Praxis Stories : Experiencing Interpretive Policy Research
By: HENDRIKS, Carolyn M
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Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Birmingham, UK : Institute of Local Government Studies, 2007Critical Policy Analysis 1, 3, p. 278-300Abstract: This is a reflective and experiential piece on practising intrepretive policy research - a meaning focussed approach to studying politics. Much effort in recent years has gone into defining and defending interpretive methods against positivist approaches actually 'interpret' the polical science. Yet surprisingly little is Known about how researches actually 'interpret' the political world, and what issues they face in practice. This paper follows the journey of an intrepretive project and reflects on a series of methodological issues it posed. The discussion reveals that interpretive methods can be demanding on researchers: they need to immerse themselves in policy practice, engage iteratively, embrace uncertainty, and work with multiple interpretations.To encourage learning and improve the practice of interpretive research in political science, this paper calls on scholars to be more reflexive about what they do by sharing their research experiences
This is a reflective and experiential piece on practising intrepretive policy research - a meaning focussed approach to studying politics. Much effort in recent years has gone into defining and defending interpretive methods against positivist approaches actually 'interpret' the polical science. Yet surprisingly little is Known about how researches actually 'interpret' the political world, and what issues they face in practice. This paper follows the journey of an intrepretive project and reflects on a series of methodological issues it posed. The discussion reveals that interpretive methods can be demanding on researchers: they need to immerse themselves in policy practice, engage iteratively, embrace uncertainty, and work with multiple interpretations.To encourage learning and improve the practice of interpretive research in political science, this paper calls on scholars to be more reflexive about what they do by sharing their research experiences
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