The biologiscal continuation of self
In this article I argue that although individual changes or ”biographies” are crucial for the dynamics and functioning of modem societies, sociological theorizing ...has tended to downplay the importance of the biographical constitution of self. Methodologically sociologists have relied too much upon explanatory ” types” rather then starting from the social fact of ”variation”, the chaotic nature of the actual functioning of society has been ignored and the subjective element in societal changes has been defined out of existence. A model for analyzing the biographical constitution of self is suggested including such aspects as risk management and strategic thinking, biographical reflexivity, biographical work, repair work, biographical convertability, biographical events and normal biographies. The arguments rely heavily upon recent biography research in Germany and are illustrated by reference to the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl, modern art and literature and studies on the biographical adaption of former GDR citizens in the process of German unification.
The aim of this article is to draw attention to ethical challenges in qualitative research. Ethical challenges are associated less with qualitative -- than with quantitative methods. Although it is ...«a statistically fact» that the most severe ethical issues and harmful damages in research history belongs to biomedical research intervention, it is still necessary to be aware of the potential of doing harm to respondents within qualitative research designs. This article challenges the predominant assumption that qualitative methods not are potentially harmful, and argue that so-called «emphatic and sensitive» research often referred to in qualitative studies has its special challenges and pitfalls. Intimacy and closeness are central aims in most qualitative interviews. In line with this, «daily conversation» is described as an ideal. However, the borders of what is regarded private in a conversation have changed tremendously, increasing the possibility that researcher and respondent might have quite different levels of self-disclosure. This increases the risk of violating respondents' integrity. It also demonstrates how strategies of power and different philosophical assumptions about human beings might come to play in a context of qualitative interviews. This underscores the importance of critical reflection by researchers conducting qualitative interviews.
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