Contemplation and First-Person Approaches in Social Research

This article discusses first-person approaches in social research. It describes autoethnographic, phenomenological, and contemplative approaches. These three approaches have in common reflexivity, a focus on experiences, the process of thinking, bodily sensations, and the emotional and situational dimension of learning about the world, and, consequently, on the researcher as a producer of knowledge. Although these approaches are different, they share some characteristics of being contemplative. The research participant's place in their scientific work is subjected to explication in all three approaches. The aspect of embodiment in the situation as well as the reflection on subjectivity and objectivity as fictive distinctions of qualitative research imagery are both highlighted. Contemplative research methods are also presented.