The place of emotions in academic research

Abstract

Summary Having first situated emotions within a broader theoretical context, this paper considers the benefits and the drawbacks of discussing emotions in accounts of the research process. The paper goes on to provide a personal account of my emotional response to conducting research in the West End of Newcastle, before concluding with some suggestions as to ways of taking the debate forward.

Participatory action research: The distress of (not) making a difference

“…PAR promises to make research encounters 'worth the tears' (Robson 2001) because it seeks to actively address the circumstances of participants' trauma. It eases the guilt that many researchers have expressed about extracting traumatic data without offering anything tangible in return (Widdowfield 2000;Meth and Malaza 2003;Woodby et al 2011;Lund 2012).…”

‘Babe, I like your lipstick’: rethinking researcher personality and appearance

“…A rare exception to the somewhat cold descriptions of positionality is Widdowfield's (2000) piece on her emotional response to research conducted in the West End of Newcastle. The author tells of how, in speaking to housing officers and lone parents living in less desirable neighbourhoods, and in visiting these neighbourhoods, she experienced negative emotions.…”

“…The author tells of how, in speaking to housing officers and lone parents living in less desirable neighbourhoods, and in visiting these neighbourhoods, she experienced negative emotions. These emotions include: anger, upset, and distress, and Widdowfield (2000) confesses to feeling demoralised and disillusioned at times. She argues that emotions may influence the researcher's interpretation of a situation, yet this does not prevent rigorous analysis.…”

“…This paper was drawn to a close with a consideration of how my personality and appearance impacted on the [messy] friendships I made throughout my fieldwork. Given the more extensive use of qualitative modes of enquiry, emotions are becoming increasingly topical (Blackman 2007;Jansson 2010;Widdowfield 2000). Fuelled with this new vision and the burgeoning trend towards reflexivity (Moser 2008), I hope that a space can be carved out for further discussions of researcher personality and appearance.…”

Housing, health, and social inclusion of older people on low income in Prince George, BC.

“…Related policy implications were considered. To identify bias or leanings for some topics, I prepared a paragraph on my personal reflections, noting any personal experience or emotions that might influence the findings (Widdowfield 2000). Spreadsheets and tables were developed on participant characteristics such as age, income, dwelling costs, and dwelling characteristics.…”