Methodological Challenges in Social Movement Studies: a review of papers presented at academic conferences in Brazil (2011-2022)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7984.2023.e85503Keywords:
Methodology, Social movements, Methods, TechniquesAbstract
In the past years, the field of studies about social movements in Brazil has been revitalized through new empirical and theoretical problems. Given this context, this paper presents the following questions. Which research methods and techniques have been mobilized by social movement scholars and how they have been presented and discussed in the academic production on this subject? What are the methodological challenges for the study of social movements in contemporary Brazil? To answer these questions, this paper presents a systematic review of the texts presented in research committees dedicated to this subject during the Annual Meetings of ANPOCS and the Brazilian Congresses of Sociology between 2011 and 2020. The results show that the analyzed papers tend to be characterized by low transparency in the description of methodological choices and by low methodological diversity, focusing on qualitative approaches and prioritizing the use of observation, documental research, and interviews as research techniques.
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