Flipping the paradigm: Studying up and research for social justice

Abstract

Social justice research most often focuses on the voices, experiences, and practices of underserved and marginalized groups. While this focus produces important insights, it disregards the actions of those in power who create and maintain systems of inequality and injustice in the first place. To address this gap, this chapter examines methodological approaches for studying up or researching the powerful. It describes the challenges faced by researchers who study those in power, such as problems of access, interview pitfalls, dangers in data analysis and interpretation, ethical concerns, and dissemination of findings. The chapter also provides suggestions for how researchers can address those challenges. The significance of this chapter lies in a systematic presentation of methodological tools necessary for studying the powerful in research for social justice.