Portraying Reflexivity in Health Services Research

Abstract

A model is proposed for supporting reflexivity in qualitative health research, informed by arguments from Bourdieu and Finlay. Bourdieu refers to mastering the subjective relation to the object at three levels—the overall social space, the field of specialists, and the scholastic universe. The model overlays Bourdieu’s levels of objectivation with Finlay’s three stages of research (pre-research, data collection, and data analysis). The intersections of these two ways of considering reflexivity, displayed as cells of a matrix, pose questions and offer prompts to productively challenge health researchers’ reflexivity. Portraiture is used to show how these challenges and prompts can facilitate such reflexivity, as illustrated in a research project.