Why is subjectivity important

In this sense, objectivity is often seen as an absence of bias, thus implicitly implying that subjectivity is equated with bias.

At this point, it must be noted that the way in which one views subjectivity in research is highly dependent upon one's epistemological and ontological assumptions. In the traditional research paradigm that emerged from the natural sciences, objectivity is seen as an essential element in doing academic research and forwarding the general understanding of a field and as such, subjectivity is something which must be limited to the greatest degree possible in order to be able to assert a degree of generalizability in regard to the findings.

If humans happen to be a part of an experimental research method, they are typically treated as objects to be observed as opposed to thinking, feeling beings to be socially situated and unraveled. The social sciences are quite distinct in that inquiries typically focus on human subjects rather than the objects, symbols, or abstractions typically investigated in the natural sciences.

The subjective plays an important role in the social sciences as it is often ultimately what the researcher seeks to uncover and understand—how the social world is experienced, understood, and produced. With interpretation of the subjective experience as one of the main goals in much social science research, it must be noted that this adds more layers to the relationship of subjectivity to qualitative research. No longer is there only the researcher's subjective experience to be taken into consideration, there is now also that of the participants.

Subjectivity guides everything from the choice of topic that one studies, to formulating hypotheses, to selecting methodologies, and interpreting data. In qualitative methodology, the researcher is encouraged to reflect on the values and objectives he brings to his research and how these affect the research project.

By doing so, the researcher identifies the lens through which he or she builds an interpretation of the data. Qualitative Research is primarily subjective in approach as it seeks to understand human behavior and reasons that govern such behavior.

Researchers have the tendency to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter in this type of research method. Qualitative Research Data is Subjective Another main disadvantage of qualitative research is that the responses are often subjective and open to interpretation. A researcher might find it difficult to make respondents feel comfortable enough to fully disclose their true opinions and feelings.

There are ways, however, to try to maintain objectivity and avoid bias with qualitative data analysis:. The subjective plays an important role in the social sciences as it is often ultimately what the researcher seeks to uncover and understand—how the social world is experienced, understood, and produced. Quantitative research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative research deals with words and meanings. Quantitative methods allow you to test a hypothesis by systematically collecting and analyzing data, while qualitative methods allow you to explore ideas and experiences in depth.

Subjective qualitative data or information cannot be generally proven. Show page numbers Download PDF. Search form icon-arrow-top icon-arrow-top. Page Site Advanced 7 of Disciplines : Communication and Media Studies , Sociology. Buy in print.