•
•
Learning to reflect on ones own
behavior and thoughts, as well
as on the phenomenon under
study, creates a means for
continuously becoming a
better researcher.
This process in qualitative
research is known as
reflexivity.
•
•
•
Qualitative research requires
reflexivity on the part of the
researcher.
As a qualitative researcher,
one needs to reflect on the
nature of ones involvement in
the research process, and the
way this shapes its outcomes.
Consider the ways that ones
personal involvement in the
research effect the outcome in
qualitative research (specific
examples)
•
•
•
There are two types of
reflexivity: Personal Reflexivity
and Epistemological Reflexivity.
Personal Reflexivity involves
reflecting upon how situational
and dispositional factors (your
own values, experiences,
interests, beliefs, political
commitments, social identities)
have shaped the research.
It also involves thinking about
how one may be affected and
possibly changed through the
research process.
•
•
Epistemological reflexivity
attempts to identify the
foundations of knowledge
and the implications of any
findings.
It requires us to engage
with questions such as:
• How has the research question
•
defined and/or limited what can
be 'found’ (Does this limit what we
look for or what we assume)?
How has the design of the study
and the method of analysis
influenced the data and the
findings (Does this limit what we
see/hear/conclude)?
•
•
Epistemological reflexivity
attempts to identify the
foundations of knowledge
and the implications of any
findings.
It requires us to engage
with questions such as:
• How has the research question
•
defined and/or limited what can
be 'found’ (Does this limit what we
look for or what we assume)?
How has the design of the study
and the method of analysis
influenced the data and the
findings (Does this limit what we
see/hear/conclude)?
•
How has my personal
history led to my interest in
this topic?
• Do I have a personal “truth” about
•
•
the topic I am studying?
Will my research suffer from self
serving bias?
How does my gender /
social class / ethnicity /
culture influence my
positioning in relation to this
topic and my informants?
• Will social identity play a role in
•
my interactions in the study?
What are my personal stereotypes
regarding the group I am studying?
•
How has my personal
history led to my interest in
this topic?
• Do I have a personal “truth” about
•
•
the topic I am studying?
Will my research suffer from self
serving bias?
How does my gender /
social class / ethnicity /
culture influence my
positioning in relation to this
topic and my informants?
• Will social identity play a role in
•
my interactions in the study?
What are my personal stereotypes
regarding the group I am studying?
•
Where is the power held in
relation to my research
project and where am I in
the power hierarchy?
•
Did I personally design the
study?
•
How did I develop the
research questions, way of
observing, or sampling
method? Could I have taken
a more objective approach?
•
How can I ensure my analysis
represents the voice of the
group I am studying?
•
•
An example of how the age of
the researcher can affect the
research he carries out is
work on at-risk youth.
Members of an at-risk
population are more likely to
open up and speak honestly
too a trendy young research
who fits into the social
situation than a middle aged
researcher who looks and acts
like the youths’ superior.
•
Being reflexive will allow the
researcher to:
•
•
Understand the potential biases
that will be present in the study
by his/her social identification
with the youth-or lack thereof.
Prepare for this assumption and
use investigator triangulation in
his/her study.
•
How would reflexivity
enhance the following
research topics:
•
•
•
Teenagers suffering from eating
disorders.
Women suffering from domestic
abuse.
Students who practice academic
dishonestly during high stakes
testing.
•
•
It is important for the
researcher to be aware of his
social background because
people of the same class tend
to bind together.
They can be wary or even
hostile to people from other
classes making research and
especially the process of
gaining access to research
participants extremely hard
and in some cases impossible.
•
•
Personal characteristics of a
researcher may get the
participants to alter their
behavior in some way.
Reflexivity allows the
researcher to locate his own
self in terms of the research
in an attempt to minimize
the effect he has on the
research (Hertz, 1997).
•
Learning to reflect on your
behavior and thoughts, as well
as on the phenomenon under
study, creates a means for
continuously becoming a better
qualitative researcher.
•
Reflexivity can have its limits as
it is not possible to analyze
every single action of the
researcher. This would detract
from actually observing the
participants.