Can insider be outsider? Doing an ethnographic research in a familiar setting

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses advantages and disadvantages of being a researcher in a familiar setting. This study was conducted in a nursery in Turkey. In ethnographic research, conducting research in a familiar setting plays an important role in collecting and analysing data. Familiarisation with participants and settings is associated with ‘insiderness’ that a researcher shares the same language and culture with participants. The concept of positionality will be used to discuss the researcher’s positionalities during the fieldwork. There has been a discussion about the role of familiarisation in conducting ethnographic studies and insider/outsider dichotomy. This study argues that the research process is not unproblematic for an insider researcher. It also indicates that there are advantages (e.g. ethnicity and former teacher) and disadvantages (being a male researcher) of being an insider in a familiar setting. The study highlights that the researcher made the arrangements to overcome challenges resulted from the researcher’s gender.

KEYWORDS:

• Insider/outsider
• positionality
• reflexivity
• gender
• preschool

Acknowledgement

This research was drawn from a PhD thesis that was completed under supervision of Dr Vally Lytra and Dr John Jessel in 2018. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to them. This work would not have been completed without their regular and supportive supervision. I would also like to thank Emeritus Prof Eve Gregory, who initially supervised my PhD project and read the draft of this article. She retired before the completion of the thesis. The teachers, parents and children who participated in this research deserve thanks. I appreciate their time and warm welcoming me to their home. Last but not least I would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their time and constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).