From modern to postmodern methodology?

the "interpretive turn"

pp. 64-82

in: Simon Susen, The "postmodern turn" in the social sciences, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with the impact of postmodern thought on contemporary debates in social methodology. The question of whether social research methods have undergone a radical revision owing to the rise of postmodern thought is intimately linked to the question of whether the social sciences have experienced noticeable paradigmatic shifts over the past few decades. In order to assess the influence of postmodern thought on social research methods,¹ the present chapter proposes to consider an investigative approach that has gained increasing significance in the contemporary social sciences: discourse analysis.² By definition, the social sciences are in a constant state of flux. Their constitution and role vary in accordance with the paradigmatic changes that shape the research strategies employed in the pursuit of methodical knowledge production. Social research methods play a pivotal role in conceptually informed and empirically supported attempts to interpret or explain particular aspects of human reality. Their crucial importance is reflected in the regulated circulation of truth claims in modern public spheres, especially in realms of academic debate and controversy.³