Flash POV: Emotional Reflexivity and Identity in Qualitative Research
Understanding the Personal in the Professional.
“Understand at last that you have something in you more powerful and divine than what causes the bodily passions and pulls you like a mere puppet. What thoughts now occupy my mind? Is it not fear, suspicion, desire, or something like that?” - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 12.19
ATTN qualitative Inquisitor,
Happy New Year!
Welcome back to the newsletter about all things qualitative!
This is the first edition of the New Year! And my first Flash POV (Point of View) of the Qualitative Inquisition!
Flash POVs will be weekly reflections connected to the new theme introduced at the beginning of the month. These are meant to be shorter reflections, but since this is my first of the New Year, and considering current events at a pivotal moment in American and world history, it might be a slightly longer reflection.
On New Year’s eve, I began the discussion on Identity in the qualitative research process. There is so much to unpack here so I envision much of what I discuss around this theme to reflect in others.
But it is the perfect theme to discuss at the moment.
We tend to take the start of the new year as an opportunity to reflect on the different aspects of our identity.
These days, with all that is happening in the world, it is difficult to approach anything without emotion. In just a few days, we will have a transfer of power in America, welcoming all sorts of emotions, while the country burns (literally and figuratively).
Having just returned from the People’s March at our nation’s capital, where I carried my expo marker to represent Academics that stood up against genocide the past year, symbolic to Palestinian poet, writer, and academic, Dr. Refaat Al Areer, I have been experiencing all sorts of emotions from fear, anger, sadness, to joy, empowerment, and a renewed sense of hope. It is a lot to carry, especially with current challenges and developments in the peace process.
As political and social scientists, what do we make of these emotions?
When we think of research, we essentially imagine:
Data
Methods
Analysis
Elements that seem detached from the personal.
Yet, in qualitative research, our journeys within the personal and professional are deeply interconnected.
And our emotions often play a central role in the research process.
I’d like to briefly reflect on how emotions can influence qualitative research in a productive way, not as distractions or research biases, but as powerful tools to enhance our understanding of the research and social phenomena we are exploring.
As Dr. Brene Brown states:
“Vulnerability is not weakness. It’s our greatest measure of courage.”
Reflexivity: Recognizing Our Emotional Lens
We must recognize that researchers are not neutral observers.
We bring a lot of baggage into the mix: our identities, experiences, and yes….emotions.
I am rediscovering the presence of emotions in my work through various different elements of qualitative social science research methods. In an earlier issue, I talked about arts-based research methods (ABR), and recommended Patricia Leavy’s beautiful introduction to ABR.
ABR methods have been growing in qualitative research, as one tool that allows us to nurture emotions and tell a different kind of story from our research topics.
And I am now obsessed! I hope to share more on ABR in future newsletters.
As an artist and an academic, it doesn’t make me feel too guilty when I marry my research and my artistry together to address important issues, especially as it connects to humanitarian action, development, and social justice.
I look forward to sharing a paper I have been working on related to this, soon.
Reflexivity invites us to examine how our emotional responses influence the research process.
For instance, a sense of empathy might lead us to dig deeper into a participant’s story, while discomfort might cause us to shy away from certain topics. Acknowledging these reactions helps us remain transparent and ethical in our work.
Emotions as Data: They Matter Too
Qualitative research is about understanding human experiences, and emotions are a critical part of those experiences.
Studying emotions are more than understanding the sentiments of research informants as they share painful, challenging, or joyful memories of experiences that ignite sadness, anger, or joy, among various other complex emotions.
Emotions are often the unspoken language of meaning. As researchers, we record and interpret these emotions and try to read between the lines.
For instance, what does a pause in a conversation signify? How does a shift in tone reveal deeper truths?
This relates to a quantitative method called “sentiment analysis.” While largely quantitative, in terms of analyzing large bodies of text (which could include tweets, blogs, messages, etc), it can be applied in qualitative coding and analysis as well. Johny Saldana discusses Emotion Coding, which relates to sentiment analysis, in his Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. We can talk more about this when I get to qualitative coding in future editions!
Emotions provide context, nuance, and layers to the data we collect.
The interdisciplinary nature of emotions, connects us to the vast fields and disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, and psychology that can help with the interpretations.
For example, Paul Ekman’s work on emotions and facial expressions (i.e. Emotions Revealed) can be helpful in this regard.
Balancing Objectivity and Emotional Engagement
The traditional or positivist (empirical) view of research emphasizes objectivity.
But can we say it is possible—or even desirable—to remain emotionally detached when studying deeply human topics?
If you’re researching trauma or social inequalities, your emotional engagement can be an asset. You can share some compassion and empathy with your informants, which may be crucial for establishing trust in that particular relationship.
It allows you to connect with participants, build trust, and gain insights that a purely detached approach might miss. The key lies in balancing this engagement with critical reflection, ensuring that emotions enhance, rather than overshadow, the rigor of the work.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations
When emotions are involved, we will be confronted with some challenges.
How do you handle the emotional toll of hearing traumatic stories?
How do you ensure that your emotional responses don’t impose your perspective onto participants?
How do we choose reflection over reaction in tough circumstances? (ie. politics and elections)
Self-awareness and self-care become crucial here. Understand your limitations and know when you need to address the challenges.
It is important to forgive yourself and cut yourself some slack because this isn’t easy. It is especially tough not to react when personal traumas, or your own identity factors connect to your research queries.
As I shared in my previous edition, journaling is a great way to process that emotion. Debriefing with peers, colleagues, and supervisors, can help researchers process their emotional experiences.
Additionally it is very important to center the participant’s voice, ensuring that your emotions don’t overpower their narrative.
Reflections on My Research
Beyond the personal, I learned from my professional life as well, how understanding emotions and the “language of emotions,” as Dr. Brene Brown puts it, is crucial to various aspects of our work and research.
Fieldwork is a visceral experience that taps into all the different senses.
I saw potential in emotion coding when exploring the aid dilemma for Afghanistan and Pakistan, as one method of analyzing a public policy, foreign policy, and political issue. There was anger, sadness, resentment, all of the above, about the complex story of aid, especially from the purview of relational dynamics and the intersection of power and identity.
I argue, based on my own experience and findings, as well as the exploration of social justice issues, that we cannot explore this critical development and human security concerns without understanding the sentiments coming from the most marginalized and vulnerable populations.
I recognized the emotional attachment I had with certain field sites, field interviews, research informants, and data, as well as projects that served as case studies.
I tried to separate any potential research biases, but I eventually realized it was okay. It was emotion, connected to elements of my identity, that brought me to study this topic and this region of the world in the first place. More on this in the future…
Tips for Emotional Reflexivity
1. Keep a Journal: Document your emotional reactions during data collection and analysis. This can reveal patterns in how your emotions influence your findings and insights.
2. Establish a Support Network with Colleagues: Share your emotional experiences among your teams, peers, or with mentors to gain perspective.
3. Ask Yourself Reflective Questions During Research Process:
What emotions am I experiencing, and why?
How might these emotions be shaping my interpretations?
Am I honoring the participant’s story, or projecting my feelings onto it?
These questions will help formulate less reactive, and more reflective insights and conclusions to your research findings.
Closing Reflections
One thing I have learned from the past three U.S. Presidential Elections in the United States is that emotions will always be an inevitable part of the political process. I also see that not everyone welcomes the emotions and grievances from opposing viewpoints.
I find this unfortunate. Compassion, empathy, understanding, and tolerance are skills that must be nurtured.
It is important to train ourselves, regardless of our passion to be less reactive and more reflective. It requires deliberate practice.
I don’t however endorse a full restraint on our reactions. Some reactions and emotions are necessary and understandable, however, especially if you are advocating for policies that involve stopping mass atrocities and heinous human rights abuses, like genocide.
But it must be balanced with thoughtful reflexivity.
We are responsible for all our triggers, emotions, and feelings.
We may not be responsible for what happens to us, as Ritu Bhasin argues in We’ve Got This, but we can control our emotions and reactions, and protect our energy for the most important things that matter to us.
This is not an easy takeaway for anyone, especially those who have experienced injustices in life. This is about building the skill of communicating, resolving, and moving forward when you see no resolution. It is about protecting your energy and harnessing it elsewhere, for something more productive and beneficial for you and the people you wish to serve.
Final Reflections on Emotions in Research
Emotions are often seen as antithetical to research, but in qualitative work, I believe they are integral. Behind every piece of data, there is a story, and within each story, we experience emotions.
Embracing those emotions doesn’t weaken our work; it strengthens it, adding depth and humanity to our findings.
As you progress in your research or reflective practice, I encourage you to think about how emotions have contributed to your journey. And if they can potentially be seen as data points, or just something to reflect on in the process.
What would it look like to embrace your emotions fully in your research or work?
I hope we can continue to take this new year as an opportunity with a positive mindset, positive energy, and positive emotions, because as Jim Kwik says, a positive brain makes the impact!
Join The Qualitative Inquisition!
There is always so much more say about all these big topics! And as perfectionists, we never feel we have done justice to them. But we aim to contribute to the conversation or start one.
So I look forward to continuing the discussion and conversations. Please let me know if you have any thoughts thus far!
Thank you for joining me in my brief exploration of Emotional Reflexivity, as part of the “Identity” theme for January.
I hope to continue exploring how our emotions influence the research process, and/or how the research influences our emotions, in future editions.
The next few editions will continue the identity theme at the start of the new year, as Flash POVs (quick takes/reflections), and will explore the topics of authenticity and belonging in qualitative research, academia, and the workplace.
Please stay tuned!
Happy New Year and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
In Solidarity and Curiosity,
Your fellow qualitative Inquisitor,
Dr. Elsa
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New Year Book Recommendation
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and The Language of Human Experience, by Dr. Brene Brown
I return to this insightful book now as I have for the past two years in the new year, recognizing its timeless value. In this book, Dr. Brown shares 87 diverse emotions defining humanity, and the “language of emotions” to allow us to make sense of it all, process, heal, and reconcile.
It is a powerful mapping of our emotions to help rebuild connections and community amid all our differences after a trying year. It may also be relevant for what challenges we may continue to encounter going forward in our relationships at a local and global level.
This is a must-read for people from all walks of life. Sometimes, it is difficult to read certain parts because it requires you to confront your challenges and shortcomings. That part is necessary. She talks about how we can “find a universe of new choices and second chances.” Let’s take a chance on ourselves and others, to build and rebuild connections in this new year and pivotal moment in world history.
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TRIVIA
What 2015 Disney-Pixar film takes viewers inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl, where emotions like Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust navigate her internal world?
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Answers from the Previous Edition’s Trivia Question:
Question: Which 1999 sci-fi film features a hacker who discovers his entire world is a simulation, which prompts him to question the nature of his reality and identity?
Answer: The Matrix
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Quote of the Week
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
Thanks for your post. We are on the same wavelength! I am also a qualitative methodologies with an interest in creative and arts-based methods, and in ways to use technology to connect and collaborate.
https://janetsalmons.substack.com/p/creative-methods-in-online-qualitative?r=410aa5