The DOI matches its Crossref record; 24 of the 24 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The double arrow: How qualitative social work researchers use reflexivity
Abstract
While much has been written about the central role of reflexivity in qualitative research, there has been no empirical study of how researchers actually ‘do’ reflexivity. As interest in qualitative research continues to grow, data is needed to operationalize and map what is assumed to be a hallmark of the qualitative paradigm. A study was thus conducted to explore the role and use of reflexivity in qualitative research. In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 qualitative social work researchers to gather information about the use of specific reflexive activities at various points in the research process. Participants were from eight countries, with the majority (65%) from the US, and included researchers utilizing diverse methods and with varying degrees of experience. Interviewees described a wide array of activities, formal and informal, conducted alone or with others, that they utilized to support reflexivity; most also stated that they made use of reflexive actions as the need arose, depending on the nature of the project, rather than in a systematic way. Although the study generated a catalog of reflexive activities, ultimately the mechanism of reflexivity may not lie in the specific activity but in the attitude with which it is carried out.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Also, the process of reflexivity is time-consuming, researchers may not always have enough time for adequate reflection (Probst and Berenson, 2014).”
From Challenging perspectives: Reflexivity as a critical approach to qualitative social work research (2024) · cites this paper as Probst and Berenson, 2014
Citations
Cites
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) · Qualitative Research in Psychology · doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa · Cited by 194,414
(1998) · Cited by 13,501
McLeod, J. (1999) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781849209588.n8 · Cited by 3,964
Pillow, W. S. (2003) · International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education · doi:10.1080/0951839032000060635 · Cited by 2,621
Negotiating the swamp: the opportunity and challenge of reflexivity in research practice
Finlay, L. (2002) · Qualitative Research · doi:10.1177/146879410200200205 · Cited by 1,979 · cited 7×
“Several scholars (e.g. Finlay, 2002b; Gilgun, 2010) stress the importance of incorporating reflexivity into all stages of a research project, from selection of topics to investigate to the persons with whom one wishes to collaborate (co-researchers and/or participants) and the audiences to whom…”
BackgroundMethodInfluential“Outing” the Researcher: The Provenance, Process, and Practice of Reflexivity
Finlay, L. (2002) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/104973202129120052 · Cited by 1,937
Reflexivity: promoting rigour in qualitative research
Jootun, D., McGhee, G., Campus, H., Lanarkshire, & Marland, G. R. (2009) · Nursing Standard · doi:10.7748/ns.23.23.42.s50 · Cited by 595
Reflexivity, its Meanings and Relevance for Social Work: A Critical Review of the Literature
D’Cruz, H., Gillingham, P., & Melendez, S. (2005) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl001 · Cited by 537
Rigor in Qualitative Social Work Research: A Review of Strategies Used in Published Articles
Barusch, A. S., Gringeri, C. E., & George, M. (2011) · Social Work Research · doi:10.1093/swr/35.1.11 · Cited by 364
Reflexivity: An Essential Component for All Research?
Finlay, L. (1998) · British Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1177/030802269806101005 · Cited by 225
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Jootun D, 2009, Nursing Standard, 23, 42
- Valandra V, 2012, Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 6, 204
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Mackieson, P., Shlonsky, A., & Connolly, M. (2019) · Qualitative Social Work · doi:10.1177/1473325018786996 · Cited by 242
It’s More Complicated Than It Seems: Virtual Qualitative Research in the COVID-19 Era
Roberts, J. K., Pavlakis, A. E., & Richards, M. P. (2021) · International Journal of Qualitative Methods · doi:10.1177/16094069211002959 · Cited by 239
The Eye Regards Itself: Benefits and Challenges of Reflexivity in Qualitative Social Work Research
Probst, B. (2015) · Social Work Research · doi:10.1093/swr/svu028 · Cited by 234
Self-citationGraham, A. P., Powell, M. A., & Taylor, N. J. (2014) · Children & Society · doi:10.1111/chso.12089 · Cited by 219
Rankl, F., Johnson, G. A., & Vindrola‐Padros, C. (2021) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732321998062 · Cited by 117
Metadata
- Authors
- Probst, B., & Berenson, L.
- Affiliations
- Smith College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Probst, Barbara
- Venue
- Qualitative Social Work
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-10-31
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 813-827
- ISSN
- 1473-3250 (ISSN-L)
- 1741-3117
- OpenAlex
- W2129172777
- Cited by
- 157
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 14.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Qualitative Social Work (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Fordham University
- Nature
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Social Work Education and Practice
- Keywords
- reflexivity, qualitative research, reflexive practice, researcher self-awareness, research process, reflexive activity, researcher attitudes
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
