Abstract
Building on the definition offered by Aspers and Corte, I argue that qualitative research is not qualitative simply because it encodes for the ability “to get closer” to the phenomenon being studied, so much as it is anchored by a methodological obligation to critically examine how and why that closeness matters. Qualitative research considers the positionality of both the researcher and the researched as core aspects of inquiry to understand how knowledge and experience are situated, co-constructed, and historically and socially located. This methodological expectation for reflexivity does not just allow for richer data, but also requires researchers to consider power within and surrounding the research process and to employ an ethic of care for their subjects and for the overall work of qualitative research.
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Thanks to Andrew Deener, Rene Almeling, Laura Carpenter, and Joanna Kempner for suggestions and feedback.
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Reich, J.A. Power, Positionality, and the Ethic of Care in Qualitative Research. Qual Sociol 44, 575–581 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-021-09500-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-021-09500-4