Non-fiction Literature and Interpretive/Qualitative Research Methods: Reflections on the Meaning of 'Social Science'

This article attempts to add a new dimension to the meta-scientific discussion about the status of interpretive enquiry and the boundaries of 'social science'. It argues that while the existing debate tends to see qualitative research and interpretive theories in opposition to quantitative methods and structural social theory, it is equally important to examine what similarities and differences are between 'professional' qualitative enquiry and non-scholarly enterprises such as non-fiction literature (reportage, travelogue, essay), journalism and documentary filmmaking. The paper investigates research methods used by non-fiction writers and compares the scholarly and non-scholarly approaches to interpretive enquiry. The study exposes the existence of many similarities and shows that significant differences exist in theory but not so much in practice.