Positionality: The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity

Authors

Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

Author ORCID Identifier

Rebecca Y. Bayeck https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8352-7331

Volume

21

Publisher

Sage Publications Ltd.

Publication Date

8-11-2022

First Page

1

Last Page

9

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Abstract

This article considers the way in which positionality shifts and is formed during a cross-cultural study to reveal the complexity of the insider-outsider status. As a researcher in a male-dominated game setting, I reflect on the research process and my interactions with participants to show the interplay of space, context, and identity in shaping a researcher’s status. I discuss the process of gaining access to the research site and participants, and data collection in relation to space, context, and identity. The interaction of my identities with space, and context informed my status at various moments. This interplay constructs a complex status of an “in-out-sider”. These findings prepare researchers to pay close attention to the role space, context, and identity play in shaping their positionality. This study serves as a welcome addition to the emerging literature on positionality, and to the situatedness of a researcher status.

Recommended Citation

Bayeck, R. Y. (2022). Positionality: The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221114745