Toward a cooptive model of qualitative research

With the growing acceptance of qualitative (field observational and intensive interview) research in the social sciences, there has been increasing interest in the practical and philosophical issues related to these methods. Since the foundation of the methodology is social relations, scholars have made numerous attempts to construct an epistemology of research relations; among these are the research bargain, cooperative and conflict models of qualitative research. An alternative model is presented, the cooptive model, in which the basic assumptions are that 1. there is a highly situational element in the process of qualitative research, as there is in any other set of relations, which prevents its characterization as “fundamentally”; one of bargaining, cooperation or conflict; 2. the research respondent will attempt to coopt the researcher into her or his meaning world and 3. the uncautious researcher will, in a parallel manner, attempt to fit the respondent's meanings into the researcher's meaning world, thus violating the central task of qualitative research.