Examining Diversity in Organizations from Critical Perspectives: The Validity of the Research Process

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss how examining diversity in organizations from critical perspectives influences all phases of the research process. It affects the framing of research questions, the selection of research strategies, the collection of sources and analysis of data, the assessment of the role of the researcher and the theoretical contribution the research makes. Examining diversity in organizations from critical perspectives calls for research questions that, for example, examine organizational norms, reveal the intersection of different identity categories, or examine the interplay between agency and structure. They authors plea for taking the empirical perspective of the marginalized ‘other’ in the centre of the analysis and for an active reflection upon the role of the researchers in producing knowledge. Such an approach would takes both the agency of the researcher and the examined into consideration.