Deep reflexivity in tourism research

Abstract

Reflexivity has come to be accepted as standard methodological practice in qualitative tourism research, enabling researchers to reflect on how their subjectivity inevitably impacts on their work. However, reflexive accounts vary enormously from intimate, in-depth explorations to more modest reflexive disclosure statements, which are usually relegated to ‘safe’ spaces in the text such as the methodology section. Additionally, there is an implicit assumption in tourism studies that, while reflexivity is to be encouraged, some information is too private or embarrassing to be shared publicly. I introduce the notion of deep reflexivity, a radical approach to positionality and intersectionality developed by psychosocial researchers. Deep reflexivity implies that reflexive practice should be extended to include critical reflections on the researcher’s emotions, embodiment and unconscious processes that may impact on research. Such information can be accessed through introspection, the interpretation of fantasies, or even dream analysis. This approach is particularly applicable to psychological interview-based research in tourism, but I argue that it has wider relevance and potential. Deep reflexivity in practice is illustrated by sharing a personal account of conducting fieldwork in a volunteer tourism setting in Kenya and I reflect on the challenges that this form of reflexivity presents in terms of ethics, professional integrity, and methodological accuracy. I conclude by arguing that psychosocial studies and the concept of deep reflexivity present a promising avenue for methodological disruption and advancement in critical tourism research.

摘要

反省作为定性旅游研究的一种标准的方法实践, 已逐渐被人们所接受, 使研究人员能够反思其主观性是如何不可避免地影响其研究工作的。然而, 有关反省的描述有很大的差异, 从亲密的、深入的探索到更温和的反思性的披露声明, 这些声明通常被归入文本中的“安全”空间, 如方法论部分。此外, 在旅游研究中有一个隐含的假设, 即尽管反省是受到鼓励的, 但是有些信息太隐私或太尴尬了, 无法公开分享。我介绍了深度反省的概念, 这是一种由社会心理学研究人员发展起来的关于所处的立场和立场交错的激进方法。深层反省是指反省的实践应该延伸到批判性地反思研究者的情绪情感、亲身体验和一些无意识的过程, 它们可能会影响到研究结果。这些信息可以通过内省、对幻想的解释, 甚至梦的分析来获取。这种方法特别适用于基于心理访谈的旅游研究, 但我认为它具有更广泛的指导意义和应用潜力。本文通过分享在肯尼亚一个志愿旅游情景下进行实地工作的个人经历描述, 说明深度反思性在实践中的应用。我思考了这种形式的反省在伦理、职业诚信和方法准确性方面所带来的种种挑战。最后, 我认为社会心理研究和深度反省的概念为批判性旅游研究的方法论颠覆和发展提供了一条很有前途的方法。

Keywords:

• Reflexivity
• methodology
• psychosocial
• psychoanalytic
• volunteer tourism
• photography
• Kenya

关键词：:

• 反省
• 方法论
• 社会心理学方法
• 心理分析方法
• 志愿旅游
• 摄影
• 肯尼亚

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 All names in the research diary and interview extracts have been changed to pseudonyms.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Émilie Crossley

Émilie Crossley is a tourism researcher whose work explores tourist subjectivity from a psychosocial perspective. Her research draws on psychoanalytic theory to approach the psychological in tourism studies in a non-reductive and culturally engaged way. Émilie’s main body of research presents a qualitative longitudinal study of volunteer tourists in Kenya, focusing on perceptions of poverty, spatialities of care, and the development of ethical identities over time. She holds a PhD from Cardiff University and is based at Otago Polytechnic in Aotearoa New Zealand.