IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socres/v28y2023i1p93-109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Applied Research, Diffractive Methodology, and the Research-Assemblage: Challenges and Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Nick J Fox

    (University of Huddersfield, UK)

  • Pam Alldred

    (Nottingham Trent University, UK)

Abstract

This article offers a critical assessment of the challenges for policy- and practice-oriented social research of ‘diffractive methodology’ (DM): a post-representational approach to data analysis gaining interest among social researchers. Diffractive analyses read data from empirical research alongside other materials – including researchers’ perspectives, memories, experiences, and emotions – to provide novel insights on events. While this analytical approach acknowledges the situatedness of all research data, it raises issues concerning the applicability of findings for policy or practice. In addition, it does not elucidate in what ways and to what extent the diffractions employed during analysis have influenced the findings. To explore these questions, we diffract DM itself, by reading it alongside a DeleuzoGuattarian analysis of research-as-assemblage. This supplies a richer understanding of the entanglements between research and its subject-matter, and suggests how diffractive analysis may be used in conjunction with other methods in practice- and policy-oriented research.

Suggested Citation

  • Nick J Fox & Pam Alldred, 2023. "Applied Research, Diffractive Methodology, and the Research-Assemblage: Challenges and Opportunities," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 28(1), pages 93-109, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:28:y:2023:i:1:p:93-109
    DOI: 10.1177/13607804211029978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13607804211029978
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/13607804211029978?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Katie Warfield, 2017. "“I Set the Camera on the Handle of My Dresser”: Re-Matter-Ializing Social Media Visual Methods through a Case Study of Selfies," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 65-74.
    2. Nick J. Fox & Pam Alldred, 2015. "Inside the Research-Assemblage: New Materialism and the Micropolitics of Social Inquiry," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 20(2), pages 122-140, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Uta Russmann & Jakob Svensson, 2017. "Introduction to Visual Communication in the Age of Social Media: Conceptual, Theoretical and Methodological Challenges," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 1-5.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:28:y:2023:i:1:p:93-109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.