Brief lecture and continuous exercise to introduce students and qualitative researchers to reflexivity as part of a rigour framework for qualitative research.

1. Reflexivity lecture and continuous
exercise – the role of the researcher
Mark Lucherini
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2. Reflexivity as Rigour
• Qualitative data does not exist independently, waiting to be ‘mined’
• The researcher inevitably shapes the data - making sense of the social
• The circumstances in which the data is generated (social, physical,
environmental) also shape the data – methodological naturalism
• Qualitative data is therefore intersubjective, a co-construction between
researchers and participants
• Qualitative research needs to be rigorous – reflexivity as a first step but also a
continuous process.
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3. Reflexivity as Rigour
• Being reflexive is not the same as reflection
• It is “an explicit, self-aware meta-analysis of the research process” (Finlay
2002)
• Not simply acknowledging your possible bias, preconceptions,
professional/disciplinary history (aspects your positionality) – but exploring
what they mean for your interpretation of data and of others’ research
findings
• Finlay, L., 2002. “Outing” the researcher: the provenance, process, and
practice of reflexivity. Qualitative health research, 12(4), pp.531–545.
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4. Qualitative Research is Conditional
Meanings are seen to be negotiated between researcher and researched within a
particular social context so that another researcher in a different relationship will
unfold a different story. Research is thus regarded as a joint product of the
participants, the researcher, and their relationship: It is co-constituted. Furthermore,
the qualitative research process itself has the potential to transform the very
phenomenon being studied: “Interviews augment experience, rather than simply
reflecting it,” argued Beer (1997, p. 127), “They alter meaning, instead of delineating
it. They change people.”
Finlay (2002: 531)
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5. Stages of Reflexivity
• Preresearch stage 1
• Knowing where you stand
• Considering your own biases
• Data collection stage
• Being self-aware
• Being aware of intersubjectivity and methodological naturalism
• Data analysis stage
• Revisiting your preresearch stage and exploring assumptions made,
and how things actually worked out in practice
• Packaging the results for an audience
Adapted from Finlay
(2002)
• Preresearch stage 2
• Decision about what is important for the research topic
• What are you feelings and beliefs about this topic (positionality)
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6. Reflexivity Process Exercise
• For the rest of the session we are going to go through the stages
of reflexivity in the research process.
• To illustrate the process I will use my own recent research
experience as an example.
• My research involved interviewing young adults (age 16-24) from
disadvantaged backgrounds in Edinburgh about smoking and
electronic cigarettes.
• This exercise is intended to help you with the reflexive blog post
due at the end of this month but also to help you think more
about how you might approach reflexivity in the final assignment.
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7. Who are you? (Preresearch Stage 1)
HUMAN GEOGRAPHER
MALE
WORKS IN PUBLIC
HEALTH
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCHER
• What are the main aspects of your identity – as a
researcher and a person?
• Use the picture you brought along as a starting
point for your thinking.
• Basic, obvious aspects which would be important
to understand for any research project.
SCOTTISH
INTERESTED IN
TOBACCO CONTROL
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8. Who are you as a qualitative
researcher? (Preresearch Stage 2)
NON-SMOKER
YOUNG
NEVER USED AN E-
CIGARETTE
PHENOMENOLOGICAL
APPROACH
• What do you need to acknowledge and
consider before beginning the
research/appraisal of research?
• Only aspects which are related to the
topic.
• What might participants expect of
you?
• What are your beliefs about the
research topic?
• Important for transparency and rigour.
PEOPLE WANT TO
STOP SMOKING
PEOPLE SHOULD TRY
TO STOP SMOKING
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9. Small Group Discussion and Personal
Exercise
• Form into your groups.
• Think about a paper you are reading or research project you are
preparing for.
• Discuss among yourselves how your different backgrounds, skills
and identities might be influencing the way you read and interpret
this paper.
• Are there differences among your group?
• Is there anything you find surprising?
• Next, think about what topic you might want to research.
• On your own, think about what might be relevant if you were doing
research in this context.
• This is a personal exercise, to help you develop ideas for the
journal assignment, however please feel free to discuss with
classmates if you wish.
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10. Data Collection Stage
‘POSH’
OLDER, ADULT
MIDDLE-CLASS
NAIVE
OUTSIDER
• Being self-aware in research encounters
• How did you interact with participants?
• Did you realise anything different about yourself?
Were your assumptions challenged?
• Methodological naturalism (where/when/how
was the interview completed? What might this
mean?
• Revisit this stage once you have completed your
practice interview AUTHORITATIVE
OFFICIAL, FORMAL
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11. Data Analysis Stage
JUDGMENTAL
ADVOCATE
EMPATHETIC
INSINCERE
HELPFUL
• How are you responding to the data?
• How are you interpreting the accounts of
others?
• Why are doing it this way?
• Cherry picking?
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12. Summary
• Reflexivity is a central process in qualitative research. It involves:
• Self-awareness of your positionality
• An evaluation of what aspects of your positionality are relevant to your
interpretation/conducting of research
• A consideration of your postionality involves certain assumptions,
biases and preconceptions
• A consideration of how researchers are co-producing data with
participants
• A constant process of consideration throughout the whole research
process
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13. Preresearch 1 Preresearch 2
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14. Data Collection Data Analysis
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15. Reflexivity
Explore your
positionality
What aspects of
you positionality
might impact on
the research
topic (eg are you
an insider or an
outsider?)
Data
Generation
Intersubjectivity
Methodogical
naturalism
Re-assess
positionality
Data Analysis or
Critical Appraisal
Presentation of findings
Aspects of your
identity,
personality, politics,
biases etc
Begins with
Which is
important
for
deciding
Which is
crucial to
identify before
beginning
As this involves
being attuned to
Which
means you
have to
Re-assess
So that you can
practice rigourous
Ensuring a reliable
and rigourous
Includes
In the moment reflexivity (eg
how did participants respond to
my questions, body language)
Which involves
Which again
necessitates that
you
Re-assess
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