The Insider-Outsider Spectrum: “The Space Between”
Hello Qualitative Mind,
When I first wrote this blog post back on July 13, 2021, my book chapter for Maria Mayan’s book was in progress but not yet completed. I am thrilled to say that (thanks to the writing retreat I shared about on my social media pages) my chapter is now FINISHED! The chapter is about cross-lingual qualitative research in the context of community-based participatory research.
When we first began deciding how we would approach the subject and develop our chapter, I shared with Maria that I wanted to explore the role and positionality of focus group moderator/interpreter in cross-lingual research. Thus, I started delving into the literature about positionality which naturally led me to papers about being an insider versus outsider in qualitative research.
We often see the discussion of being an insider versus outsider in the context of ethnography. But, my interest in this topic doesn’t only come from my experience with focus ethnography. Rather, it’s closely connected to my firm belief that being on the insider-outsider spectrum is inherent to qualitative research, and reflecting about this is VITAL to the research process. Much of that reflection can happen – or at least start – when we write our positionality statements.
In my studies to write the book chapter, I’ve been reading about the researcher’s positionality on the insider-outsider spectrum and what it means to the research process (specifically in the context of community-based participatory research). One of the papers that I read last month, and truly resonated with me, is by Sonia C. Dwyer and Jennifer L. Buckle (2009), “The Space Between: On Being an Insider-Outsider in Qualitative Research” (International Journal of Qualitative Methods).
The authors describe their positionality in the context of the research they each conduct, and the nuances positionality brings to their research projects and portfolios. One of the reasons why I enjoyed the paper was because Dwyer and Buckle introduced the idea of “the space between,” and it’s the space between that I want you to discuss with you today. I encourage you to read the full paper (it’s open access)…in any case here are my two cents.
“The space between” explores the fact that throughout the qualitative research process, the notion of being an insider versus an outsider is one that is overly simplistic. You might be an insider OR an outsider because of commonalities OR differences, respectively, in the geographical location you and the community you’re studying live, the language you and your participants speak, as well as your and your participants’ socioeconomic status, race, gender, life experiences, etc.
The reality is that the most common scenario is being an insider in some ways and an outsider in other ways. Thus, “the space between” becomes the space we, researchers, often find ourselves in.
“The space between” places emphasis on how we might move from insider to outsider and from outsider to insider along the research process. This means our positionality may change, reflecting the fluidity and complexity of our human experiences. We might perceive ourselves as insiders when we are planning the research questions or designing the qualitative study yet, as we collect and analyze the data, we might find ourselves feeling like complete outsiders. The things we were expecting to find aren’t there or what is there isn’t resonating with our own experiences. So, through reflexivity, we uncomfortably migrate to the land of the outsider.
Another example of this “space between” can be seen when researchers engage in a cross-cultural CBPR project using cross-lingual focus groups as the method of qualitative data generation. We must acknowledge that those who help us as interpreters and moderators also live in “the space between” (Corbin Dwyer & Buckle, 2009, p.54) whereby they assist us, researchers, because of their “insider” status; yet, in various instances they might be “outsiders” (Kerstetter, 2012)
What I find that Dwyer and Buckle’s paper and its idea of “the space between” really does is widen the lens with which we see the idea of being part of qualitative research, especially in communities. Being an insider versus an outsider doesn’t encompass everything that is possible along the qualitative research process. Thus, the insider-outsider spectrum or “the space between” might be much more useful and enriching positions to be.
I truly believe that the space between is where we ALL navigate qualitative research (and most topics in our lives). That’s why we need to situate ourselves through our positionality, reflexivity and writing.
Talk soon,
Maira
*Originally published on July 13, 2021. Updated and re-published on November 2, 2021.