Exploring Participant-centred Reflexivity in the Research Interview

The increasing importance of reflexivity within social research highlights the importance of the construction of knowledge in relation to the research endeavour. However, researcher-orientated notions of reflexivity can often relegate a discussion of participant reflexivity. Drawing on two motifs th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSociology (Oxford) Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 356 - 370
Main Author Riach, Kathleen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London, England SAGE Publications 01.04.2009
Sage Publications
Sage Publications Ltd
Cambridge University Press
Subjects
Age discrimination
Ascription
Bourdieu, Pierre
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Commitments
Epistemology
Equality
Feminism
Habitus
History and organization of sociology
History, theory and methodology
Interviews
Knowledge
Organization of profession, research and teaching. Deontology. Sociology of sociology. Epistemology
Participant Observation
Polities
Professional ethics
Reflexivity
Research ethics
Social ethics
Social interaction
Social reflexivity
Social research
Social sciences
Sociology
Studies
Bourdieu
participant-led
reflexivity
interview
research relationship
Bourdieu (P.)
Interviews
Scientific Research
Habitus
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Summary:The increasing importance of reflexivity within social research highlights the importance of the construction of knowledge in relation to the research endeavour. However, researcher-orientated notions of reflexivity can often relegate a discussion of participant reflexivity. Drawing on two motifs that emerged during the analysis of interview data from one research project, I argue that developing Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, practical mastery and symbolic mastery allows us to understand how reflexivity-in-practice is situated and enacted by both parties involved in the research interaction, and how such 'sticky moments' help us work towards a more participant-focussed mode of reflexivity. In situating the article within larger social research debates, I suggest that ascribing a more active role to interview participants as reflexive subjects can help to address some of the wider ethical debates over the role and positioning of participants in the research process.
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ISSN:0038-0385
1469-8684
DOI:10.1177/0038038508101170