Situating the Research

As a feminist, I see my research as being feminist research, but how does my research fit into feminist research and how does it relate to feminist epistemologies, methodologies, and methods? The common definition of feminist research, for, by, about, and with women, is a good starting place for examination. My research is by a women (me), so I met that part of the definition. My research is about gender and perceptions of sex and gender, so it is also about women and women's issues. My research consists of surveys and interviews with both sexes. I also attempted to collaborate with my female and male participants for feedback and reactions to my interpretations. Thus, my research was also with women. Of the four defining words, only one of them is questionable. Is my research for women? My research is, in part, for me. I am curious to see if gendered perceptions exist, and saddened to see they do. I hope my research will uncover the same realizations of gendered language on MOOs with others as it has with me. Perhaps this realization will lead to more examinations of cyberspace and create new ways to work around or remove gendered perceptions. Perhaps it will also lead to some changed in gender language in the "real world." So, my research can also be considered for women.

My research most closely fits the feminism and social construction epistemology in several ways. I did not search for universal truths, nor did I permit my perception of the truth to rule my research. Instead, I sought the truths of the participants through interviews and surveys. I allowed them to be knowers and examined their reason for knowing including the context in which their truths developed. I also fostered social construction through participant collaboration/response to my interpretations.

My research also incorporates two methods that can be perceived as feminist. MacNealy states that interviews are a popular feminist method for research, and it was a method I used. I incorporated the voice of my participants into my research by including direct quotes and paraphrasings of my participants. MacNealy also defined participant collaboration as feminist and this was a method I incorporated into my research. I attempted collaboration in two ways, conversation and feedback. I shaped my interviews in such a way that there was structure, but still room for conversational. The conversational aspect let me and the participants shape my interpretations of her answers and allowed her to share her stories. I also elicited collaboration through feedback. I made a draft of my research available to all participants so they could respond to my interpretations and let me know when my interpretations were wrong.

My research fits within the feminist research continuum. My research is arguably for, by, about, and with women. I place strong emphasis on social construction, allowing the participants to define gender through their perceptions. I also used two feminist methods in my research the interview with emphasis on participant's own voice and stories, and participant collaboration with emphasis also on their stories and their feedback on my interpretations. My research does "provide a vision of the future as well as a structural picture of the present" (Cook and Fonow 80).