ABSTRACT
What is critical realism? Critical realism is realist because it challenges the current postmodernist and social constructionist vogue. The key ideas of this vogue are as follows: first, that there is no rational self, and instead the self is a decentred contingency which cannot transcend its socio-historical location; and, secondly, that what is taken to be knowledge is a reflection of the prevailing discourse or language game. From this it is maintained that the task of the researcher is more about constructing a narrative than discovering the truth. This means that social scientists must use qualitative research to understand the reality constructed by the group studied, rather than claiming to discover the truth about a group. In constructing a narrative about the reality of the group studied, the social origin of the researcher will influence the narrative, and the outcome will be as much about the researcher’s biography as the people studied. In which case, it may be best for the researcher to study people from the same social group, so that the origin of the researcher does not clash with the reality constructed by the group studied. It may also be maintained that research is always political, because any work undertaken will either reinforce the status quo by reproducing accepted views about a particular group, or challenge the status quo by offering up a radical narrative that challenges the prevailing image of the group.
