A question of reflexivity in a qualitative study of South Asians in education: power, knowledge and shared ethnicity

Abstract

In a qualitative study of South Asians in education, methodological issues pertaining to the social interactions between the same-ethnicity researcher and researched are analysed and interpreted. Based on in-depth interviews with 89 South Asian school pupils and 25 South Asian parents, it was found that political ideology and shared ethnicity were a source of inspiration in how the same-ethnicity researcher generated answers to the research questions, but also a weakness in how they were potentially shaped by the very same factors. This paper suggests that for situations where the subject, the researcher and the researched are inextricably linked, there is the potential for both ‘good’ and ‘harm’ to the research. This paper provides a case study of the ontological and epistemological issues that can emerge in the research process, and how reflexivity facilitates the production of knowledge without it necessarily gaining or losing because of shared ethnicity.