Reflexive analysis of researcher-participant relationship in narrative research of gender relations

Researchers' social locations and their insider-outsider position with regards to the group researched are significant aspects of the researcher-participant relationship. Gender plays a prominent role in the interview situation, especially when researching gender relations, since perception, positionings and the established trust shape the type of narratives the participants present. The aim of this presentation is to offer a reflexive analysis of the challenges encountered and strategies employed by the researchers to manage the gendering of the researcher-participant relationship while conducting narrative interviews on gender within the family. The analysis is based on mutual collaboration and interpersonal reflexivity of two researchers’ fieldwork experiences, who conducted 22 narrative interviews with participants of both the same and opposite gender as themselves. While a portion of participants described concrete situations stemming from personal experience, as anticipated by the interview guide, another portion sensed a possibility of establishing closeness based on the gender-related insider group status rather than developing trust in the expected way. Their responses tended to steer towards general and cathartic narratives on stereotypical grievances with the opposite gender residing well outside of their experiential framework, including views that undermine women. The researchers recognized the need to reduce the participants’ assumptions about shared gender-related values, irrespective of the gender combination in the interview. To achieve this, in addition to avoiding a suggestive approach as per usual, they intentionally set aside and refrained from expressing their own perspectives on gender relations. The need for bracketing appeared as participants’ responses differed based on their definition of a relationship with the researcher. In sum, when gender is in focus, some of the everyday taken-for-granted gender boundaries must be actively managed in the interview process. Reflecting on the researchers’ positionality in the interview should be strategic, with the ultimate purpose of eliciting stories on personal experiences.