Abstract:

The paper is developed from an academic research in the area of Women in Higher Education Leadership and Management in Pakistan. In this paper I have highlighted the methodological framework and the significance of the qualitative method and the richness of its data in countries like Pakistan which have close knit social setup and strong oral traditions. It is hoped that the experience and learning process of this type of research will encourage the researchers to go further than the structured methods and take up qualitative research which is lacking in the research scenario of Pakistan. It will help them prepare for the onerous burden of the qualitative research process which is subjective and exhaustive in nature.

The life story method from a feminist perspective was used to gather and analyse qualitative data for the research. The feminist perspective is used to hear the voices of the unheard i.e. women professors in this instance. As this was in-depth qualitative research, there was a distinctive feature emerging in the methodology which was ‘reflection of the researcher on the process of research’. This reflection gave better understanding of the intensive findings and facilitated the data analysis. Furthermore, a similar aspect was reported by the participants who considered the interview process to be self realising, self exploratory and therapeutic.

The recommendations are made to overcome the existing gap which is due to lack of in-depth qualitative research in academia. It encourages researchers to use qualitative research methods to conduct in-depth studies in a developing country like Pakistan.

Keywords:

Higher Education, Women, Qualitative Research, Life Story, Feminist Perspective.