Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences
In this article, we seek to deepen the understanding and reflexive analysis of emotionally charged situations in the research process. Through a nuanced and critically evaluative approach, we explore the complex meanings of empathy as presented in the qualitative methods discourse. We argue that emp...
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| Language: | deu |
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | Forum: Qualitative Social Research |
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| Online Access: | https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4344 |
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| author | Alina Brehm Phil C. Langer |
| author_facet | Alina Brehm Phil C. Langer |
| author_sort | Alina Brehm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, we seek to deepen the understanding and reflexive analysis of emotionally charged situations in the research process. Through a nuanced and critically evaluative approach, we explore the complex meanings of empathy as presented in the qualitative methods discourse. We argue that empathy is an overstretched concept that can be more profoundly defined when situationally contextualized. For instance, empathy may refer to solidarity in political aspirations, humanity and compassion in research ethics, or affective resonance in methodological contexts. Focusing on the latter, we examine instances of seemingly "unsuccessful "or "failed" empathy in two of our projects. Utilizing the framework of "strong reflexivity" (KUEHNER, PLODER & LANGER, 2016), we discuss methodological strategies for analyzing and interpreting emotionally challenging research encounters. We argue that situational "failures" can yield invaluable insights for critical knowledge production when examined and communicated through a reflexive lens.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b10fe94d4b544e7ba89139d3e0b254ee |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1438-5627 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | FQS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forum: Qualitative Social Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-b10fe94d4b544e7ba89139d3e0b254ee2025-08-20T03:05:31ZdeuFQSForum: Qualitative Social Research1438-56272025-01-0126110.17169/fqs-26.1.4344Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research ExperiencesAlina Brehm0Phil C. Langer1International Psychoanalytic UniversityInternational Psychoanalytic University BerlinIn this article, we seek to deepen the understanding and reflexive analysis of emotionally charged situations in the research process. Through a nuanced and critically evaluative approach, we explore the complex meanings of empathy as presented in the qualitative methods discourse. We argue that empathy is an overstretched concept that can be more profoundly defined when situationally contextualized. For instance, empathy may refer to solidarity in political aspirations, humanity and compassion in research ethics, or affective resonance in methodological contexts. Focusing on the latter, we examine instances of seemingly "unsuccessful "or "failed" empathy in two of our projects. Utilizing the framework of "strong reflexivity" (KUEHNER, PLODER & LANGER, 2016), we discuss methodological strategies for analyzing and interpreting emotionally challenging research encounters. We argue that situational "failures" can yield invaluable insights for critical knowledge production when examined and communicated through a reflexive lens. https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4344affectsautoethnographydepth hermeneuticsemotionsempathypsychoanalysis |
| spellingShingle | Alina Brehm Phil C. Langer Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences Forum: Qualitative Social Research affects autoethnography depth hermeneutics emotions empathy psychoanalysis |
| title | Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences |
| title_full | Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences |
| title_fullStr | Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences |
| title_short | Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences |
| title_sort | is it really all about empathy a strong reflexivity approach to emotionally charged research experiences |
| topic | affects autoethnography depth hermeneutics emotions empathy psychoanalysis |
| url | https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/4344 |
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