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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Documents as 'risky' sources of data
T2 - a reflection on social and emotional positioning- a research note
AU - Barlow, Charlotte Frederica
PY - 2016/6
Y1 - 2016/6
N2 - As units of analysis, documents are often seen as unproblematic, easily accessed sources of data. This research note discusses and reflects on a research project where documents were not easy to access and instead prompted significant negotiation, contained disturbing information and images and had an emotional impact on the researcher. A reflexive account is provided in this paper, which draws upon feminist methodological theory and explores the researcher’s experiences of using documents in research. The paper concludes that documents should not always be categorised as a low risk data source, rather issues such as access difficulties, ethical dilemmas and potential emotional harm, should also be considered.
AB - As units of analysis, documents are often seen as unproblematic, easily accessed sources of data. This research note discusses and reflects on a research project where documents were not easy to access and instead prompted significant negotiation, contained disturbing information and images and had an emotional impact on the researcher. A reflexive account is provided in this paper, which draws upon feminist methodological theory and explores the researcher’s experiences of using documents in research. The paper concludes that documents should not always be categorised as a low risk data source, rather issues such as access difficulties, ethical dilemmas and potential emotional harm, should also be considered.
KW - documents
KW - gatekeepers
KW - emotions
KW - access
KW - reflexivity
KW - risk
KW - ethical issues
U2 - 10.1080/13645579.2015.1051797
DO - 10.1080/13645579.2015.1051797
M3 - Journal article
VL - 19
SP - 377
EP - 384
JO - International Journal of Social Research Methodology
JF - International Journal of Social Research Methodology
SN - 1364-5579
IS - 3
ER -