The researcher is an integral component of the research process. In this section I reflect on myself, as the researcher, in the research process. I look at reflexivity and the insider / outsider researcher role as I remained a paid employee of the IFA where I undertook the study.
Reflexivity
Positivism in research seeks objectivity while ethnographic research is more reflexive by nature. Reflexivity, broadly defined, is a process to self-reference, and in research refers to the way it is affected by personnel and the process of doing research (Davies, 1999). Researchers are often motivated by their own personal interest to undertake the work and all research begins with at least
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some theoretical assumptions (May, 2002). I have worked in foster care for nearly two decades, and have developed an acute interest in fostering, as well as being a father. This personal subjectivity can be perceived as problematic in research, particularly involving a survey that aims to test out or develop a theory, as there is already the inbuilt potential flaw of personal bias (Williams and May, 1996). While I have not set out to consciously test a hypothesis, I did begin with some opinions concerning foster care and the feeling that foster-fathers are a neglected resource. There is considerable debate concerning the role and function of the researcher, not least the reflexive interviewer. Due to the relative newness of reflexivity and continuing debate about its meaning, the application of reflexivity to social work research, it has been argued, can be difficult to implement in practice (D'Cruz et al., 2007).
Feminist research has challenged the generation of knowledge as being gendered and hierarchical (Oakley, 1993), arguing the interview process is socially constructed by researchers and not objective. Oakley (1993) considers the importance of ethics in the epistemological and methodological generation of data through reciprocal interviewing. Oakley argues that traditional interviewing is limited, as it assumes a one-way hierarchical process by which the objective interviewer gathers information. She suggests that the dyadic researcher and respondent relationship has to involve some interaction between the two as interviewees tend to ask questions of the researcher; a process which invalidates claims of objectivity when using interviews. Oakley by acknowledging the two-way process of interviewing, as conversation and the socialisation of respondents who ask questions, puts forward a feminist interview that is non-hierarchical and which recognises the engaged role of the interviewer (Oakley, 1993). While the interview cannot be wholly objective, through reflexivity the ethical dilemmas of data generated by participatory researchers is explored and identified as part of the research process.
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As a researcher I feel it is necessary to acknowledge and recognise my engagement with the subject as well as my part in the gathering, analysis and presentation of data. The research itself says much about my own personal identity and perceptions. The style of interview and narrative I chose was conversational though structured around topics. The sample included a mix of men both known and unknown to myself as the researcher which required careful consideration. It is important to recognise reflexivity in research practice and acknowledge that I come from an insider position as a male practitioner-researcher who continued to work full-time with foster carers, as a training officer, while undertaking a post-graduate degree. There are clear ethical considerations for research involving individuals already known to the researcher with dilemmas around social desirability and power-imbalance. Therefore, participants were carefully selected to ensure they had no social work or managerial involvement with me as the researcher. As an employee with the IFA, and having acute interest in foster care, I generally come from an inside position. In the next section I consider research as insider / outsider and reflect on the dilemmas of research and paid employment
The insider / outsider researcher role
Research is value-laden with much debate concerning the validity of different approaches, particularly as positivism promotes the construction of objectivity and detachment. The ability to perform research objectively has been challenged by feminist practice to reduce hierarchy in research (Oakley, 1993) and the postmodernist emphasis on the need to know the researcher’s identity and context as part of the narrative interpretation (Angrosino, 2005). The postmodernist epistemological process challenges hierarchies of knowledge (Mirchandani, 2005) and the production of ethnographies breaks down social barriers between researcher and subject. Ethnography is interpretative rather than structural and it is argued ethnographers create their objects of study rather than discover them (Davies, 1999). While the outside position to research is seen as more positive, due to the objectivity perceived in this position, researchers are increasingly acknowledging their own position within, and to, the studied subject. The construction of objective
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research is limited and the dichotomy between outsider and insider positioning is theoretical as it is best conceived as a continuum (Breen, 2007; Richie et al., 2009).
Conceptualising reflexivity, and the implications for research practice, relates to the relationship between the insider and outsider positions. The argument is that the space between the two positions, and the location of the researcher on the continuum, clarifies the rationale and reflexivity of the researcher (Dwyer and Buckle, 2009). The insider-researcher occupies a position of engagement and membership with the population being studied (Kanuha, 2000). Qualitative researchers, it is argued, are not detached from the study as they engage with participants and directly participate, to some level, with the study (Dwyer and Buckle, 2009). The rationale is that researchers, by occupying a space between the outsider and insider positions, are required to conceive of themselves as part of the research process and acknowledge reflexivity in their research:
“There are complexities inherent in occupying the space between. Perhaps, as researchers we can only ever occupy the space between. We may be closer to the insider position or closer to the outsider position, but because our perspective is shaped by our position as a researcher (which includes having read much literature on the research topic), we cannot fully occupy one or the other of those positions.” (Dwyer and Buckle, 2009: p 61)
Positioning with regards to the insider-outsider continuum leads to transparency due to researcher self-reflection. The merits for location towards, or even within, the insider position are transparency, reflexivity and reciprocity (Kanuha, 2000; Breen, 2007; Dwyer and Buckle, 2009; Richie et al., 2009).
Dilemmas of research and paid employment
During the study I continued to be employed by the IFA which meant I had a relationship with the subject and some participants that predated my research. Within narrative interviewing, a relationship that predates the study is a possible asset as it can open up the narrative interview to provide richer data (Hollway and Jefferson, 2000b), but it can also lead to social desirability in
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interviewee responses. There is a growing recognition of the validity for the insider-researcher, particularly within postmodern discourses, where membership can be a benefit to research (Breen, 2007; Dwyer and Buckle, 2009; Richie et al., 2009). The sample included a mix of men both known and unknown to me as the researcher, though I did not work directly with anyone involved in the study. The division between foster-fathers already known and those not known, to me as the researcher, enabled the checking and cross-referencing of data to counterbalance social desirability in interviewee responses.
As a researcher working with the agency I held a privileged position and had access to the men in the study. While this enabled me to have access to a group of men to study, this privilege also implies a power position. This was a dilemma as there were positives in being an employee due to the access to and participation with the sample, but I also have to acknowledge there are negatives in this position due to the power relations of being a paid employee and researcher. While I mainly come from an insider position as paid employee and researcher I was excluded when foster-fathers met on their own. Essentially, I had little or no control over men talking together about my study and had to accept the possibility they would do this. Through reflexivity I am able to acknowledge these dilemmas and try where possible to limit their impact on the study and acknowledge where I could not limit any impact. All of the participant’s identities were anonymised from the agency to counterbalance the potential power-imbalance and I had no social work or management input with anyone involved in the study.
The pilot
The research methodology was piloted (Robson, 1996) to ascertain its effectiveness and to test the questionnaire format, interview schedule and observational diary. The pilot involved two social workers and a retired foster carer not involved with the IFA. Following the piloting of the methodology and consultation with the University supervisory team some amendments were made
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to the question sequencing on the interview schedule and technological wording amended on the questionnaire.