Insider research

This paper discusses ‘insider’ identity based on experiences as both social researcher and housing practitioner, drawing on Norbert Elias’s ‘involvement and detachment’ theory. Examples from doctoral research are used to illustrate where ‘involvement’
influenced social research processes. ‘Involvement’ was highlighted by reactions during research processes and this
account describes transitions towards a more ‘detached’ perspective. This is not to discredit emotional reactions in research stages, or to suggest that we should seek to just manage those feelings. Instead, embracing and confronting reactions helped generate substantive findings and a ‘critical eye’ beneficial for developing more sophisticated explanatory insights. Understanding ‘involvement’ is an ongoing process that the researcher constantly refines and adapts through an experiential approach to social researching. Those complex and challenging processes touch on important issues about what constitutes knowledge, what it means to ‘do’ social research and how it is possible to ‘be’ self critical.

As qualitative researchers, what stories we are told, how they are relayed to us, and the narratives that we form and share with others are inevitably influenced by our position and experiences as a researcher in relation to our participants. This is particularly true for insider research, which is concerned with the study of one's own social group or society. This paper explores some of the possible methodological insights and challenges that may arise from insider research, and suggests several techniques and tools that may be utilized to aid in, rather than hinder, the process of the telling and sharing of participants' stories. Such strategies may also be used to minimize ethical implications, avoid potential bias and increase the trustworthiness of the data gathered. This analysis draws on the author's own experiences as an insider researcher and principal investigator on a research project that employed qualitative methodologies.

As a PhD researcher newly embarked upon the task of conducting 'insider' research I was keen to review Costley, Elliott and Gibbs's new book on work based research. I was not disappointed. It is clear from the outset that they are committed to assisting mature learners, in what can be, the daunting task of translating valuable tacit knowledge into valid academic knowledge claims. Demonstrating an empowering and egalitarian approach to education, the authors employ a broad-based definition of 'work' as learning of social significance which reflects the interests of a wide range of people. Acknowledging the humble origins of the development of work based learning within polytechnic settings, in which students were predominantly practice-based learners, it is also clear that the kind of learning processes they discuss often involve those with professional expertise to share. Workplace though, becomes any research site where learning is taking place, although the specific rigour which academic rewards require is carefully woven throughout.

Positionality has, to-date, been conceptualised by social scientists as a central component in the process of qualitative (and to an extent quantitative) data collection. This paper intends to build upon this conceptualisation by reflecting upon the influence that class and generation can have on qualitative migration research. Specifically, the authors argue that being insiders in the social interview is much more complex and multi-faceted than usually recognised. They also claim that, to a large extent, interviewing within one's own "cultural" community-as an insider-affords the researcher a degree of social proximity that, paradoxically, increases awareness amongst both researcher and participant of the social divisions that exist between them. The authors will use the case of an Italian researcher interviewing Italian migrants in Nottingham (UK) and a British researcher interviewing British migrants in Paris (France) to illustrate this. In doing so they will first highlight the way in which researchers may "move-up" socioeconomically when interviewing, but will also stress that whilst such movement is possible-through strategies of constructing rapport-a certain power imbalance is inevitable.

Researching punk from an insider perspective throws up important challenges, and in the context of Indonesia these issues are further complicated and intensified. This article draws on the author’s experience of, and reflections on, the process of researching ‘punk Indonesia’, augmented with reflective contributions from nine other social theorists, ethnographers and anthropologists, to suggest a research methodology that is dialogical and non-exploitative while remaining rigorous, analytical and critical. The academy’s relationship to punk has often been identified as intrusive and exploitative – and with good reason – but it is argued here that academic research into punk can be included within punk’s own tradition of self-critique, especially when that research emerges from insider perspectives. The lessons learned from insider perspectives may also be mapped effectively onto outsider approaches. A non-exploitative methodology is concerned with both research processes and research outputs, and these two aspects are closely entwined. Anarchist epistemological concerns are taken on board, along with engagements with Orientalism and Grounded Theory Method, to develop an approach that gives voice to the punks, involving them in a dialogical research process and creating research outputs that are useful to the scenes, cultures and movements that are being  researched, while maintaining a high level of academic rigour, analysis and critique.

Researching issues ‘close to home’ is an increasingly prominent aspect of contemporary fieldwork and the complexity of (post)modern identities complicate traditional binaries of insider / outsider. The landscape of research with and about British Muslims has seen reconfigurations in recent years with an increasing number of British Muslims conducting qualitative fieldwork with communities of which they are also members.

Reflexivity has been proposed as one way in which to manage the challenging experience of conducting research on a topic or in an environment where one has a personal stake. Even ostensible ‘outsiders’ are expected to map the impact of their identity and biography upon the field. This conference proposes to gather researchers involved in such enquiry to explore these issues from a range of cross-disciplinary perspectives.

We are pleased to confirm that the conference will host Professor Ron Geaves who will deliver the keynote lecture entitled ‘The 'death' pangs of the insider/outsider dichotomy in the study of religion.’

There will also be a range of papers presented exploring reflexivity and methodology in the study of British Muslims; please see the attached programme for a list of abstracts.  If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to contact the organisers Riyaz Timol and Abdul-Azim Ahmed at [email protected].

Favoured by ethnographers with some degree of closeness to the culture they wish to examine, the cultural participant as insider researcher has become relatively commonplace across the humanities. A large body of methodological literature now exists on this, highlighting the advantages and some of the dilemmas of conducting insider research. This literature is not exhaustive, as there remain elements of insider research still underdeveloped, such as how one goes about negotiating previously established friendships and intimate relationships in this context. Indeed, what are the benefits and dilemmas engendered by such negotiations? Drawing on existing scholarly accounts of field-based friendship and the author’s experiences of researching queer culture as an insider, this article addresses these questions in relation to the author’s field of inquiry and to social research paradigms more broadly. Subsequently, it argues that while being intimately inside one’s field does offer significant advantages, it also reshapes the researcher’s role in and experiences of her own culture and those within it.

Whilst ethnography has been increasingly adopted by translation researchers in examining various sociological aspects of translation (e.g. Marinetti and Rose 2013; Olohan and Davitti 2015; Anonymous 2020), the ethical dilemmas that an ethnographer encounters are often overlooked in translation studies literature. Drawing on the fieldnote data, this presentation sets out to engage in a self-reflexive analysis of the following issues: What ethical dilemmas did I grapple with during the fieldwork? How did the doubts and anxieties change my behaviour in the field and my perceptions of research participants? How can an ethnographer cope with these challenges?
I first briefly introduce the study of online collaborative translations in China for which I undertook fieldwork in order to collect first-hand data. Then I move on to discuss an ethnographic methodology underpinned by hermeneutics and its core method of participant observation. My fieldwork can be broadly divided into three stages, i.e. descriptive observation and non-participation; focused observation and moderate participation; and selective observation and active participation (Anonymous 2019). The ethical challenges that I encountered at each stage were influenced by different factors as my familiarity with the research participants and the depth of the involvement in the field evolved. In the initial stage, I struggled between undertaking covert or overt research (Lugosi 2008: 133), asking myself if I should be a “candid ethnographer” (Fine 1993: 282). In the second stage when I started to interact with the community members, I became a ‘self-censored ethnographer’, mostly yielding to others, including the moments when I felt uncomfortable with the gender-biased remarks made by one of the participants. In the third stage, which was also the stage when I felt ‘native’ in the community, I questioned myself if I was a “fair ethnographer” (ibid.: 285) and whether I kept a balance between the multiple roles that I played simultaneously.
The self-reflections and analyses in hindsight reveal that the ethical dilemmas that one may encounter in the field can be heterogeneous, highly contextual and personal, subjecting to particular interactive instances. As an ethnographer, one may continue to struggle with unpredictable ethical challenges with which may be best dealt with constant, critical and conscious self-reflexivity.

Workforce diversity management is fast becoming a significant component of in Multinational Corporations because it has outstanding benefits on inclusive workplace climate leading to improved work outcomes. The paper provides a conceptual background of the significance and implications of diversity management and inclusion, followed by a proposed insider research design. An employee perception focused approach is discussed that is believed to best capture the efficiency of diversity management and inclusion. Recommendations complement the conceptual framework and critical analyses.

The neoliberalisation of higher education in post-communist central and
eastern Europe, the new EU member states, is not seen as being distinct.
Implementation of the Bologna Process and Lisbon Strategy means it has become part of the competitive global sphere of higher education. The transformation of post-communist higher education has attracted little attention, but it is in fact an example of an unprecedented radical 25 yearlong transformation: from centralised non-research-orientated communist policy to the radical autonomous Humboldtian environment that emerged after the fall of communism to a strong European neoliberalisation. This article highlights not only the gradual and unique nature of these processes but also shows how they have merged to form the current neoliberalist hybrid. Focusing primarily on former Czecho-Slovakia and the subsequent Slovak and Czech Republics, it details the education policy strategies and initiatives that have contributed to this process. By examining the new educational policy framework at a Slovak university, it shows how Humboldtian culture encountered neoliberal culture: a distinct feature of post-communist neoliberalisation. It is suggested that the Slovak and Czech implementation of neoliberalism has not proved immune to forms of governance similar to those found under communism; rather the two have fused together.

This case study reflects on the lessons learned during a 15 month ‘insider research’ project on the management of international branch campuses.  The research project was a qualitative investigation into the ‘lived experience’ of senior managers running international branch campuses of UK universities.  The UK universities presently operating international branch campuses are all public universities with a history of being state-funded and politically regulated.  The international branch campuses are, in contrast, private for-profit subsidiaries of the UK university, often jointly owned by local partners, which function within an alien cultural, legislative and political environment – the United Arab Emirates, China and Malaysia are the most important host countries for IBCs.  While the challenges of managing such campuses are clearly manifold, insider research offers a unique insight into the way these challenges are seen through the eyes of the senior managers involved.  This case study explores the strengths and weaknesses of insider research as a qualitative methodology and highlights some of the practical lessons learned during the course of the project.

The research topic of this thesis is the management of subcultural identity of individuals who are students in university or employed full-time. Previous research on subcultures has shown that membership in subcultural groups has reduced or ended with the end of the school years of an individual. Many heavy metal fans seem to be an exception as they take their subcultural identity through university or early employment and seem to not disconnect from it during adulthood. The aim of this research is to scrutinize how a heavy metal subcultural identity is preserved within a framework of binary norms created by the social reality external to the subculture. Therefore, conclusions are made in relation to the nature of the subculture and adherence to its norms and values alongside the norms of a university or professional environment. The observations are focused on students and employees in their twenties, an age interval of transition locked between teenage dreams and adult realities. To do so, this paper engages with literature revolving around subcultural theory, class theory, identity work and structural influence. It starts with fundamental subcultural theories to introduce the framework of subcultural research to the reader. Then it gives a brief description of the heavy metal subculture and its perception by theorists throughout the years. This perceptions show both old views on the subculture, as well as more recent ones functioning as an update or critique of the fundamental literature. Traditional sociological elements of Marxism, cultural capital, class, and conformity are introduced within the text along with recent theories concerning subcultural capital, “social” and “personal” identity, and the significant contemporary conception of “class” as a fluid concept. The goal of the research is to demonstrate the maintenance or transformation of subcultural identities when introduced to new social environments with stronger and, possibly opposing, norms. This is done through the analysis of heavy metal fans’ perceived subcultural identity, levels of activity within the metal community, and elements or factors external to that subcultural identity. Research itself is from an insider standpoint and has been conducted in the Scottish city of Aberdeen with a small sample of 10 participants. The results are complimented by a questionnaire sample of 76 participants wherever it is relevant or needed. The discussion of results combines data from the literature and from the results in order to manage conclusions properly. Any re-occurring themes or peculiarities are analysed and discussed in a narrow relation to the subculture-dominant culture relationship. Any deficiencies of the research are taken into account. Moreover, suggestions for and consideration of further sociological research in the field are noted.

A growing literature has discussed multiple complexities of various researcher stances and the place of reflexivity in qualitative research. This article contributes to the literature by illuminating the importance and illustrating ways of incorporating perspective taking in insider processes of reflexivity. Specifically, this article dissects an insider-researcher's attempt to resolve research uncertainties by considering the perspective of an outsider-researcher, who had conducted similar study at the same school. Through incorporating processes of perspective taking in reflexivity, the insider-researcher uncovered complexities and ethical quandaries that may have had an impact on her study. Subsequently, the article provides lucid accounts of perspective taking as a method to enhance qualitative research processes, namely, to help resolve methodological uncertainties and to portray a richer and nuanced inquiry picture.

In this article based on ongoing research, I discuss the difficulty of separating my personal experience from my research into ‘Experiment with Light’. I argue by reference to the work of Labaree, Pillow and Boff that the inherent complexities of researching a process which itself seeks ‘Truth’ requires the researcher to be reflexive to the point of discomfort. I show how the dilemmas Labaree identifies in insider research signal Pillow’s uncomfortable reflexivity and move her analysis beyond the context of race and gender to the religious context, where it serves a different purpose. I conclude by reference to Boff ’s theory that in the field of this type of religious ethnography insider is preferable to outsider research and suggest areas for further enquiry.

This article explores the 'methodology of friendship' and its wider potential within music research. Drawing on two research examples that made use of 'friendship' in distinct fashions-one that explores music listening practices in everyday life and the other, music as a site for racialisation-the article discusses how friendship can be incorporated within semi-structured interviews. The case studies act as examples of how to negotiate alterity in music research and how friendship represents a potential for gathering more detailed data. The notion of 'alterity', at the core of research relationships is critical to shift the conversation to an informal tone and improve the depth of the discourses gathered from informants. Consequently, this article addresses debates within qualitative (music) sociology by reconsidering friendship as an axis of power and examines the nature of the data gathered in semi-structured interviews through the methodology of friendship.

In this paper we present the TWOS dataset that contains realistic instances of insider threats based on a gamified competition. The competition simulated user interactions in/among competing companies, where two types of behaviors (normal and malicious) were incentivized. For the case of malicious behavior, we designed sessions for two types of insider threats (masqueraders and traitors). The game involved the participation of 6 teams consisting of 4 students who competed with each other for a period of 5 days, while their activities were monitored considering several heterogeneous sources (mouse, keyboard, process and file-system monitor, network traffic, emails and login/logout). In total, we obtained 320 hours of active participation that included 18 hours of masquerader data and at least two instances of traitor data. In addition to expected malicious behaviors, students explored various defensive and offensive strategies such as denial of service attacks and obfuscation techniques, in an effort to get ahead in the competition. Furthermore, we illustrate the potential use of the TWOS dataset in multiple areas of cyber security , which does not limit to malicious insider threat detection, but also areas such as authorship verification and identification, continuous authentication, and sentiment analysis. We also present several state-of-the-art features that can be extracted from different data sources in order to guide researchers in the analysis of the dataset. The TWOS dataset is publicly accessible for further research purposes.

Migration from the 'new' European Union Member States to the United Kingdom has been identified as one of the most significant social phenomena of recent times. Evidence shows that migrant women constitute a large proportion of international migrants. When considering migration within the European context, migrant women outnumber their male counterparts. Even though gendered studies of migration are now attaining recognition, there is limited literature in relation to Polish migrant women. Drawing on preliminary findings from new fieldwork research undertaken in Poland and the United Kingdom in 2012, this case study focuses on research undertaken to explore how Polish migrant women exercise their rights as European Union citizens to better their own and their families' well-being. This is a qualitative research study conducted with the use of in-depth semi-structured interviews. This case study focuses on sampling, recruitment issues and challenges encountered in the data collection process. The benefits of studying depth, of the active involvement of the researcher and the researcher's relationship with the participants and the data are explored. This case study showcases issues relating to reflexivity as the research was conducted from a gendered perspective. The data gathered was analysed using thematic analysis.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which the position of a former insider with multiple levels of knowing and being known, afforded me benefits and challenges in a complex higher education institution in Uganda. A reflexive autoethnographic account of the author’s research experience is employed as methodology. The study observes various benefits and challenges of this position. These include: firsthand knowledge of institutional culture and informants, leading to multiple levels of access; ability to conduct enriching interviews; and good rapport with informants. The challenges include: complexity of the institution; ethical challenges; power dilemmas; and anonymization of data. Access was noted to be a key benefit and it was experienced at five levels: personal relational networks; informant’s knowledge of a family relation; links to institutional and national networks; the role of media; and situational factors. In accordance with Bourdieu’s (1986) ...

This article engages critically with the insider-outsider divide in research with migrants and advocates a more nuanced and dynamic approach to positionality. In migration research, the insider-outsider divide typically assumes a specific form: an insider researcher is a member of the migrant group under study, whereas an outsider researcher is a member of the majority population in the country of settlement. This divide is a discursive reality that researchers must relate to, regardless of its analytical merits. Our analysis builds on the authors' experiences in twelve different fieldwork situations, where research was often conducted from hybrid positions that did not fit the archetypal insider-outsider divide. First, we discuss the relational construction of insider-outsider divides in migration research, focusing on the interplay between researcher characteristics and particular social contexts. Second, we address the specific characteristics or markers through which researchers are interpreted and positioned. These markers differ in terms of their visibility to informants, and in the extent to which researchers can modify them or communicate them selectively. Third, we examine how these characteristics are actively managed in fieldwork settings. Fourth, we identify five types of 'third positions' in migration research, positions that deviate from the archetypal insider-outsider divide: explicit third party, honorary insider, insider by proxy, hybrid insider-outsider, and apparent insider. The article explores some of the advantages and challenges inherent in different positions and argues that strategic and reflexive management of positionality should be included in ethical considerations about the research process.

This article explores the ‘methodology of friendship’ and its wider potential within music research. Drawing on two research examples that made use of ‘friendship’ in distinct fashions – one that explores music listening practices in everyday life and the other, music as a site for racialisation – the article discusses how friendship can be incorporated within semi-structured interviews. The case studies act as examples of how to negotiate alterity in music research and how friendship represents a potential for gathering more detailed data. The notion of ‘alterity’, at the core of research relationships is critical to shift the conversation to an informal tone and improve the depth of the discourses gathered from informants. Consequently, this article addresses debates within qualitative (music) sociology by reconsidering friendship as an axis of power and examines the nature of the data gathered in semi-structured interviews through the methodology of friendship.

The unilaterally annexed Golan Heights has largely been marketed as a tourist destination that appeals to local Israelis and foreign, mainly Jewish tourists. As stated on the Israeli Ministry of Tourism's website, " Some people call this area the Israeli Texas. " Perhaps most essential to the production of this appealing tourist image, is the willingness of the local Druze communities to act as hosts for tourists visiting the region. Druze identity politics are very complicated in relation to the nation of Israel with most Druze not fully accepting Israeli citizenship despite having been annexed in 1981. The economic pressures that shape local Druze townships are further complicated by fellow Druze in Israel proper, who are the only Arab community to serve compulsorily in the Israeli Defense Forces, since 1956.

Alongside its abundance of natural resources, the region is full of scenic trails and ranches spread between Druze villages, offering a psychological revere for Israeli tourists who want to escape their metropolitan homes. Anthropological research has the potential to offer critical insights into the how cultural identity is constructed within Druze communities in this region. Given the politicized identity politics in Israel and the Golan Heights, the anthropologist's ethnic and religious background, as well as national origins, is presumed to influence both etic and emic perspectives when contesting the political climate and the ability to conduct research among the clandestine Druze. In particular, this paper will explore the lens of the native anthropologist and issues of access and reliability when a non-Israeli Druze attempts to study the conditions of the region's tourist economy given the constraints of crossing the nation's borders.

Ethnographical otherness and affinities: reflections around the close, the distant, the inside and the outside
This essay examines the stakes and implications of the distinction made between outsider and insider in ethnographic methodology and qualitative research in general, and questions its epistemological and methodological legitimacy. As a first step, the author frames his discussion within the broader discussions that analyze the epistemological foundations of “classic anthropology” in a critical and reflexive perspective. He thus contextualizes the processes of undermining – and “decredibilization” – of the status of the insider within larger processes of construction of the legitimate anthropological object, and the corollary purification that establishes a clear separation between anthropologists and their objects of research. In a second step, the author questions the analytical legitimacy of the epistemological a priori on which the distinction between outsider and insider, and therefore the controversies revolving around so-called “insider research,” build upon. As a way of conclusion, the author explores the notion of autoethnography and shows to what extent it offers interesting methodological insights in order to re-symmetrize the relationship between ethnographers and their field(work)s.

Workforce diversity management is fast becoming a significant component of in Multinational Corporations because it has outstanding benefits on inclusive workplace climate leading to improved work outcomes. The paper provides a conceptual background of the significance and implications of diversity management and inclusion, followed by a proposed insider research design. An employee perception focused approach is discussed that is believed to best capture the efficiency of diversity management and inclusion. Recommendations complement the conceptual framework and critical analyses.

Good inclusive practice enhances the well-being and learning experiences of all pupils, as well as encouraging pupils to embrace diversity in their lives. However, the Stonewall School Report (2017) concluded that whilst there has been improvements since 2007, schools still foster a culture of heterosexism where heteronormativity and queer-phobia co-exist and continue to prevail, sixteen years after the repeal of Section 28. Academic scholarship recognises that some teachers are equally responsible for discrimination towards queer students as their peers, despite the Equality Act (2010). This research focuses on the reasons why there exists a lack of queer inclusion in schools in 2019. Previous research has tended to centre on the lived experiences of queer students within their school community (Epstein, 1994; Stonewall, 2017). Research involving educators (Meyer et al, 2019) have focused on elementary teachers in Canada and the US. This research gained the lived experiences of teachers, using semi-structured interviews, working in the 11-19 education sector. The aim of the research was to explore the most common barriers to teacher's ability to ensure their pedagogy is queer inclusive within the English education curricular within a critical queer theory framework. The research determined that schools are still profoundly heteronormative and that the barriers to challenging this include teachers' personal faith, a fear of hegemonic masculinity that exists within education, and the impact of marketisation on pedagogical practices. I conclude that interventions should be directed at teachers, rather than students to ensure that schools foster a culture of queer inclusivity. This would include a revision of subject specification in England.

While there is a large number of research about the power dynamics in favor of the researcher and the vulnerability of the research participants, in this paper I have discussed the shift of power dynamics in the research and demonstrated how some events can alter the power balance in the fieldwork. A very important subject which requires further studies.

In autoethnography, one researches the hidden experiences of only one person―the researcher―in order to provide a unique perspective on a group that can be understood by insiders and outsiders alike. Autoethnography is well-suited for exploring concerns about the individual’s identity or life experience. This method can be challenging, however, because it demands hard emotional work and unsettles one’s assumptions about life issues. This chapter describes different audiences and foci of autoethnography within health humanities and then explains the steps for doing autoethnography: choosing autoethnography as a process of inquiry, journaling with memory techniques, using keepsakes and other memory aids, revisiting your memories alongside nonpersonal data, assessing your own identity and positioning, literature search and review, and analyzing your ideas through writing and rewriting. This process is demonstrated through the author’s experiences of life-long chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and transplantation.