Pluralism in Cultural Research: Methodological Critique through Interdisciplinary Lenses

Cultural research is a dynamic field of social science research that investigates the intricate relationships between culture, human behaviour, and societal structures through diverse theoretical frameworks and methodologies. This systematic review aligns various theories such as positivism, constructivism, symbolic interactionism, cultural materialism, postcolonial theory, and feminist cultural studies, appreciating the interdisciplinary approach to understanding culture. As cultural research is more fluid and sensitive, it belongs to the subjective world in multi-real contexts. There must be more than one theoretical or blanket approach to address the complex cultural constructs and social interactions. It is shifting from a pure disciplinary or theoretical perspective to a more interdisciplinary and plural perspective. Therefore, the results highlight the crucial need to embrace methodological diversity, as it significantly enriches the interpretation of cultural studies, providing profound insights. The significant findings suggest cultural research is a diverse, methodologically plural and complex domain. By integrating different theoretical approaches from an interdisciplinary perspective, cultural research in future must gain profound insights into emerging cultural contexts and their narratives on individuals and communities, underscoring the field's relevance from post-structural and post-modern contexts too.