‘I call it the hero complex’ – Critical considerations of power and privilege and seeking to be an agent of change in qualitative researchers’ experiences.
Affiliation
University of Chester; Bournemouth University; Cheshire Without AbusePublication Date
2020-01-30
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There is a relative paucity of studies specifically exploring the experiences of qualitative researchers undertaking research in socially sensitive areas or with marginalised groups. This paper reports some of the findings of a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of ten participant researchers. The findings of this study suggest that participant researchers are cognisant of issues of power and privilege in conducting their research. They also illustrate the motivation to enact change via the research findings. However, they demonstrate the complexities of power, privilege and change in the research process and how these concepts can be related to researcher guilt. The study shows that experience can act as a buffer in the qualitative research process but that further work in researcher resilience is required. Participant researchers suggest the need for more honest and open discussions around foundational principles of qualitative research. They suggest further development of cross institutional spaces for these discussions to take place. However, the paper also illustrates the necessity to consider issues of power, privilege and research as social change at individual, institutional and systemic levels,Citation
Oakley, L. Fenge, L. & Taylor, B. (2022). ‘I call it the hero complex’ – Critical considerations of power and privilege and seeking to be an agent of change in qualitative researchers’ experiences. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 19(3), 587-610. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1718813Publisher
Taylor & FrancisAdditional Links
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780887.2020.1718813Type
ArticleDescription
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Qualitative Research in Psychology on 30/01/2020, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14780887.2020.1718813.ISSN
1478-0887EISSN
1478-0895ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/14780887.2020.1718813
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/