RECOUP/Qualitative research/handout on reflexivity/handout

What is Reflexivity?

Even quantitative social research is different from setting up an experiment in a chemistry lab, with calibrated equipment making standardised measurements. Qualitative social research is even more different, because:

• The researcher is not a neutral/mechanical tool
• The researcher is not doing an experiment in which she/he sets the agenda
• The person/people the researcher talks to are not inanimate objects, they also have agency and may try to set the agenda themselves

All social research, especially qualitative social research, hinges on social relationships:

• They are affected by interpersonal dynamics and
• The researcher AND researched 'co-produce' social encounters.

This requires us to be reflexive about our research:

Reflexivity is reflecting, or thinking critically, carefully, honestly and openly, about the research experience and process.

• Constant watchfulness and thoughtfulness is necessary
• Watching oneself at the same time as doing the interview or observation
• Practicing reflexivity effectively is difficult and complex
• Reflexivity exposes the messiness, the loose ends of research (and of life itself)
• Because researchers and researched are rarely social/economic equals (caste, community, age, disability, gender, class) keep in mind the risks of reproducing relations of exploitation or disempowerment within the research. For instance, what might be the impact of an urban educated, 'middle class' researcher studying poor, relatively uneducated communities?
• Research is an emotional experience (curiosity, shock, anger or sadness): how do we deal with this during as well as after doing the research?
• We need to examine the 'taken-for-granted' understandings of researchers and researched alike by 'making the familiar strange'

Reflexivity should not be:

• Inward-looking, self-indulgent, catharsis, or confessional; or
• Installing the researcher's self at the centre of research, and failing to focus on the research context and participants.

Reflexivity in research practice

A research journal or diary can be useful for you to write your reflections on the research process. Entries in your research journal can be made at the end of each day, and are usually separate to your field notes.

Each day reflect on the interactions you have in a research diary:

• How did people react to you? (e.g. puzzlement; fear, aggression, warmth, openness?)
• How did you present yourself? What was your body language, appearance and clothing? How and where did you agree to be seated, and how did you addressed people?
• Was equality or hierarchy marked? (e.g. through terms of address, where you sat?)
• Were you offered food or drink? If so, what did this signify?
• What did people say about you, what judgements did they make about you? How did you feel about this? How did you cope with criticism, praise or envy?

Reflect upon the interviews or discussions you conduct:

• What was good/what was unsatisfactory about your own behaviour?
• How did you feel about your own performance? (Were you too pushy, or did you fail to ask follow up questions on interesting topics?)
• Did you manage to complete the interview schedule? Did they get bored / tired before the end?
• Do you feel confident that you have understood what people were trying to tell you?
• Are there internal contradictions that might warrant another visit or discussion?
• Did you feel that the interview was generating reliable information? Or were people wary of your questions?

Ethics and Reflexivity

Your research participants may reveal information about illegal activities, moral judgements about other people, gossip and hearsay about other people. In your research diary, reflect on ethical dilemmas raised by information given during your research. How are you to act ethically? Are any adjustments required by you or your research in order to be sensitive to participants? What does such information imply for your research questions?

• Confidentiality and anonymity are important aspects of social research ethics
• Research diaries MUST be totally secure and accessible only to you or the research team
• Do not display or use research diaries in the field site: someone might be able to read what you have written about other people!

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Singal, N., and Jeffery, R. (2008). Qualitative Research Skills Workshop: A Facilitator's Reference Manual, http://oer.educ.cam.ac.uk/wiki/RECOUP, Cambridge: RECOUP (Research Consortium on Educational Outcomes and Poverty, http://recoup.educ.cam.ac.uk/). CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. (original page)