Insider and Outsider Perspectives: Reflections on Researcher Identities in Research with Lesbian and Bisexual Women

Abstract

In this article, we reflect on the concept of the insider and the outsider in qualitative research. We draw on our different experiences of conducting research with lesbian and bisexual women, using our PhD research projects as case studies to consider our similarities to and differences from our research participants. We highlight the impact that insider/outsider status can have at each stage of the research process, from deciding on a research topic, the design of materials, communicating with and recruiting participants through to data collection and analysis. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both insider and outsider positions and reflect on our own experiences. We conclude that, in reality, insider/outsider boundaries may be more blurred than the terms imply and highlight some of the ethical considerations that need to be taken into consideration during qualitative research.

Keywords:

• feminist research
• insider/outsider
• interviewing women
• interviews
• lesbian and bisexual women
• lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)
• methods
• qualitative research
• reflexivity
• researcher/researched boundaries
• sexualities

Additional information

Funding

The theses referred to in this paper were funded by two UWE Health and Life Sciences PhD bursaries.

Notes on contributors

Nikki Hayfield

Nikki Hayfield is a senior lecturer in social psychology at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. She completed her psychology PhD, titled Bisexual Women’s Visual Identities: A Mixed-Methods Exploration, within the Centre for Appearance Research in the psychology department at UWE. Her research and teaching interests lie within social psychology and include qualitative methods, relationships, and sexualities, in particular bisexual identities, bisexual marginalisation, and understandings of bisexuality.

Caroline Huxley

Caroline Huxley’s PhD research, titled An Exploration of the Sociocultural Influences Affecting Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Body Image, was conducted in the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Caroline is currently a research fellow in the Medical School at Warwick University. Her research and teaching interests include health psychology, body image, psychology of women and mixed-methodologies.