The ideas of traditional research are compared with the ideas about social constructionist research. Discussions include thoughts about hierarchy, power, control, causal effects, manipulation, distance, the concepts of objectivity and neutrality. Many examples of social constructionist research are offered including actual studies of risk-taking of adolescents, women infected with HIV/AIDS and even the early work of Gladys Ziegarnik. The power relationships between the researcher and the researched are compared with the current more collaborative work where participants are more involved in determining what is researched. The co-construction of stories, reflexivity, multiple stories, multiple voices, relational stories, reflecting teams, how therapists create their clients, and designs that limit or edit, are among the new research ideas that are examined.
Running Time: 34 minutes

Mary Gergen, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies at Pennsylvania State University, as well as Division Head of Psychology for the Commonwealth College. She is author of Feminist Reconstructions in Psychology: Narrative, Gender & Performance, and co-editor of Toward a New Psychology of Gender and co-author of textbooks in social psychology, introductory psychology and statistics. Her research interests include women’s adult development and public notions of safety and security. She is also a founding member of the Taos Institute.