Saturation is the approach to collecting qualitative data until you reach a point where you are not getting any new details. It seems this tool would work across most if not all epistemological perspectives. What are your thoughts?
The idea of saturation really only lends itself to more objectivist epistemological positions, and the idea that there is a set knowledge that can be seen enough times to verify it's existence through research. Social constructionists would agree with the idea that you may find similar perspectives across individuals; however, you will also find differences that can be attributed to the dialogic interactions between the researcher, the researched, and the context of the research that all work together to produce knowledge or truth. Subjectivists, however, reject this notion of saturation because knowledge is always already fleeting, multiple, and embedded within socio-historical contexts that cannot be predicted or controlled. Therefore, the idea of saturation would be seen as a tactic to silence those whose perspectives do not align with others, and would privilege the perspective of the researcher as a determinant of that saturation over the narratives and experiences of the research participants. Does that make sense? I've had a lot of experience explaining these stances to rooms of bio statisticians - can you tell??? Hope this helps!
Thanks for your reply! It seems to me that you are taking a strictly representational approach to saturation in labeling it objectivist . What if one focused on the idea of predictability. I do thirteen ethnographic interviews and do all the coding. Then I write a summary and use this as my prediction for what will come out of the next interviews in terms of data. I carry out two more interviews and nothing new in terms of codes or current code informing data is gathered. There would no doubt be additional unique data generated by subsequent interviews, but in terms of prediction I have reached saturation. What do you think?
If Europeans before the age of exploration had been obsessive-compulsive they theoretically could have tracked down every lasr living swan and getting more and more confirmation of their belief that all swans are white. One exploratory mission to Australia and the whole picture changes. All swans native to a certain region are white, but outside that area other colors are possible. If you take a "saturated" worldview into a new "world" you are going to experience the power of the replacement of one saturation field with another saturation field. Imagine going to some hidden arroyo where all male humans are pint-sized, good only for supplying semen, and ride around strapped to the female's back where they sometimes provide a little value by screaming when predators attack from behind the female. Something would happen to your saturation, and I think it might well be extremely disconcerting.
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