The Bodily Complexity of Truth-Telling in Qualitative Research

Abstract

When we talk to one another about the ways in which we have personally built meaningful knowledge that has both theoretical and practical implications, it often comes down to the experience of ‘sense-making’ and how this ‘sense-making’ can be carried into the ‘give and take’ of shared life. Such ‘sense-making’ appears to be an ongoing and progressive, though not linear, practice. I would like to suggest that a consideration of ‘sense-making’ as a process in qualitative research may be a fruitful line of enquiry when pursuing the nature of truth in qualitative research. In differentiating between a logical and responsive order, Gendlin emphasises an aesthetic dimension to the practice of ‘sense-making’, and this may need to be given greater attention when considering the ‘quality of qualitative research’ (cf. Seale, 1999).