Insider Research Research Articles

Reflections on being an insider researcher: a study exploring the experiences of men accessing rural mental health services.

An embedded single case-study design was used to explore the experiences of men in rural New Zealand accessing mental health services. It is essential for researchers to acknowledge positionality in case study research and the lead author used reflexive practice to acknowledge his values and beliefs. To explore and demonstrate the reflexive process of the lead author's position as an inside researcher. Three groups were involved in the research: men with mental health challenges, their partners, and mental health clinicians. The article presents the initial research through memos and diarying in the context of current literature. Reflexivity is essential for ensuring the research process is complete and biases are identified. Positionality exists on a continuum and it is critical for researchers to be honest with themselves, the topic and the group being investigated, to show respect for the participants and the people they represent, as well as to be committed to revealing the truth. Insider research has the potential to bridge the gap between academia and practice. It facilitates the transfer of research knowledge directly to practitioners, leading to more evidence-informed decision-making and practice.

Ethical Issues in Researching Higher Education Teaching and Learning

Higher education here is taken to be education beyond school level: often at an institution (a university) that has degree-awarding powers, though some programmes may lead to a diploma, certificate or other award or qualification. Nomenclature around “research” in the associated teaching and learning is contested: professional enquiry, scholarship of teaching and learning, pedagogical research… are some of the terms used. Authors discuss and distinguish such terms. An ethical issue is a circumstance in which a moral conflict arises or is implicit and should be resolved in a morally acceptable way. These include privacy, informed consent, insider research and power relationships within higher education research; there are also fluid challenges around the use of digital contributions. Authors present a narrative exegesis of work in the associated areas, which authors argue will be of use to universities promoting such research, and of particular interest to two groups of academics wishing to systematically develop their practice in ways that contribute to the field: those on teaching-only contracts, who would also demonstrate their research credentials; and researchers from non-education-cognate fields. Authors identify directions for further work.

Insider Research in Migration and Music Sociology: Contextualizing Indigenous and (G)local Method(ologie)s in Studying Migrant Musicians

Insider Research in Migration and Music Sociology: Contextualizing Indigenous and (G)local Method(ologie)s in Studying Migrant Musicians

Exploring the Role of a Māori Kin Insider Researcher’s Positionality

This paper aims to shed light on my positionality in my doctoral research by exploring some of the advantages and challenges faced as a Māori kin insider researcher conducting research in my own kin community of Te Araroa. It highlights my chosen positionality and the role that whakapapa research methodology and kinship can play in a Māori kin community study. This is my journey as a Māori kin insider researcher, and I acknowledge that my experiences may differ from those of other Māori kin insider researchers. The complexities surrounding my positionality are explained by drawing on critical themes such as kin included researcher, kin accountability, social boundary theory and reflexivity. For other Māori kin insider researchers and indigenous researchers working within their own kin community, I hope this paper will offer helpful information to understand some of these complexities.

Tradition and Modernity: The Interface of Clan Structures and Electoral Politics in Naga Society

This paper delves into the intricate relationship between clan structures and electoral politics within Naga society, focusing on the interface between tradition and modernity. Challenging the perception of traditional institutions as static entities, the study highlights how clan structures are not timeless but rather modern constructs, subject to reinvention and adaptation. Drawing on the works of Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983), the research explores how clan members navigate power dynamics and political influences, particularly in the context of emerging political elites. By employing a social construction approach, the author investigates how traditional clan systems influence modern electoral contestation and vice versa. Through fieldwork conducted in Phaibung Khullen village, the author, an insider researcher, examines the interplay between traditional practices and contemporary electoral processes. The findings underscore the mutual reconfiguration of clan structures and electoral politics, emphasizing the enduring influence of tradition on modern political mobilization. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how traditional institutions shape and are shaped by the evolving landscape of electoral contestation in Naga society, highlighting the complex interface between tradition and modernity in clan-based communities.

Theology, Gender, and Me: Insider Auto-Ethnographic Research Method and Its Impact in Trans-Related Theological Research

This article considers the paradigms and methods of autoethnographic and interview-based insider research with trans and non-binary Christians. I argue that these methods have enabled proclamation, attention, dialogue, justice and revelation. This is intended as a companion to my 2014 monograph ‘transformations’.

Relationship between Insider Research and Time from Submission to Acceptance in Turkish Dentistry Journals

Relationship between Insider Research and Time from Submission to Acceptance in Turkish Dentistry Journals

Feminist insider research

In this presentation, made at the launch of the Narrative Practice Research Network, Marnie Sather introduces some of the possibilities and complexities of feminist insider research. Drawing on her experience of completing doctoral research with women who had lost a male partner to suicide, Marnie sets out some of the options for positioning the researcher in insider research – from not disclosing insider status to placing it as the centre – and describes how she came to a position of careful utilisation of her own experience in the research process and in the writing of her thesis.

Women Anesthesiologists in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Pre-COVID Era: A Multinational Demographic Study.

Gender imbalance and poor representation of women complicate the anesthesiology workforce crisis in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study was performed to obtain a better understanding of gender disparity among medical graduates and anesthesiologists in SSA. Using a quantitative, participatory, insider research study, led by female anesthesiologists as the national coordinators in SSA, we collected data from academic or national health authorities and agencies. National coordinators were nominees of anesthesiology societies that responded to our email invitations. Data gathered from 13 countries included information on medical graduates, anesthesiologists graduating between 1998 and 2021, and number of anesthesiologists licensed to practice in 2018. We compared data between Francophone and Anglophone countries, and between countries in East Africa and West Africa/Central Africa. We calculated anesthesiology workforce densities and compared representation of women among graduating anesthesiologists and medical graduates.Data analysis was performed using linear regression. We used F-tests on regression slopes to assess the trends in representation of women over the years and the differences between the slopes. A value of P < .050 was considered statistically significant. Over a 20-year period, the representation of female medical graduates in SSA increased from 29% (1998) to 41% (2017), whereas representation of female anesthesiologists was inconsistent, with an average of 25%, and lagged behind. Growth and gender disparity patterns were different between West Africa/Central Africa and East Africa. Representation of female anesthesiologists was higher in East Africa (39.4%) than West Africa/Central Africa (19.7%); and the representation of female medical graduates in East Africa (42.5%) was also higher that West Africa/Central Africa (33.1%). On average, in SSA, female medical graduates (36.9%), female anesthesiologists (24.9%), and female anesthesiology residents projected to graduate between 2018 and 2022 (25.2%) were underrepresented when compared to their male counterparts. Women were underrepresented in SSA, despite evidence that their representation in medicine and anesthesiology in East African countries was rising.

Changing Gears and Buying Time: A Study Exploring AMHP Practice Following Referral for a Mental Health Act Assessment in England and Wales

Abstract The role of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) under the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983 in England and Wales is to respond to referrals for psychiatric detention and make an application for detention where they consider this necessary. This article reports the findings of my doctoral study into AMHP decision-making at the point of referral for an MHA assessment. The strengths-based methodology of Appreciative Inquiry was adopted, positioned in a social constructionist paradigm. Nine AMHPs working for one Local Authority participated in the study, including myself as an insider researcher. During four one-day workshops over five months participants defined their best practice, analysing emerging data together within the workshops using nominal group technique. Service developments included the creation of a triage role and a bespoke report to prioritise this decision within the service, opening avenues to change gears and buy time for a more thorough assessment at this point, and promoting greater collaboration with those referred. A multi-agency approach to searching for less restrictive options was advocated within an assessment pathway. The results of this study offer a research insight into this important area of practice, offering an evidence base to inform practice and policy developments.

Does sticking close to home make for better research? In‐state authorship and citation rates in public administration journals

AbstractObjectiveAlthough other social science disciplines have considered researcher positionality, whether a researcher belongs to the communities they study (insider) or does not (outsider), public administration scholars have yet to examine this aspect of scholarly production nor its impacts on perceptions of research quality.MethodsWe use a data set of 554 articles from eight top public administration journals that focus on a single or a few states in the United States as the research setting. Using in‐state authorship as a proxy for insider research, we test whether insider status significantly affects citation rates for these articles.ResultsFindings indicate that citation rates are higher for in‐state authors, but the journal impact factor serves as a critical moderating factor. Articles written by in‐state authors in Public Administration Review or Journal of Public Administration Research &amp; Theory (the field's top two journals) are cited around 30 percent more than out‐of‐state authors, and we estimate that the articles across journals likely to be cited most are written by in‐state authors.ConclusionAlthough there is room for strong insider and outsider research in social sciences, generally, and public administration, specifically, scholars should remain mindful of positionality from both the production and consumption sides of the research process.

Towards unraveling insider/outsider binary: A migrant researcher received as a welcome guest insider among South African research participants

Dominant theoretical debates on researcher positionalities are framed in terms of mutually exclusive insider/outsider binary where insider researchers are assumed to share social identities such as nationality or ethnicity with research participants, while outsider researchers are viewed as those who do not share such social identities with participants. Drawing on my fieldwork as a migrant researcher with Coloured South Africans, this paper contributes to debates on insider/outsider positionalities in migration research and qualitative studies more generally. Despite my foreign origin and not sharing nationality, language, ethnicity, culture, racial identity and lived experiences with participants, I was received and embraced by Coloured South Africans as a welcome guest insider. By proposing an analytical concept which I term welcome guest insider, I argue that contrary to dichotomous conceptualizations of insider/outsider positionalities, my positionality was situationally and contextually constructed. This paper proposes that the insider/outsider binary is simplistic and too rigid to capture contextual constructions of insider/outsider positionalities emerging within the fieldwork context. Researchers in the field of qualitative studies and particularly migration studies can adopt and apply the analytical concept of welcome guest insider to conceptually frame perceived researcher positionalities who are warmly received and embraced by their research participants even though they do not share social identities such as nationality, race, ethnicity or lived experiences.

Znaczenie pozycji wewnętrznej badacza w badaniach narracji osób należących do grupy mniejszościowej

Insider research, i.e. research that the researcher conducts on a population, community, or identity group of which he or she is himself or herself a member, has been gaining popularity in psychological research in recent years. A subject of lively debate in the literature is the importance of the researcher’s characteristics shared with the research participant: life experiences, specific aspects of identity, traits, skills, or attitudes. This article summarises current knowledge on insider research and draws attention to the importance of analysing the psychologist researcher’s insider and outsider status. The article begins with an outline of the history of consideration of the importance of the researcher’s status in the social sciences and four main strategies for researchers to approach their insider status: minimizing and maximizing its importance, incorporating their experiences into the research material, and using them at different stages of the research process. Then, using the example of the author’s research project, it is shown how the last strategy can be applied during narrative research in planning the study, recruiting participants, conducting interviews, and analysing the data. The final part of the text is a consideration of the ethical dilemmas surrounding the conduct of insider research.

A Comprehensive Approach to the Governance of Universal Access to Sustainable Energy

Achieving universal access to energy by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goal 7.1) hinges on significantly scaling up and accelerating electrification efforts in developing countries. Governing the ecosystem of government agencies, energy utilities, practitioners, development and finance institutions, banks, NGOs, academia, and, most importantly, beneficiary communities to accelerate the pace of electrification requires the interweaving of technological innovation, disruptive business models, improved institutional frameworks, and inclusive multi-stakeholder decision-making, to ensure that no one is left behind. The foundation of this article is based on extensive insider research, including 14 national electrification plans, numerous visits, field studies, and semi-structured interviews with these actors conducted over ten years in 25 countries. This article presents a novel comprehensive conceptual approach that integrates both macro (national and global) and micro (local and individual) level mechanisms and the role of cultural factors and shared values within the ecosystem in driving and accelerating action within a harmonized regulatory, policy, and planning framework. It outlines the essential mechanisms for effectively engaging and empowering governments, utilities, donors, and local actors to accelerate the path to universal electrification through the most cost-effective articulation of diverse technologies and business models.

Editorial

Editorial

Reflections from an insider researcher ‘doing’ feminist participatory action research to co-produce a research agenda with British Pakistani women; a seldom heard group

Participation of community stakeholders in health research priority setting is an emerging trend. Despite this, the involvement of marginalised groups in research prioritisation is limited and where they are involved, sample sizes are small, where individuals are merely consulted with, rather than coproducing the research agenda. Without addressing power dynamics inherent in research prioritisation with marginalised groups, their engagement in the research process can be tokenistic and the resulting research agenda unreflective of their needs. This article, therefore, aims to generate knowledge on how feminist participatory action research was used to co-produce an obesity research agenda with British Pakistani women, a seldom heard population, living in deprived areas. The methodology enabled Pakistani women to be involved in all stages of the project, culminating in the co-production of an obesity research agenda that accurately reflects their unmet needs. Women’s engagement in the project led to their increased confidence, the formation of relationships that lasted beyond the research project, improvements to their lifestyles, and engagement in further research. Feminist participatory action research may be used by researchers as a guiding methodology due to its ability to improve women’s lives and develop research agendas for women’s health.

A Comparative Account of Institutional Approaches to Addressing Campus-Based Sexual Violence in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sexual violence is prevalent on university campuses globally. In this article, we report a qualitative insider research study examining practices for addressing sexual violence at four universities across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. We collected, analysed, and synthesised descriptive information about the practices at each institution. We found unique institutional approaches that nonetheless share some commonalities, yieldingseveral themes that are central to practice. In reflecting on our findings, we conclude with an outline of critical considerations and a call to action for future efforts to address campus-based sexual violence, particularly as this field remains underdeveloped across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

New academics’ experiences of induction to teaching: using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to understand and improve induction experiences

ABSTRACT This paper uses insider research within a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework to examine the lived induction-to-teaching experiences of twelve new academics at a case-study Northern UK university. A CHAT lens foregrounds contradictions as a source for change in the induction-to-teaching process. Data generated through semi-structured interviews with these academics were analysed and, informed by CHAT, allowed us to discern contradictions in sociocultural and structural aspects of the induction activity systems which significantly impact new academics’ experiences. Examining these contradictions enabled us to identify interventions for enhancing academic induction policy and practice within the case-study University, but also more widely.

The Impact of Insider Researcher Trainees in Recruiting and Retaining Latinx in an Outdoor Health Promotion Research Study

Latinx represent the second largest ethnic group in the USA and remain significantly underrepresented in research studies. Efforts to better include Latinx make use of community-engaged research (CEnR) approaches, peer-navigators, and cultural humility training for research teams. While these efforts have led to slight increases in Latinx participation, studies to identify strategic practices for better inclusion of Latinx participants are needed. The objective of this study was to qualitatively examine factors leading to successful recruitment and retention of Latinx participants in the Promoting Activity and Stress Reduction in the Outdoors (PASITO) intervention. For this intervention, 99 low-income Latinx clients in a local community were contacted and 52 participants were recruited (53%). All were retained in the 3-month intervention. Of these, 12 were interviewed within 6 months of the close of PASITO by bi-cultural and bi-lingual non-research staff. They conducted one-on-one structured telephone interviews. Of the twelve participants, three (25%) were men, nine (75%) were women, and the mean age was 43.7 (SD = 8.7). Four critical themes for the recruitment and retention of Latinx populations emerged from the interviews: (1) importance of insider researchers; (2) sense of community and belonging; (3) responsive programming; and (4) health-promoting activities. These findings support the significant role insider researchers can play, and social identity theory provides a useful framework for understanding the role of insider researchers in recruiting and retaining Latinx, and likely other minoritized groups, in clinical studies. Insider researchers possess the skills, training, community cultural wealth, in-depth understanding of their communities, and structural competencies that position them to carry out more inclusive studies to address the needs of marginalized communities and advance science.

Mirror, Mirror Outside My Wall: Reflexive Impacts of Insider/Outsider Collaborative Inquiry on the Insider Researcher

Based to a considerable extent on Margaret Archer’s approach to reflexive agency, we discuss a multi-year insider/outsider research collaboration that has taken place in a University-based Centre designed to bring academics and management practitioners together to conduct applied research and learn from each other. We focus in particular on the experiences of the insider researcher, showing how, based on her reflexive practice, the collaboration has led to both scholarly contributions and changes in practice in the Centre and her University. In doing so, we flesh out the importance of reflexivity and its important impacts on academic-practitioner collaborations. In long-term insider/outsider collaborations that provide psychologically safe places, outsider researchers can metaphorically hold a mirror up to insider researchers that foster their reflexivity and its subsequent impacts.