TY - CHAP AB - Purpose To understand how research-participant relationships are formed in research settings through experiences and analyses of content-specific gendered identity practices.Methodology/approach I draw upon a school-based ethnographically informed study exploring the construction of masculinities among white working-class boys in three schools in South London, United Kingdom between 2009 and 2011. To access participants’ perceptions, I used a methodology of observation, focus groups, semi-structured interviews and visual methods.Findings Themes of gendered embodiment, physicality and performance play a part in the formation of relationships in this study. Furthermore, such themes play a role – to varying degrees – in researcher-participant relationship-building. In understanding relationship-building practices, I make connections to my own reflexivity accounting for the multifaceted nature of identities, lifestyles and perspectives present in researcher-participant interaction.Originality/value Throughout the fieldwork, constructs of gender, nationality and class all contributed to how relationships were built. In navigating the power relations innate to all relationship-building, I discuss how I capitalised on my outsider status in terms of nationality to neutralise certain elements of class and gender that were normative to my participants, but, simultaneously, draw upon my insider status in terms of knowledge of the locale, humour and clothing which contributed greatly to how the relationships were constructed and maintained. VL - 14 SN - 978-1-78635-025-1, 978-1-78635-026-8/1042-3192 DO - 10.1108/S1042-319220160000014020 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1042-319220160000014020 AU - Stahl Garth PY - 2016 Y1 - 2016/01/01 TI - Relationship-Building in Research: Gendered Identity Construction in Researcher-Participant Interaction T2 - Gender Identity and Research Relationships T3 - Studies in Qualitative Methodology PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 145 EP - 165 Y2 - 2024/04/23 ER -