ALCANCES Y LIMITACIONES

Social science research is concerned with gaining a better understanding of how people navigate particular phenomena in our society, or social world. Diversity within societies occurs through variations in gender, values, beliefs and the cultural lens through which we view the world (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). Moreover, people’s realities are shaped by the socio-cultural, political and economic contexts that texture people’s lives (Hodgetts, Chamberlain, Groot, & Tankel, 2014). In conjunction with these understandings, and from my socio-cultural position as a woman of dual-cultural identity, ethical social science research in Aotearoa necessarily involves recognition of two worlds, te Ao Māori and te Ao Pākehā (Edge & Nikora, 2010). In contemporary research practice, the two worlds are not a binary, and an ethical approach to negotiating the tensions requires an awareness of the tendency for ideas and concepts from one world to diffuse to another (Edge & Nikora, 2010). The influence of such movement on a person’s understandings of the effects of loss, persuaded me that for this study, the research process would be strengthened by accessing both indigenous and scientific knowledge (Durie, 2004). Additionally, to do so would be in keeping with the principles of partnership, participation and protection, embodied within the Treaty of Waitangi (Durie, 2004).

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The same influences that texture the lives of participants also affect us as researchers. According to Smith, Flowers, & Larkin (2009) our specific worldview shapes how we go about our research, the questions we ask, how we ask those questions, how we interpret our results, and how we view our research findings. Therefore, the areas we choose to research are often determined by societal and personal elements that have an emotional impact on us.

In my case, five significant elements influenced the area I chose to research, the methodology utilised and the research conducted. The first was the loss one of my sons to suicide eight and a half years ago. The experience augmented my interest in understanding how particular individuals deal with specific events or situations in their lives. My experience was the catalyst for this research, to hear mothers’ stories and their understandings of loss due to suicide.

While the advantages of insider research are well documented (Corbin Dwyer & Buckle, 2009; Cotterill, 1992; Taylor, 2011), due to my positioning as an insider I recognised undertaking research into this phenomenon required an empathetic and questioning methodological approach, where insider status would be viewed as having value. According to Smith et al. (2009), successful IPA research has an appreciation of insider knowledge. I also understood my insider perspective would inform the questions I asked. Insider research requires an awareness on the part of the researcher of their own biases, accepting there is no neutrality (Corbin Dwyer & Buckle, 2009). Thus Packer (1985) argued that the researcher brings their own belief systems, prejudices and predispositions to the task of interpreting the lived experience of another and therefore can never be impartial, necessitating a process of reflection. In addition, there was the possibility that I would need to declare my insider status to my participants, which then could influence the interview process. Consequently, an approach where the inclusion of strong reflexive practices was of importance throughout the research process would be necessary. In hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry, reflection plays an essential and valuable part of the research process (Smith et al., 2009). During the course of this thesis, reflection has occurred through discussions with my supervisor, kaumatua and the use of journaling.

Secondly, the mothers were the experiential experts and from my cultural perspective, their stories were gifts. As a result, I felt there was an obligation to attend to their stories in a respectful and honourable manner. This called for utilisation of a methodology that would

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provide an effective vehicle to hear their voices and attend closely to their accounts. As Smith et al. (2009) discuss, IPA’s hermeneutic phenomenological perspective combined with its case-by- case and cross-case analysis is such a vehicle.

The third element was the location of the research in the culturally diverse society of Aotearoa, within which Māori are situated as an indigenous minority amongst the dominant Pākehā settler society. Therefore, I wanted to embed the study within the societal and cultural worlds of Aotearoa in an effort to understand their influence on the perspectives of mothers who have lives textured by loss due to suicide.

From an axiological perspective, there was a fourth element. I required a methodology compatible with Māori principles and values. This was due to my personal connection to Māori philosophy and principles, and these supported the belief that utilisation of Māori axiology would ensure respect for the mothers and their stories throughout the research process. In Aotearoa, IPA has been used in Māori-centred research on adoption (Perkins, 2009) and in Kaupapa Māori research on whānau health and wellness (Boulton, 2005; Jones, Ingham, Davies, & Cram, 2010) thus illustrating IPA’s ability to attune to Māori principles.

Finally, while undertaking psychological studies I became aware that although a substantive body of professional literature discussing suicide exists (Beautrais et al., 1996; De Leo, 2002; Langford et al., 1998; Stack, 2000a, 2000b; World Health Organization, 2011), narrative accounts on the effect of living with loss due to suicide were minimal (Cerel et al., 2008; Maple, Edwards, Minichiello, & Plummer, 2013; Sugrue, McGilloway, & Keegan, 2014). In particular, mothers’ voices were missing from current local and international literature. Yet there can be much to gain from hearing what mothers have to say about the impact of loss of a child through suicide on their sense of self, its effect on their family, and the value (or not) of social support. Indeed Gitlin (1990) makes an important point that “when fully developed, voice is a form of political action” (p. 459). Viewed from this perspective, the telling of the mothers’ stories becomes at once both a protest and a challenge to the code of silence surrounding suicide in Aotearoa (Fleming, 2012). This outlook also incorporates recognition that any mother who consented to sharing her story would feel what she had to say had worth. Indeed, all the mothers involved in the study anticipated that sharing the story of their lived experience, and how they have made sense of the loss of their child, would benefit others through the provision of a greater depth of understanding. They wished this knowledge would inform professionals who

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help mothers and whānau navigate loss through suicide, any identified issues would be addressed, and solutions implemented. The depth of sharing of such sensitive information illustrates the strength of their desire to put an end to the silence. Consequently, arising from this concern and recognition, I hope this research will make a difference in raising awareness and understanding of the effect of suicide on those who live with the loss.

With these insights came the realisation of the influence of another element in the research process - that undertaking this research carried a high level of accountability and responsibility between and amongst the mothers, the research community, the Māori community, and me (as the researcher). This included the importance of respecting and keeping all involved, including me, safe throughout the research process. By conducting this research as an insider, I required an approach that would allow me to not only locate myself, but would enable me to examine my own sense of self in the research process. Subsequently the amalgamation of these rationales led me toward a phenomenological approach with the use of IPA as the methodology.