Although I failed to attend the discussion session with Tracey McIntosh, Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, Nicole Perry and Carisa Showden, I managed to get some ideas off the lecture notes.
Carisa mentioned how much emotions we should invest in the process of research, and she discussed that as researchers we could form an emotional bond with the participants, but not to the extent that we feel too vulnerable to execute the role of being the researcher. The fact that she established this made me have a second thought about me as a researcher. I have previously believed that by relating to the participant in a way that makes myself vulnerable, and by being friendly, the participants will become comfortable and therefore share more details that can contribute to the research. Moreover, personal experiences and emotions have been what fuels my motive. Does that make me a bais researcher? Can my vulnerability affect the result? I can’t help to think.
Reflecting on Patrick Thomsen’s research on Korean gay men, it was his experiences which have driven his research process. However, he was working with his emotion instead of letting it take advantages of his decision makings. This made me consider the appropriate position us researchers should put ourselves into during the process of collecting data. Donna Haraway’s concept of situated knowledge suggests that “the relationship between the researcher and research object must be reconfigured in order to avoid essentialism, universalism and the arrogance of the scientific research process “(Engelstad and Gerrard, 4) As a researcher, it is about acknowledging my identity concerning the research I am carrying out. Like how Thomsen capitalised his identity as a coloured gay man, he only utilised his identity as a common ground between him and his participants, but not establishing a deep emotional bond with them. As Carisa said, “get close with your participants but not too close.” I concluded that it is all about balance! Let the emotions drive you, but do not let it blind you.
Engelstad, Ericka, and Siri Gerrard. Challenging Situatedness: Gender, Culture and the Production of Knowledge. Eburon Uitgeverij B.V., 2005.
