(Re)constructing strategies: a methodological experiment on representation

Abstract

The article describes an experiment in which two researchers engaged in developing poetic forms of representing qualitative empirical research switch their individually produced empirical material and work simultaneously on each other's products. The intention is to investigate what we, as researchers, are adding to and extracting from the empirical material in poetical processing. It may be that the condensed, poetic texts can be seen as primarily representing the relation between the researcher and the persons she met in ‘empirical time’. Thus, poetical processing is a process in which this relation – or at least the researchers' notion hereof – is added to the empirical product. By switching empirical texts and conducting poetical condensation on an unknown text, an attempt is made to qualify an understanding of what is added and the strategies being used – which might prove to be specific to each individual. Does this, then, in the end mean that the condensed poetic texts are not representing anything related to ‘empirical time’, but are to be seen as something entirely new? And if so, does it matter?

Notes

1. Pseudonym of two industrial workers in the analysis.

2. Our translation from Danish.

3. In (Krøjer 2003) Jo thoroughly discussed the problem of research putting the researcher in the position of a ‘Peeping Tom’.

4. With Australian poststructuralist Bronwyn Davies at Roskilde University in 2001.

5. This is a transcription of the text as it appears in the thesis.

6. Note that in the interview Doris switches between the I‐form and the we‐form, referring to I Doris and we the young people with diabetes.

7. At this time Jo also sent Bibi one of her transcriptions of interviews with workers, but these are not described in this article.