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Portrait of Mats Alvesson. Photo.

Mats Alvesson

Professor

Portrait of Mats Alvesson. Photo.

Epistemic Attitudes and Source Critique in Qualitative Research

Author

  • Stephan Schaefer
  • Mats Alvesson

Summary, in English

In this essay, we explore and discuss current practices of source critique. In our empirical analysis of a sample of interview-based studies, we find that few studies show a careful and reflective stance toward their sources. In the majority of cases, we discern a tendency to either ignore basic issues of the trustworthiness of interview material or produce technical descriptions which seem to have no real effect on the actual assessment of the study’s sources. We suggest five epistemic attitudes which describe how scholars engage—or rather not engage—in source critique. To improve source critique, we suggest tactics of intra- and extrasource critique which seriously consider interactional dynamics behind and quality of interview content other than “truth” reporting, aiming to corroborate interview statements by carefully cross-checking interview material with observations and multiple sources.

Department/s

  • Department of Business Administration

Publishing year

2020-01-01

Language

English

Pages

33-45

Publication/Series

Journal of Management Inquiry

Volume

29

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Economics and Business

Keywords

  • interviews
  • qualitative Research
  • source critique
  • epistemic attitude

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1056-4926