Methods for Reflexive Analysis of Positionality
This project concerns the ways in which researchers assess the power relations which exist between themselves and research participants, and how this affects their positionality, i.e. the way that the researcher’s and participant’s identities–such as nationality, religion, gender, ethnicity, social class, family, education–impact on the research setting. The process of analyzing these relationships is termed reflexivity. Research on ethics within the social sciences stresses the importance of engaging in reflexive assessments of positionality but the field has provided little guidance on how to make these assessments. This project fills this gap by developing a foundation for systematic reflexive analysis. This includes developing guiding questions and an iterative methodology designed for implementation across the entire lifespan of the research process—from design to data analysis. The project also seeks to expand our understanding of reflexivity by (1) de-centering the researcher in order to develop methods for probing participants’ assessments of positionality, and (2) considering reflexivity not only in the context of the researcher-participant interaction but also in terms of the broader social setting. Finally, the project identifies the consequences of not conducing reflexive analyses, both in methodological terms and ethical terms—when does failing to be reflexive lead to poor data and when does it lead to potential harm to participants?
Final report
This project concerned the ways in which researchers assess the power relations which exist between themselves and research participants, and how this affects their positionality, i.e. the way that the researcher’s and participant’s identities–such as nationality, religion, gender, ethnicity, social class, family, education–impact on the research setting. The process of analyzing these relationships is termed reflexivity. Research on ethics within the social sciences stresses the importance of engaging in reflexive assessments of positionality but the field has provided little guidance on how to make these assessments. This project aimed to address this gap by developing a foundation for systematic reflexive analysis. This included developing guiding questions and an iterative methodology designed for implementation across the entire lifespan of the research process—from design to data analysis. The purpose of this project was thus threefold:
(1) develop a framework for reflexive analysis of positionality of power
Building on previous literature, the project developed a framework to structure their reflexive analysis. By envisioning reflexive assessment as an integral and ongoing component of the research process, the project also proposed a system which takes into consideration the need to make these assessments iteratively throughout the process in order to constantly re-assess positionality before, during and after human participant interactions. Likewise, it proposed a structure for recording and making transparent these reflections in researchers’ work. Doing so not only leads to methodological improvements by way of forcing the researcher to interpret interview data in light of power relations, it also reinforces a culture of transparency and awareness of positionality amongst researchers. The project originally planned to pilot the framework with students conducting fieldwork but due to Covid travel restrictions, this was not feasible.
(2) develop means to de-center the researcher
Previous research on reflexivity takes as its departure point the researcher themself. The locus of analysis is the researcher’s many cross-cutting identities and how these interact with the participants and the context in which they conduct their research. But it is equally relevant to consider and try to envision positionality and power beyond the researcher’s viewpoint. The guiding questions developed in (1) included not only the perspective of the researcher, but also those of research associates and participants in an effort to de-center the researcher
(3) distinguish between the methodological and the ethical implications of reflexive analyses of positionality
The project sought to make explicit that the consequences of failing to engage in reflexive analysis entail both methodological and ethical consequences, and to disentangle these.
In terms of project activities, two workshops were planned. The first brought together 15 Sweden-based scholars in Uppsala, November 2021. The second, planned in collaboration with the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., involved 15 scholars based in North America and Europe. This workshop was cancelled due to Covid travel restrictions. All of the scholars from both workshops were invited to participate in a special issue. This resulted in six articles, and was published in an open-access special symposium in the June 2024 issue of Qualitative and Multi-method Research.
(1) develop a framework for reflexive analysis of positionality of power
Building on previous literature, the project developed a framework to structure their reflexive analysis. By envisioning reflexive assessment as an integral and ongoing component of the research process, the project also proposed a system which takes into consideration the need to make these assessments iteratively throughout the process in order to constantly re-assess positionality before, during and after human participant interactions. Likewise, it proposed a structure for recording and making transparent these reflections in researchers’ work. Doing so not only leads to methodological improvements by way of forcing the researcher to interpret interview data in light of power relations, it also reinforces a culture of transparency and awareness of positionality amongst researchers. The project originally planned to pilot the framework with students conducting fieldwork but due to Covid travel restrictions, this was not feasible.
(2) develop means to de-center the researcher
Previous research on reflexivity takes as its departure point the researcher themself. The locus of analysis is the researcher’s many cross-cutting identities and how these interact with the participants and the context in which they conduct their research. But it is equally relevant to consider and try to envision positionality and power beyond the researcher’s viewpoint. The guiding questions developed in (1) included not only the perspective of the researcher, but also those of research associates and participants in an effort to de-center the researcher
(3) distinguish between the methodological and the ethical implications of reflexive analyses of positionality
The project sought to make explicit that the consequences of failing to engage in reflexive analysis entail both methodological and ethical consequences, and to disentangle these.
In terms of project activities, two workshops were planned. The first brought together 15 Sweden-based scholars in Uppsala, November 2021. The second, planned in collaboration with the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., involved 15 scholars based in North America and Europe. This workshop was cancelled due to Covid travel restrictions. All of the scholars from both workshops were invited to participate in a special issue. This resulted in six articles, and was published in an open-access special symposium in the June 2024 issue of Qualitative and Multi-method Research.