Tulkintakehänä

Tulkintakehänä is a Finnish term used in humanities and social sciences to describe the interpretive framework or lens through which data, texts, or events are analyzed. The word combines tulkinta “interpretation” and kehänä, the translative form of kehä “frame, circle,” thus literally meaning “as an interpretive frame.”

Definition and use: It denotes a stance or orientation that guides what is regarded as relevant evidence, how phenomena are categorized, and what meanings are produced in analysis. It is not a fixed theory but a methodological stance that can accompany various approaches, such as hermeneutics, discourse analysis, or narrative inquiry. In reporting, scholars may specify their tulkintakehänä to make explicit the assumptions that shape interpretation.

Examples: In ethnography, a researcher might interpret practices within a tulkintakehänä of social cohesion or hierarchy. In literary studies, a reader may analyze a text through a feminist tulkintakehänä, focusing on gendered power relations. In policy analysis, observers may adopt a tulkintakehänä of institutions as sites of legitimacy and control.

Relation to other concepts: It is similar to the idea of a theoretical lens or analytic framework, but it emphasizes the stance of interpretation rather than a single theory. It can intersect with epistemological commitments such as constructivism or critical inquiry.

Limitations and critique: The concept encourages reflexivity, but also highlights potential biases. Researchers are urged to acknowledge their tulkintakehänä and consider alternative frames or triangulation.

See also: hermeneutics, interpretive framework, epistemology, qualitative research, analytical lens.