Rescuing the error: A methodological note on the use of reflexivity in the research process

Abstract

This article explores the opportunities of a research strategy that integrates both the observation of the object and the observation of the subject (researcher). In a research about shopping centers’ workers, the researchers tried to show how the methodological misfortunes experienced by them, sometimes seen as errors, supported the inquiry on the very experiences of workers. Moreover, such misfortunes enabled an increased awareness about the effects and limits of the conceptual and technical instruments then used. In fact, only the integration of reflexivity in the course of the research enabled further knowledge about workers’ social profiles and the temporal structures of their work activity. Thus, this article highlights the advantages that exist in evidencing and reflecting upon the methodological adversities as a preliminary step to their sociological exploration and shows how the theory is not something to be applied to others, but also that helps the researcher to keep his/her work under close scrutiny.