Reflexivity and Minimization of the Impact of Age-Cohort Differences Between Researcher and Research Participants

Abstract

Reflexivity in research can be defined as (a) the acknowledgment and identification of one's place and presence in the research, and (b) the process of using these insights to critically examine the entire research process. Many authors implore qualitative researchers to be reflexive. Very few, however, specify how to do this in practice. Furthermore, in discussions of the presence and place of the researcher, the tendency has been to focus on such factors as gender and race or ethnicity with very little attention being given to age or cohort. In this article we seek to redress this deficiency by examining how reflexivity was practiced in a context in which there was a marked difference in age and cohort membership between researcher and research participants. Specifically, we describe the methodological challenges faced by a younger researcher conducting research with older study participants on the lived experience of the body, and how reflexivity was used to adapt the methodology employed so it became more appropriate and productive within this context.

Toward Caring for Oneself in a Life of Intense Ups and Downs

“…From a hermeneuticalphenomenological perspective, however, the researchers' experiences and subjectivities are unavoidable parts of every study (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2000;Finlay, 2002Finlay, , 2003Kvale & Brinkmann, 2008;Malterud, 2001aMalterud, ,2001bSmith, 2007;van Manen, 1990). This means that there is no research free of value or bias (Underwood, Satterthwait, & Bartlett, 2010). As argued, the researchers' preconceptions and intentions are, however, not only sources of errors, but will also provide the researchers with means to understand the participants' lived experiences.…”

“…Interviews from these perspectives are described and understood as dynamic and interactional events, and the resulting findings are seen as products of the interplay between researchers and participants (Underwood et al, 2010). This means that there are no passive objects in studies, containers of answers or information; and there are no detached scientists, neutral researchers who observe the world as it is.…”

Comparison of Physical Activity in Obese and Non-Obese Women and Investigation of the Relationship between Physical Activity with ABO Blood Groups and Rh factor

“…Despite this review study, many previous studies indicate that physical inactivity increases the risk of obesity (27). The data obtained from several above mentioned studies relate physical inactivity to social environment, cultural differences, economic status, working status, awareness on activity, overall attitudes and behaviors of the individual (28)(29)(30). We conclude that detection of an increase in moderate activity, house-yard work and a decrease of occupational activity and walking activity in proportion with weight increase in the data obtained by IPAQ-L may due to the study group including house wives who do not work.…”

Body as choice or body as compulsion: An experiential perspective on body–self relations and the boundary between normal and pathological

“…Therefore open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted and a constructionist grounded theory approach (as outlined by Charmaz, 2008) to data collection and analysis was taken. For details of the researcher's role in the research process see Underwood, Satterthwait, and Bartlett (2010). This paper focuses on the bodily experiences described by 20 younger (20-30 years) people who were students at the University of Queensland, Australia.…”