Positionality And Collaboration During Fieldwork: Insights From Research With Co-Nationals Living Abroad

Abstract: The researcher is a primary instrument in qualitative research. He/she is the key person

in facilitating conversations during fieldwork and in making sense of the data. Methodological

literature underscores the fact that assuming insider positions or identities during fieldwork aids

qualitative researchers in achieving genuine collaboration, which is necessary for collecting

trustworthy data. Furthermore, the contingency nature of positionality has been acknowledged

sufficiently in literature: whilst the researcher positions himself or herself, he or she is

simultaneously positioned by participants. Despite these insights, the manner in which the

researchers' identities unfold during fieldwork interactions has attracted little attention in social

science scholarship. Detailed accounts of how the researcher might influence the processes of

positionality in order to engage participants in a productive collaboration are few. How might the

researcher influence his or her positionality to meet the demands of collecting trustworthy data? In

this article, I draw on a qualitative study of Zimbabweans in Johannesburg to reflect on how

researchers can potentially negotiate, enact, and perform identities within unique relational spaces

of fieldwork in order to achieve useful collaboration.

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