Starting Where You Are: How Race Can Constrain Researchers within the Research Setting

Abstract

What challenges can race and gender present for researchers of color? As Black women, we draw on personal reflections to look back at our graduate training and its influence on how we conducted ourselves in the field as graduate students and now as researchers in the academy. We particularly consider how mainstream pedagogical approaches to teaching qualitative methods might work to marginalize researchers of color throughout the qualitative research process. We lay out these complexities, not necessarily to offer solutions but rather to allow others in similar situations to think about their own journey as we collectively move qualitative research and teaching to new heights. We conclude this article with a short discussion of the direct implications for teaching and doing qualitative research.

Stigma, surveillance, and wounded healing: Promoting a critical ethics of care in research with formerly incarcerated Black women

“…As the author/interviewer was perceived as actively engaged in checking in to make sure participants were comfortable answering highly sensitive questions, the women reported a sense of feeling empowered and being cared for. Similarly, in a piece by Spates & Gichiru (2015), researchers discussed the importance of going through the informed consent as a way to assure the study participants that the researchers will take care of their stories and protect their privacy, thus promoting relational trust within the interview process. As such, the researcher's capacity to demonstrate care through intentional action steps is important for building trust, comfort, and allowing for more in‐depth information sharing.…”

“…In a study exploring the opportunities and challenges that qualitative researchers navigate while doing fieldwork, the process of giving up one's story was seen as a way of promoting equity, as the researcher then too becomes the one sharing their own vulnerability (Campbell et al, 2021). Moreover, this sharing process signified a commitment to the work that promoted relational comfort for community members (Campbell et al, 2021; Spates & Gichiru, 2015).…”

“…With qualitative efforts often aimed at contextualizing the lives of communities who navigate stigma and surveillance, exploring strategies to address these methodological and epistemological complexities is essential. Community‐engaged research efforts that promote inclusive research are a part of a larger agenda calling for greater attention towards how we represent others throughout the research endeavor (Campbell et al, 2021; Spates & Gichiru, 2015; Stige et al, 2009).…”