Forman Christian College University
Course Code: Psyc 415
Course Title: Research Methods in Psychology II
Social Constructionist
Social constructionism is a theory in qualitative research where a researcher is supposed to
collect data and analyse it by looking into the way language has been used in order to
construct a reality.
Social constructionism reminds me of how communication on text occurs between young
adult friends or couples. When most of us text, we notice the little change in punctuations or
capitalisation or particular use of words to comprehend how the person behind the screen is
feeling right now. For instance, I was a texting a friend once and replied briefly with a full
stop at the end of my sentence. He instantly replied with “you never use full stops normally; I
know this means you’re mad at me”. And he was actually right, I do only use full stops when
im upset or angry. He analysed the way I used to language to implicitly portray my feelings.
Interpretation style: Suspicion
Once a researcher collects data, he/she needs to clarify how they will interpret the data;
empathetically or suspiciously. To analyse using a suspicious lens means to not take the data
on face value and to suspect more from the data than what it says. It’s almost like reading
between the lines or looking for what’s hiding beneath there.
The interpretation style of suspicion makes me think of normal conversations where we tend
to judge most people or incidents so critically instead of really believing what they say. We
suspect them to be lying or hiding something. For instance, a friend I know recently divorced
her husband because of blasphemous behaviour like, “I am god, worship me, god speaks to
me, bow to me, im very holy” and much more. Though he did not pray, read the Quran, or
perform wuzu. He also got abusive towards the kids and the wife. He spent hours visiting an
old man who had similar blasphemous beliefs. My friend divorced him after two years of
being patient and trying everything to bring him back. When my dad found out about the
incident, the only thing he said to me was, “im sure the woman wasn’t all that nice either,
people always blame their spouses. She should’ve tried other ways instead of divorce. Did
she not think about the kids?”. My dad hence opted for a rather suspicious style of
interpretation here.
Phenomenological
Phenomenological research questions are a type where the qualitative researcher asks
participants to explain how their experience has been about something particular.
Course Code: Psyc 415
Course Title: Research Methods in Psychology II
Social Constructionist
Social constructionism is a theory in qualitative research where a researcher is supposed to
collect data and analyse it by looking into the way language has been used in order to
construct a reality.
Social constructionism reminds me of how communication on text occurs between young
adult friends or couples. When most of us text, we notice the little change in punctuations or
capitalisation or particular use of words to comprehend how the person behind the screen is
feeling right now. For instance, I was a texting a friend once and replied briefly with a full
stop at the end of my sentence. He instantly replied with “you never use full stops normally; I
know this means you’re mad at me”. And he was actually right, I do only use full stops when
im upset or angry. He analysed the way I used to language to implicitly portray my feelings.
Interpretation style: Suspicion
Once a researcher collects data, he/she needs to clarify how they will interpret the data;
empathetically or suspiciously. To analyse using a suspicious lens means to not take the data
on face value and to suspect more from the data than what it says. It’s almost like reading
between the lines or looking for what’s hiding beneath there.
The interpretation style of suspicion makes me think of normal conversations where we tend
to judge most people or incidents so critically instead of really believing what they say. We
suspect them to be lying or hiding something. For instance, a friend I know recently divorced
her husband because of blasphemous behaviour like, “I am god, worship me, god speaks to
me, bow to me, im very holy” and much more. Though he did not pray, read the Quran, or
perform wuzu. He also got abusive towards the kids and the wife. He spent hours visiting an
old man who had similar blasphemous beliefs. My friend divorced him after two years of
being patient and trying everything to bring him back. When my dad found out about the
incident, the only thing he said to me was, “im sure the woman wasn’t all that nice either,
people always blame their spouses. She should’ve tried other ways instead of divorce. Did
she not think about the kids?”. My dad hence opted for a rather suspicious style of
interpretation here.
Phenomenological
Phenomenological research questions are a type where the qualitative researcher asks
participants to explain how their experience has been about something particular.
