Abstract
Introducing a reflexive practice into qualitative research enables both an examination of the grounds upon which claims to know the social world are based and an exploration of the strengths and limitations of forms of knowledge. This allows researchers to sharpen subsequent research practices and correct an instrumental approach to knowledge that is informed by a desire to control, rather than understand, the social world. To understand how this occurs, we first examine different social scientific approaches to reflexivity. We then look at the implications of this discussion for the process of conducting research. That, in turn, leads us into a discussion of reflexive spaces which we illuminate through the different forms of qualitative work we have conducted over the past few years.
