The approach of subjectivity in qualitative social research – Work on signifiers (Lacan) in interview-research as a possibility to consider subjectivity and singularity in a disciplined way

The question of discipline is an important subject for each field of research and in our mind it is most important when you are researcher in the social sciences and especially if you work in the field of qualitative research. The main idea is that qualitative research can’t operate with the same criteria on quality in research like quantitative research. If qualitative research wants to get to know something about the subjectivity of the world, it has to use different methods of research. The aim of this communication is the question of how subjectivity and singularity can be focussed in a field of science where the mainstream has the norm of objectivity in a concept of quantitative research. Do only these criteria of objectivity have something to do with discipline in research or is research also disciplined that considers the subjectivity, singularity and inter-subjectivity of persons? And what means discipline in this context? This cluster of questions will be discussed and touches the issue of the researcher position. In which kind is the researcher involved in his research? How does his or her subjectivity affect the object of research? And what does this mean for the quality of our findings?
Second part of the communication is an insight on our project, which is affiliated at the University of Luxembourg. This part can be read as an example how subjectivity and singularity not only be considered but how these aspects can be main topic of research. The project focuses on the decision to get secondary-school-teacher and the personal relation to knowledge of these persons. This subject is linked to the biography of these persons: How developed the personal relation to knowledge? How does this relation influence their decision to teach and their teaching styles? This project analyse the intra- and intersubjective conflicts this brings about. For this reason ten students from Luxembourg and Switzerland get interviewed four times (at the beginning, two times during the formation and once after the closure of formation). The lightly structured interviews (which include narrative parts) are analysed in orientation at the depth hermeneutic (Lorenzer) and we work with the theory of signifier of Lacan. Because of the four interviews we can see if (and how) the relation to knowledge and ignorance diversify and the process of professionalization continues. This method, in our opinion, is one possibility to respect the subjectivity of the interviewees as well as of the researcher. We highlight our epistemological position when analysing interviews by using the theory of Lacan. We discuss the term of discipline in this context and also the question of psychoanalysis in the field of qualitative social science.