Fine Companions: Critical Realism and Framework Analysis

This article discusses the alignment of framework analysis with a critical realist philosophy in qualitative analysis. Whilst both are used in social sciences and prioritise meaning making of complex phenomena, the two approaches have not been combined prior to the study outlined in this article. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jayne Mercier, Jackie Sanders, Robyn Munford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-11-01
Series:International Journal of Qualitative Methods
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231220129
Description
Summary:This article discusses the alignment of framework analysis with a critical realist philosophy in qualitative analysis. Whilst both are used in social sciences and prioritise meaning making of complex phenomena, the two approaches have not been combined prior to the study outlined in this article. The article describes critical realist ontology and epistemology, the implications of this philosophy for data analysis and the structured processes of framework analysis. Using an example from a study of youth programmes in Aotearoa/New Zealand, the article demonstrates the value of framework analysis for critical realist studies. Emphasis is placed on the capacity of framework analysis to support varied foci on data, theory, and different modes of inferencing which are used in critical realist studies to provide an explanatory account of data.
ISSN:1609-4069