Resumen

CUEVAS, Yazmín. Suggestions for the study of social representations in educational research. Cultura representaciones soc [online]. 2016, vol.11, n.21, pp.109-140. ISSN 2007-8110.

The main purpose of this paper is to present suggestions for carrying out studies on social representations in the field of education, emphasizing the gathering and interpretation of empirical materials by means of a qualitative methodology. This article is organized in six sections: the methodological approaches that prevail in the studies on social representations; social representations as a research problem; the steps to design a semi-structured interview in order to capture them; the interpretation process that leads to the unveiling of social representations; the presentation of results and some final considerations. The production of studies in this area, from whichever approach, is considered as a handcrafted work in which the researcher brings into play diverse types of knowledge, abilities, values and experiences. As a result, this paper attempts to provide new elements to think about, to develop and to keep working on the construction process of knowledge based on the theoretical framework of social representations.

Palabras llave : social representations; research methodology; educational research.