Tracing Implicit Knowledge in Professional Milieus: Methodological Reflections on the Analysis of Theorizing Accounts.

The exploration of what lies beyond the explicitly expressed is a challenge for qualitative research. It involves studying something that is not directly given. This paper presents different methodological solutions and focuses on implicit knowledge in professional contexts and theorizing accounts. I will discuss conceptualizations of tacit knowledge and implicit learning, and then focus on specific aspects of the Documentary Method. The Documentary Method is a research strategy that attempts to explicate implicit collective orientations through group discussions. It is based on Karl Mannheim's sociology of knowledge and aims to uncover the taken-for-granted mutual understanding that results from shared or similar experiences. Based on Mannheim's critique of rationalism, this understanding is assumed to be found in the narrative and descriptive parts of group discussions. However, this article examines whether it can also be found in theorizing accounts. It draws on Hans Blumenberg's insight that metaphors are often contained in technical language and can obscure an underlying system of orientation. In this case, implicit mutual understanding is based on shared or similar experiences that are difficult to fully understand and articulate. An illustrative interpretation of data from a team specializing in sexuality education demonstrates the practical application of these methodological considerations. In essence, the article addresses the question of how implicit knowledge emerges in language and provides a new lens for analyzing theorizing accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]