Research as social practice: the researcher and the "other" in knowledge production

Abstract

In this essay we contribute to the discussion about the ways in which psychology research practices deal with the knowledge of the "other". We explore the dynamics of the knowledge production process resulting from the adoption of a constructionist epistemology. Through the analysis carried out, we give visibility to the challenges present throughout the research process, in the relationships the researcher constructs with different "others", namely: the immediate other, represented by the research participant; the institutionalized other, represented by referees from funding agencies, evaluators and other researchers; and the society, as a developmental context for the research and as a reference for the research required. We conclude that the overcoming of such challenges does not happens exclusively in the theoretical or methodological field, but takes place mainly in the set of social practices in which the researcher is inserted and in the various ethical and political plots that are produced.