with the subjects of the research; impersonal and detached nature of the process; (4) presumed “objectivity” of the researcher and knowledge; (5) biases that can affect the process at every stage: problem identification, hypothesis formulation, research design, collection and interpretation of data. Feminist research and the need for it Feminist research is framed by feminist theories or generates theories using feminist lens. It involves knowledge-building, -generation, -construction, and -production for social transformation, gender justice, and women’s empowerment. It attempts to:          surface and understand women’s discrimination, exploitation, marginalization, oppression, subordination in different levels in society. change conditions adversely affecting women’s lives by critically examining existing theories and developing new policies and social action. challenge gender inequalities and confronts power relations in knowledge-building and women’s lives through their women’s experiences and knowledge and the conduct of research for women promote gender and other justice in knowledge and in the world engage interaction between researcher and subject, non-hierarchical relationships, expression of feelings and concern for values, and the use of non-sexist language be identified by commitment to producing knowledge useful in exposing gender injustice be free from bias, does not rationalize oppressive constructions of gender be explicit about ethical and political stance recognize that factors such as class, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, age, etc., other than gender, shape perceptions and understandings. As such, the need for feminist research was underscored given the traditional view that much of our understanding of the world, our societies, and ourselves rests on theories and knowledge generated by men of certain nationalities and classes. Too, men have dominated theorizing, knowledge production and generation. Knowledge based on mainly male and culturally specific experience represents a skewed perception of reality and is only partial knowledge. Women and other marginalized sectors have been excluded from theorizing and knowledge-building. Hence, women’s contributions to society, women’s concerns and issues have been ignored. There is a need to rectify marginalization of women in mainstream research by taking women’s experiences into account using feminist approaches to theory- and knowledge-building. In this process, a feminist perspective in research based on women’s experiences and knowledge is to be used; with the aim of changing women’s lives for the better. Feminist Approaches to Epistemology, Ontology, and Methodology Under epistemology or the theory of knowledge investigates what qualifies as valid, legitimate, authoritative, reliable knowledge, approaches such as feminist empiricism; feminist standpoint; and feminist postmodernism were lengthily described. 21