Why Is Reflexivity Important In Anthropology?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Reflexivity is especially important when it comes to raising awareness of power dynamics . ... Being reflexive is one way that anthropologists can try to better understand and respect the participants they are doing research with. Reflexivity is also an important part of knowing one's biases.

Why is reflexivity important?

The primary goal of reflexivity is to reduce the likelihood of researcher bias . In turn, this will improve the credibility of the study. In addition, reflexivity can show researchers how their values positively impacted the study.

What is reflexivity in anthropology?

In anthropology, reflexivity has come to have two distinct meanings, one that refers to the researcher's awareness of an analytic focus on his or her relationship to the field of study , and the other that attends to the ways that cultural practices involve consciousness and commentary on themselves.

Why reflexivity is important in sociological research?

Reflexivity is usually regarded as central to all variants of ethnographic research . ... Second, and probably more importantly, ethnographic reflexivity requires that researchers critically reflect upon the theoretical structures they have drawn out of their ethnographic analysis.

Why is reflexivity important in ethnography?

Interpretive reflexivity considers social positions within ongoing circuits of communication between researcher and researched. Since interpretations are part of explanation in much ethnography, interpretive reflexivity widens our ability to assess causal as well as interpretive claims .

What is the point of reflexivity?

We conclude that reflexivity requires the unpacking of partial, positioned and affective perspectives we bring to the research . This process facilitates our questioning and moves us beyond our own taken-for-granted assumptions and sense-making of the social world.

What is the focus of reflexivity?

Reflexivity involves questioning one's own taken for granted assumptions . Essentially, it involves drawing attention to the researcher as opposed to ‘brushing her or him under the carpet' and pretending that she or he did not have an impact or influence.

What is theory of reflexivity?

Reflexivity theory states that investors don't base their decisions on reality, but rather on their perceptions of reality instead . The actions that result from these perceptions have an impact on reality, or fundamentals, which then affects investors' perceptions and thus prices.

What is reflexivity in teaching?

A reflexive teaching approach involves the use of Experience Based Learning (EBL) techniques, which engage the whole person and stimulate reflection on experience , whilst opening up the learner to new experiences (Boone 1985; Kolb 1984).

What does self reflexivity mean?

As a process, reflexivity implies activity where by the act self-consciousness is determined or posited . Self- Reflexivity is a superior form of self-activity in which the self-consciousness is produced, and it is sustained any form of self-consciousness.

What are reflexivity skills?

With reflexive skills – as a subcomponent of inter- and transdisciplinary skills – we mean the ability of researchers to question the different sorts of knowledge used , to recognize the epistemological and normative aspects involved, and to reflect on their own and others' roles in these knowledge processes.

What is meant by reflexivity and why is it important in sociology?

Answer : Reflexivity means to conduct research on the basis of view point of others and ignoring own feelings and attitudes regarding the subject matter of research. It is very important in Sociology so as to keep the results objective or to attain objectivity.

How do you show reflexivity in research?

  1. Situate the research question into larger frameworks.
  2. Situate the local context into larger contexts.
  3. Situate the research approach within other approaches and research “camps.”
  4. Situate specific procedures within larger sets of assumptions and practices.

What is reflexivity in fieldwork?

Reflexivity, in ethnography, has come to mean thinking carefully about who has done the research and how, under what conditions, how it was written, by whom , and what impact these might have on the value of the ethnography produced.

What is the reflexive turn?

The reflexive turn is a modern movement in cultural anthropology that began in the early seventies . ... In the face of post-modernism's rise, anthropologists began asking themselves if it was possible to create an objective study of a culture when their own biases and epistemologies were inherently involved.

What are the different types of ethnography?

There are several types of ethnographic research, namely; business, educational and medical ethnographic research . All based on different fields of human endeavor and each type is defined by specific characteristics.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.