Witches, Activists, and Bureaucrats: Navigating Gatekeeping in Qualitative Research

Abstract

This article contributes to methodological discussions on gatekeeping issues encountered during fieldwork on stigmatized practices. Here, negotiating gatekeeping becomes particularly relevant, as access to a research population is often mediated via institutions. The situation is further complicated given the location of research, where the researcher has to navigate unfamiliar social and cultural norms of conduct. The paper examines gatekeeping during data collection and investigates resulting complications, focusing on the ways researchers negotiate class, gender, and ethics-related power dynamics in the field. Using examples of interactions with three groups of gatekeepers in a multiyear ethnographic study, the author finds that the constituencies that have the least amount of formal bureaucratic power are the ones that perform the most problematic kind of gatekeeping. Finally, strategies are offered that can help researchers maintain control over data, develop allies, manage potentially problematic interactions with powerful gatekeepers, and ultimately achieve success in fieldwork in contentious terrains.