Feminist methodologies and methods

Abstract

This chapter introduces you to the role of feminist methodologies in knowledge production. It starts with a discussion of the connections between data and knowledge production and distinguishes between the use of naturalist and anti-naturalist philosophies in urban studies. It then turns to a description of the building blocks of philosophy – ontology, epistemology, and methodology – and then addresses the same constituent elements of a feminist philosophy. The discussion of feminist methodologies engages with the issues of reflexivity, positionality, the relational nature of research, research ethics, and accountability and social change. Finally, the chapter turns to the ways in which feminist methodologies and epistemologies and other factors influence the choice of research methods in feminist research.