Metodi qualitativi e sociologia relazionale: dimensioni culturali e riflessività nello studio delle relazioni sociali

Aim of this paper is to show how, why and to what extent qualitative methods are useful/adequate to study social relations in a relational perspective. Reflexivity is largely practiced in qualitative research, where it is used to legitimate and validate research procedures. The growing importance of reflexivity in relational studies and qualitative research are fundamental features to analyse in postmodern societies. The paper looks at the ontological, epistemological and methodological aspects of this crossing between theory and methods and sees how the two interact and intersect from a general point of view and that of an applied research. Qualitative methods offers an added value to relational sociology especially in looking at cultural and symbolic aspects of relations, research project reflexive process and comprehension of social contexts.