Discussion for SRQR item: Researcher characteristics and reflexivity
Researcher characteristics and reflexivity
Describe how roles and identities of research team members influence choice of research approach, data collection, and data analysis.1
Describe the perspectives, assumptions, prior knowledge, preliminary hypotheses, and/or motives (the “stance”) of the members of the research team.
Describe the researchers’ relationships to participants in the study and what decisions were made in light of these relationships.2
If your research was observational (e.g., ethnography), describe the role of the researcher along a spectrum from passive observer (no involvement in the activity studied) to participant-observer (ranging from some limited involvement in the activity to full involvement).
There is no expectation that the study could be precisely replicated; these characteristics and perspectives of the researcher should not be mentioned in the limitation section. (See also Item 14: Data Analysis)
Footnotes
Relevant personal characteristics might include cultural background, occupation, experience, training, position/ power dynamics, gender, race/ethnicity, and sponsoring institution.↩︎
For example, were any members of the research team part of the sample of potential participants in the study? Do any members of the team teach, supervise, or have any authority over participants in the study? If so, how do these characteristics influence choices about their roles in data collection and analysis?↩︎