Theoretical-methodological options in qualitative research: social representations and discourse of the collective subject

Abstract

The present bibliographical study aimed to introduce Social Representations Theory and the Discourse of the Collective Subject as theoretical-methodological options for the development of research in nursing that is based on common knowledge. Social Representations are popular knowledge, myths, beliefs, customs, which converge on common sense and are socially shared. The Discourse of the Collective Subject is a technique to organize material resulting from fieldwork, generally discourses deriving from interviews, questionnaires, papers, graphic materials, etc. A search in the literature was made regarding Social Representations and the Discourse of the Collective Subject, so as to contribute to the understanding of the theory and of the method. Relevant aspects of these frameworks were presented, aiming to identify the relations between them in the process of construction of the participants' reality. Thus, it was possible to learn about the way people think, live, act, react and share popular knowledge. The final remarks reveal that Social Representations and the Discourse of the Collective Subject are essential tools in qualitative studies.