Attached to Paper Session
Meeting Preference
This short presentation will introduce abductive analysis as a qualitative research methodology that ought to be adopted as a means to theological reflection and construction. In the short 7-10 minutes allotted for this presentation, I will introduce the method's sociological and semiotic foundations, pivot to its applicability for theological inquiry, particularly in the realm of pneumatology, and provide an interactive case study involving some form of "hide and seek" for collective practice and reflection. The presentation will be framed in such a way as to incorporate the units' interests in "Embodied Approaches," methodologies that engage the researcher's own lived experiences and bodily presence in the field. To be truly surprised, after all, is much more than an intellectual insight. It is also an affected embodiment.
Iddo Tavory and Stefan Timmermans describe abductive analysis as a qualitative research methodology that orients the researcher to surprises in data that might provide explanatory potential outside the study’s initial parameters. This process helps generate new theories based on unexpected findings that abduct or lead the researcher away from their preconceived notions toward possible new insights. What differentiates abductive analysis from more open-ended inductive approaches popular in grounded theory is its reliance on semiotic chains for teasing out new theoretical possibilities. Inspired by Charles S. Peirce’s pragmatist philosophy, the study of semiotics is concerned with how meanings are generated and passed on through various symbols. Abductive analysis focuses on how the meanings associated with specific symbols can change over time dependent on multiple situational contingencies. If an experience cannot be understood in one situation, possibly new explanations can be generated by following alternative chains of meaning associated with the experience across alternative contexts to uncover the new variables that may be causing shifts in interpretation.
Using abductive analysis as a theological method provides researchers in theology and qualitative research a way to create space for the work of the Holy Spirit to surprise us amidst supposedly predictable realities. Over and against our best laid research plans, God often finds ways to surprise everyone involved. The question is do we have a methodology that allows us to work with the surprise in a theologically meaningful way? Assuming God is real and active in human experience, I argue that many experiences of God’s presence contain an abductive dimension. Based on this assumption, one strategy for identifying God’s work in the empirical world is to shift one’s analytical gaze toward the unexpected experiences that linger and disrupt our perspectives and values. Following an abductive logic of semiotic chains, tracing the ways in which these experiences of God are subsequently negotiated and expressed in different situational contexts can uncover new pathways emerge for discerning lived theologies.
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
This presentation introduces abductive analysis as a qualitative research methodology that ought to be adopted as a means for theological reflection. Abductive analysis orients the researcher to surprises in data that might provide explanatory potential outside the study’s initial parameters. It helps generate new theories based on unexpected findings that abduct or lead the researcher away from their preconceived notions and generally accepted norms toward possible new insights. Using abductive analysis as a theological method provides researchers in theology and qualitative research a way to create space for the work of the Holy Spirit amidst supposedly predictable empirical realities. Assuming God’s presence is real and active in human experience, orienting one’s analytical attention toward unexpected surprises creates space for the Holy Spirit to disrupt and realign our research and our faith.