Professor Mats Alvesson

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Reflexive Methodology

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M Alvesson & D Krreman: Constructing mystery. Academy of

Management Review Oct 2007

The fiction of facts

- data is constructed
- observations theory laden
- social reality change
-

Theories gain favor because of their conceptual appeal,

their logical structure, or their psychological
plausibility. Internal coherence, parsimony, formal
elegance, and so on prevail over empirical accuracy in
determining a theorys impact (Astley, 1985:503).

Enter: the researcher (research community)

- subjectivity (& discursivity) inescapable
- better understood as a resource than bias
- transparency

Unsettling questions:

Constructing and resolving research problems:

- reflexivity (self-)critique
- sensitive constructions
interpretive repertoires

A methodology of sorts for theorizing from empirical

material

Familiarization with the setting

Explore/construct breakdown
Move from breakdown to mystery
Systematize mystery
Resolve mystery
Generalize solution

Can I construct/make sense of this material in

another way than suggested by the preferred
perspective/vocabulary?
Can I let myself be surprised by this material?
Can it productively and fairly be constructed
in a way that kicks back at my framework and
how we in my research community
typically see and interpret things?

Creating and resolving breakdowns and

mystery
- Openness
- emergent design
- defamiliarization
- actively expanding interpretive repertoire

Conclusion

Implications for research design

- breakdown-focused
- breakdown-sensitive
- breakdown-considering

Empirical material facilitate theorization

through:
- providing breakdowns
- challenging interpretive repertoires
- stimulating imagination
- providing discipline
- establishing dialogue