The Insider Researcher: Opportunities and Challenges Joyce Wambura.

The Insider Researcher: Opportunities and Challenges

Joyce Wambura

Outline

• Background• Value• Methodology• Positionality• Conclusion

Why this researchLanguage is the means through which gender

ideologies are constructed, maintained and contested.

(Eckert and McConnel Ginet 2003).

Witnessed and experienced gender discrimination and inequalities that women and girls face in Africa.

FGM is a highly valued practice, always talked of, and looked forward to.

Among the Kuria people, stereotyped gender relations and FGM are viewed as acceptable and expectable.

• Previous research has not focused on language and cultural aspects especially in the Kenyan context.

• Missing is work on construction of women, men, gender relations and the impact of these on FGM.

• Songs are sites where gender and power struggles are contested.

• They contain messages on societal norms, values, gender roles and expectations which bind members together and anyone going against these is castigated.

I set to find out how language use in female circumcision songs and ceremonies legitimates and propagates gendered relations and FGM among the Kuria people.

Main ObjectivesThis study will focus on:

The specific lexical items, syntactic features and presuppositions used in Kuria female circumcision songs?

The language aspects which enact and legitimate as well as challenge Kuria beliefs on women and men roles, behaviours and expectations?

The specific discoursal constructions of gender, identity and power among the Kuria people?

The impact of these on the perpetuation or not of FGM among the Kuria people?

• ‘Kuria’- people, district, language

• Kuria ceremonies• Birth- depending on

the gender of the child.• Circumcision- both

male and female- important because of its cultural roles in this context- childhood to adulthood, marry, bear children, bring up a family..

• Marriage ceremonies.• Burial celebrations.

Why Kuria

• Some communities practice FGM in Kenya, the Kuria people celebrate it.

• Statistics show a decline in the percentage of women who have undergone FGM in Kenya as a country, but the percentages in Kuria still stand at a high of 96%.

• Kuria FGM songs and ceremonies are sites where gender and cultural based ideologies are constructed, legitimated and propagated.

What contribution will my research make?

MethodologyDesign

This will be a qualitative researchData

Three sets of data:Songs

InterviewsField notes

Songs FGM songs- from five categoriesAudio recordedAnalysed for linguistic features- specific metaphors, lexical items,

presuppositions and syntactic features used in Kuria female circumcision ceremonies

1st questionwhat are the specific metaphors, lexical items,

presuppositions and syntactic features used in Kuria female circumcision ceremonies?

2nd questionhow do these language aspects enact and legitimate

as well as challenge Kuria beliefs about women and men , their roles, behaviours and expectations?

InterviewsSemi structured16 women, 4 menKuria language speakers, above 18 years and conversant

with Kuria culture and traditions.They have been recruited, given consent through phone

conversation but will sign consent forms.Responses will reveal interviewee’s opinion on gender

relations and FGM, 3rd question

what are the linguistic features used to construct discourses of gender, identity and power among Kuria people.

Taking field notes

Observable behaviours Relevant non linguistic aspects from songs producers

and interviewees.

4th questionwhat is the effect of these constructions on

FGM propagation among the Kuria people?

Positionality

• Insider researcher • One who studies a group to which he/she

belongs (Breen 2007). • Insider research entails studying one’s own

social group or society (Naples 2003).

Opportunities of insider researching

Expediency of access to the population (Chavez 2008; Hayman 2012b).

Recruitment of participants is easier. Developing rapport is easy (O’Connor 2004).Generation of data rich in content since the

participants trust the researcher as one of their own.

Tacit knowledge of the group being researched, which informs the research and enables greater understanding (Rooney 2005).

Not altering the flow of the social interaction unnaturally.

Understanding the local values, knowledge and taboos.

Knowing the formal and informal power structures in the data collection phase Knowing how best to approach people.

Stereotyping and making judgements on the participants and/or the researcher is reduced.

These will facilitate the process of collecting data.

Challenges1. Role duality- insider and researcher requires balancing. Being the

subject and the object of research. Distancing and reflecting on the objectives.

2. Assumed understanding- participants assume the researcher knows and understands everything.• Using terms like:

You know what I mean.You understand that. I don’t want to go to details.

Probing and rephrasing the questions, asking for examples and restating the question in a different format (McEvoy 2001)

3. Overlooking certain routine behaviours State clearly which data are most important to my research and for

my report and decide on what to include and what to leave out.

4. Emotions

• Any dialogue necessitates an interdependence between the participants (Frank 2000). Listening to participants tell their experiences can have an effect on them, the

researcher as well as the research. Sensitive research topics such as this have potential emotional effects. Acknowledging the potential risk before collecting data is the first step in

managing any emotional effects that may be experienced.

Their emotions• How I will deal with this; Being able to predict the kind of information that respondents might

disclose has enabled me to prepare beforehand on how to react in case the participants become emotional.

The key aspect is to sympathise , empathise with and be supportive (Garvey 2014).

My own emotions- Employ debriefing ( sharing findings and elements of

the research with others, peers and supervisors) - described as an effective strategy to overcome own emotional experiences in research (Dickson –Swift et al 2008).

Enhances critical thinking about the research. Acknowledging any feeling that may affect

judgement.Debriefing will be done formally during supervision

meetings and informally with fellow researchers and friends.

5.Objectivity

• Greater familiarity can lead to loss of objectivity and making of wrong assumptions.

Triangulation-employing multiple sources of data and methods of data collection will help to achieve objectivity.

Ensure findings reflect the experiences of the participants rather than the experience of the researcher.

Clarify the research process and researcher role in the report.

Applying several frameworks in the analysis (Fairclough 2001 & 2003, Sunderland 2004 and Lazar 2005).

6. Subjectivity and bias• Deterrent to objective approach and analysis-can lead to

assumptions based on researcher’s prior knowledge or experience (Delsyer 2001).

• Bias- the researcher’s beliefs and personal values may influence methodology, design and results (Van Heugten 2004)

• To overcome this;Self reflexivity – awareness and understanding of one’s

subjectivities and bias in relation to research, (Hall and Stevens 1991).

Reflexivity discourages presumptions and encourages a researcher to seek clarification directly from the participants (O’Connor 2004) while maintaining emotional distance.

Pre-study reflexivity involves identifying personal biases and beliefs that may influence analysis (Dowling 2006).

Keeping a journal, personal log of day to day activities, an individual reflection diary, methodological log.

7. Going native• Taking on the traits of those

under study (Sikes and Potts 2008).

I will overcomethis by recognising the ways in which I am like and unlike the participants and ‘identify which identities may advantage or complicate the process’ (Merrison 2014).

8. Participant expectations• Participants expect immediate and tangible

results (Houghton et al 2010) such as: change in policy practice that will change their lives.

• In insider research this is amplified (Yakushko et al

2011), because of the insider researcher’s perception and willingness to make change and leave a positive mark.

Explain the aims of the study and how the findings will be used.

Inform the participants about the process beforehand.

• Other challenges• Participants may not be comfortable talking to

someone who knows them because they feel their weaknesses and secrets are being revealed (Kusow 2003).

Reassurance of confidentiality and anonymity. • Other measures Transcripts will be reviewed by two other Kuria

speakers to ensure accurate translation has been done.

Samples of the data-scrutinised by supervisors and specialists in the subject area for similarity in interpretation.

Discussions will be done within the methodological structures.

Conclusion• The following skills help to realise objectivity and

credibility in insider researching.Having clear set goalsContinuously reflecting on the process and goalsTriangulation Debriefing Reflexivity Review by other researchers

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