Rethinking Research Into (Occupational) Stress

ABSTRACT

Researchers often employ methodologies and instruments without regard to the assumptions that were originally made in the development of that methodology and instrument. This lack of reflexivity may lead to the protection of data whose usefulness is problematic. An instance of such blinkered research is the area of stress. This paper discusses a number of problems with past methodological approaches and conceptualisations of stress in an effort to cause future research to rethink the approach to this phenomenon. It is also the intention that this discussion may serve as a case study to alert researchers more generally to some taken for granted assumptions in research design.