"I Didn't Wanna Participate; I Don't Know These People": Relationships and Entanglements in Qualitative Research

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Reflections on Relational Research

Abstract

Qualitative research is generally understood to be a co-constituted enterprise, but the degrees to which researchers acknowledge and/or explore these co-constructions vary widely. Drawing on focus group interviews with 19 women doctoral students, this paper explores the ways that relationships matter in the now of qualitative research--not in the preparatory stages, that often involve subjectivity statements, and not in the after-the-fact analytic stages of researcher reflexivity and member checking. Furthermore, based on the participants’ remarks on their relationships with participants and the researchers, we argue that rather than being something to mitigate or manage, relationships in qualitative research can result in rich data that are empowering to both participants and researchers.

Authors

• Stephanie Anne Shelton, The University of Alabama

• Kelly Woodall Guyotte, The University of Alabama

• Maureen Alice Flint, University of Georgia