Reflection on the object of study

Child labor in the Triple Border between Argentina, Brasil and Paraguay

Abstract

A central methodological and epistemological problem in the production of knowledge is the construction of the object of study, which should not be confused with a pre-constructed object, product of common sense. Bourdieu alerts to distinguish these artifacts from scientific objects. In this work we reflect on these difficulties based on the experiences resulting from the construction of the object of study for my PhD thesis on child labor in the Triple Border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. To this end, we review some of the cognitive challenges involved in the research, as well as the potential and limitations of the implemented techniques and their various implications. Bourdieu mentions that prior to all rigorous knowledge stands the knowledge of the instruments and that "the sociologist is always exposed to applying to the social world categories inculcated by this world" (BOURDIEU, 1997, p. 64). Hence the importance of the production of our knowledge instruments and the relevance, not of the results, but of the processes from which these results were obtained.