tendencias PAE 22617. Agencia Nacional de Promoción de Ciencia y Tecnología de Argentina.


Abstract

Qualitative research has been stigmatized as subjective and incapable of generalizing knowledge. This article refutes both charges by presenting the main elements of a “data theory” and a “theory on the production of empirical universals”, both of which challenge the foundations of the above-mentioned critique. It, moreover, critically discusses: 1) the premises behind the theories that assert the existence of “objective” data; and 2) the foundations of the deductive-nomological tradition. It concludes sketching a different strategy to produce universals, where case studies and comparisons play the main role.

Key words: qualitative research, data, empirical universals, objectivity, case studies

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Cinta de Moebio
Revista de Epistemología de Ciencias Sociales
ISSN 0717-554X