Uncovering the Communist and Capitalist Shadow: Developing Relational Forms of Inquiry and Writing

Abstract

What model of enquiry is most appropriate for the rapidly changing countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)? This chapter seeks to set out pointers towards developing innovative methods for carrying out research in these countries. We feel that techniques devolved from the scientific method cannot capture this complexity, and we offer some examples of a different type of research, based on the researcher’s reflexivity, and most importantly on documenting the researcher’s experience in relationship to the research situation. This paper is an exploration of a method and of experience.

‘The social sciences are concerned with humans and their relations with themselves and their environments, and, as such, the social sciences are founded on the study of experience…’

(Clandinin and Connelly, 1994: 414).