Methodology, values and quantitative world-views in qualitative research in community psychology

The re-emergence of qualitative research methodologies has great potential in community psychology. As community psychology is historically steeped in the quantitative methods, it is not surprising that the thinking that underlies the positivistic approaches in mainstream psychology is reflected in the way in which qualitative methods have been operationalised. In this article a number of issues are identified as conceptual residues from positivism, such as qualitative approaches to validity and developing substantive theory. Unlike quantitative methods where technical sophistication of method and statistics are the hallmark of good research, qualitative researchers need reflective skills, and flexibility of method and theorising. Qualitative research requires the researcher to adapt their methods to reflect the context, and to allow the context to determine questions, rather than apriorilly decided theoretical issues.