ABSTRACT
Defining one’s object of study is a crucial phase in research methodology. If a researcher does not have clear ideas about what he or she is studying, it becomes extremely difficult to design a research project that is consistent in all its parts. Research on family relations inevitably runs up against the lack of an explicit definition of the object to be investigated, with the result that studies differ greatly from each other and there is inconsistency between the use of research strategies and techniques for data analysis. What do we mean by “family”? Each one of us is able to answer this question but if we compare our responses we realize that they differ greatly from each other. The definition of the object of study cannot be independent of the theoretical framework that guides and directs the research process. According to the relational-intergenerational perspective that was described in Chapter 1, the family is an organization of primary relations founded on the differences of gender, generation, and family lineage. The family, in this perspective, is analysed both on an interactive level, that is, in the present by looking at the “action taking place between participants”, and on a relational level, that is, by seeking to apprehend the bond that precedes the interaction in progress and constitutes its meaningful context. Interaction is imbued with meaning when we are able to discern underlying relationships. Approaching family studies from a specific perspective implies giving attentive consideration to research methodology, to the way in which research able to capture the organization of relationships should be structured. Theory (the point of view adopted with respect to the family) and method (how it is studied) are intrinsically connected: in other words, as Campbell maintained in the 1970s (Campbell, 1970), method and object come into being together. What we know and how we know it are inextricably linked. The goal of tightening the connection between theory research and applications was put forward by David Olson in the mid-1970s (Olson, 1976) after the sharp separation between these fields was noted. The same author (Larsen & Olson, 1990) returned to this preoccupation at the methodological level, underlining the need to maintain consistency between various component parts of a study. Consistency between the different research phases is an aspect of the research’s validity that becomes especially crucial in family studies (Figure 2.1).
