Role Transitions in the Field and Reflexivity: From Friend to Researcher

Abstract

Purpose – Occasionally, we find our social roles transitioning from friend to researcher. This chapter is a reflexive account of one such transition. The author examines the emotions, the concerns and the rewards and stresses of this shift in her relationship with individuals and community.

Methodology/Approach – The author moved to Arviat, Nunavut, in 2004 and gradually found her inner sociologist could not be contained. Through a process of consultation with the Inuit community in which she was residing, she transitioned from the role of friend to that of researcher. This was complicated by her social location as a Western outsider who had been accepted as a community member.

Findings – Reflexivity is a key component of mitigating the challenges which arose and pursuing ethical research, as well as managing the dynamic range of experiences and feelings which emerged during this process.

Citation

van den Scott, L.-J.K. (2018), "Role Transitions in the Field and Reflexivity: From Friend to Researcher", Loughran, T. and Mannay, D. (Ed.) Emotion and the Researcher: Sites, Subjectivities, and Relationships (Studies in Qualitative Methodology, Vol. 16), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 19-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1042-319220180000016002