Researching female sex work: reflections on geographical exclusion, critical methodologies and 'useful' knowledge

Against the backdrop of ongoing debates about the nature of 'critical' geog raphy, this paper considers the importance of intensive, action-oriented an d conversational research methodologies in providing a 'voice' to excluded populations. The distinct contribution of such methods to the understanding of exclusion is illustrated with reference to research on female prostitut ion, drawing on the author's own experiences as well as those of feminist r esearchers in health and the social sciences. However, the paper concludes by comparing the emancipatory potential of such qualitative methods with mo re quantitative approaches, arguing that no one method can be prioritized i n the search for 'useful' knowledge.