Subjectivity

Subjectivity refers to an individual's feelings, opinions, or preferences. It has traditionally been seen as the opposite of objectivity, which refers to dispassionate analysis and coolheaded reason. Therefore, a conventional view is to eliminate, or at the least avoid and constrain, subjectivity during the conduct of scientific inquiry. The presence of subjectivity can only confound and muddle the analysis of data. Qualitative research increasingly challenges this conventional wisdom.

Qualitative researchers have aggressively examined the question of subjectivity and have suggested its positive contributions to the process of inquiry. Many frame the objectivity–subjectivity debate as conflict between Enlightenment and postmodern values. However, there are advocates for the positive influences of subjectivity in research in early Greek philosophy, among the Enlightenment philosophers (e.g., Immanuel Kant and Johann Wolfgang Goethe), as well as eminent 20th-century scientists. For example, in 1918, Albert Einstein claimed that if science was limited by objectivity, then it would not be capable of fresh thinking or producing original insights.

Since the 1990s, technological advances in the area of cognitive neuroscience have allowed researchers to use neural brain imaging to identify objective thinking as deeply contextualized within subjective thought. These findings suggest that subjectivity allows an individual to properly situate an objective problem and coherently apply the analysis to a real-world situation. The conventional conception of subjectivity diminishing objectivity is not an accurate representation of higher-order thinking. Instead, these new research findings support John Dewey's claim that thinking in terms of the relationships of sensory qualities requires more rigorous thinking than the dispassionate manipulation of symbols.

Alan Peshkin championed the positive role of subjectivity in qualitative research. He argued that the subjective lenses of the researcher were a powerful and useful means for shaping data. The challenge to the researcher was to become aware, through self-reflection, how his or her personal subjectivity was driving the collection and analysis of data. Elliot Eisner extended this idea in his concept of connoisseurship and through his arts-based research methodology of educational criticism. Other arts-based research methodologies that regard positive subjectivity as foundational to inquiry include narrative storytelling and a/r/tography.

Recently, Tom Barone has argued for an abandonment of the terms objectivity and subjectivity. In light of current philosophical and scientific understandings, he argues for critical persuasiveness as a standard for research. According to Barone, whether research is objective or subjective misses the point. Research, whether it is rigorously objective or subjective, needs [Page 844]to be evaluated on its capacity to provide useful insights into addressing practical problems.