From fried egg to mashed potato and lentils: navigating positionalities in ethnographic research in a global south context

Figures & data

Figure 1. I attended a night-long local folk festival with some of my participants.

Figure 2. Co-constructing positionality.

Table 1. Positionalities and their effects on data.

A. Insider to researcher, outsider to participants		B. Insider to Participants, outsider to researcher
Effect on data	Strategy to reduce effect	Effect on data	Strategy to reduce effect
Limited access to the community Teachers’ reluctance to talk Superficial response Skipping main point of the discussion	Responses include contextual jargon The context becomes hazy I required more prompt questions	Responses include contextual jargon Participants became implicit in their responses	Reminding the participants about researcher role More prompt questions
C. Both parties acknowledge researcher’s outsiders		D. Harmonious Position
Effect on data	Strategy to reduce effect	Effect on data	Strategy to reduce effect
Responses discussed trifle matters but in detail Longer responses Artifacts shown by the participants One way flow of information	Spending time outside of research context Sharing experience of different context	Explicate and spontaneous response Sensitive information Both way learning	Reflexivity^a

^a Reflexivity is a strategy that is maintained in each position. However, for the ‘Harmonious position’ this has been the most significant tool to maintain an appropriate relationship and ensure the required standard of data.