Feminist Standpoint Theory and the Questions of Social Work Research

Abstract

This article presents feminist standpoint theory as an alternative epistemology for social work research—an alternative theory of what makes knowledge possible and how to get it—and discusses the outcomes and consequences of a research so transformed. Three issues raised by standpoint theory are used to refocus the questions of social work research: What is the base of the research? What is the purpose of the research? How does this project incorporate researchers’ ref lexivity?. © 1993, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.