Abstract

MADUREIRA, Ana Flávia do Amaral  and  BRANCO, Angela Uchôa. Qualitative research and the psychology of human development: epistemological and methodological issues. Temas psicol. [online]. 2001, vol.9, n.1, pp. 63-75. ISSN 1413-389X.

Qualitative research in developmental psychology, analyzed from a social-cultural constructive perspective, is characterized by the understanding of human development as a complex phenomenon which must be studied in a systemic, contextualized investigative approach. The methodology is considered as a cyclical process involving the researcher's assumptions of the world, the theory, his/her intuitive experiences, the phenomenon, the methods, and the data. Therefore, the interview does not represent a "way" to unravel th e intra-psychological content of the subject studied, as if it were already "ready in his/her mind". Data collection during the interview is seen as a dialogical space, impregnated of meanings that are being co-constructed by both interviewee and interviewer. This approach is illustrated here with excerpts of interviews that took place during the empirical studies carried out in our Laboratory at the University of Brasilia. The advantages and constraints of this approach are analyzed and discussed.

Keywords : socialcultural perspective; qualitative research; meaning; co-construction.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )