LA POLÍTICA INTERIOR DE FELIPE V

In social science research, the position of the researcher in relation to his/her study has important effects on the study as a whole. It implicates different stages of the research process such as the way in which researchers formulate their questions, as well as data collection and analysis (Ganga and Scott, WXX]). As Foote and Bartell (WX\\, p. e]) assert,

The positionality that researchers bring to their work, and the personal experiences through which positionality is shaped, may influence what researchers may bring to research encounters, their choice of processes, and their interpretation of outcomes.

It is crucial therefore to pay close attention to the researcher’s positionality in order to undertake ethical research (Sultana, WXXf). Researchers have classified various types of positions that a researcher can take. For example, Banks (\ssi) identified four types of positions that recognises the complexity of the researcher’s position: the indigenous-insider, the indigenous-outsider, the external-insider, and the external-outsider. However, despite these different possibilities, only the two extremes of outsider and insider positions are widely conceptualised throughout the literature (DeMarrais and Lapan, WXXe). These two conceptual positions describe how researchers position themselves in relation to other factors in the research context such as language, religion, culture, gender, and careers (Ganga and Scott, WXX]). These relationships have a significant impact on the entire research process.

In this study I considered myself as having both positions, that of an insider and outsider, with the dominant position being that of an insider. As mentioned in Chapter \, the fact that I am a lecturer at CU, and a former graduate student from the Department of English at a different university, places me within the same research context. This insider position offered a unique perspective and pre-existing experiences about the research context of Saudi higher education in general and EFL teaching and learning in particular. This position was also reflected in the support I received throughout the fieldwork and afterwards from lecturers and administrators in the EFL programme and the university staff. It enabled me to gain quick access to lessons, students and lecturers and the different facilities within the university (e.g. library, English language club).

I also share the same culture, nationality, religion and language as the research participants, which offered significant advantages during the data collection process. For example, speaking the language made a huge impact on the way I communicated with students and in understanding cultural connotations and clues

that inform the language. Arabic was usually used to introduce the research topic in a clear manner, especially in assuring students of anonymity and confidentiality. More importantly, it allowed students to be given the option to use either Arabic or English to conduct their interviews, or even a mixture of both languages. Some students felt encouraged to participate when they knew that using Arabic was an acceptable alternative.

In addition, being familiar with the culture influenced how students were approached. As some of the students were too busy to meet because of classes or simply too tired after a long academic day, I suggested that the meetings could take place at an alternative location of their choosing. Meeting students at different locations such as coffee shops made them feel more relaxed during the interviews and downplayed the power of student-lecturer relations, since students viewed me as a formal lecturer at the university. I believe I was able to create a rapport with many student participants, which was demonstrated in their willingness to often share details and experiences of their personal lives.

However, the insider position came with its challenges that had to be overcome. One of the major challenges was my over-familiarity and pre-existing assumptions about the research context. The interpretive epistemological perspective adopted in this study emphasises the importance of researchers being mindful of their positions in that they should question their pre-existing views and values in relation to the way they conduct social research (Savin-Baden and Major, WX\X). This meant that I had to always question my own understanding of the participants and their context. The double hermeneutic process, as discussed in section e.\, was especially useful in overcoming this problem. It allowed me as a researcher to question my own views and understanding by ensuring that any interpretations made were reviewed in relation to the wider literature. Also, I had to always keep in mind the constructivist ontological position that guides this study, which emphasises that individuals construct their own meaning and understanding of reality. Moreover, when participants expected me to grasp the hidden meaning by saying things like

‘as you already know’, I always requested further clarifications by asking follow-up probing questions in order to elicit more detailed responses.

In relation to being an outsider, there are two interrelated issues. The first issue is that for the last couple of years I have been studying in the United Kingdom. While in the UK I was able to enhance my experiences by interacting with a different academic culture. This led to questions about various aspects of teaching and learning in general as well as the norms of higher education institutions (Dwyer and Buckle, WXXs). This meant that I entered the research context with new experiences at hand.

The other issue has to do with gender segregation in Saudi higher education. As a male researcher it was not possible to interview female students within the university as interaction between males and females is not permitted due to cultural reasons. However, as a Saudi citizen such a limitation was expected prior to the data collection process. Not being able to interview female students meant that the study focuses exclusively on undergraduate male students in the EFL programme, which is considered to be a limitation in this study (see section e.\X for further discussion).