Reflexivity and Positionality in Researching African-American Communities: Lessons from the Field

Abstract

Researchers creating knowledge about African-American culture use various methodologies, including field research. Field research is knowledge creation in the space and location of interest to the researchers and is not limited to either qualitative or quantitative research methods. In this article, we focus on our diverse field research experiences as members on a multi-disciplinary research team that utilized mixed methods to examine the various factors that affect fruit and vegetable consumption in two African-American communities. Interacting with participants at community events and at various data gathering sites became part of the experience of our fieldwork. Accounts of interactions and relationships such as these, however, are often missing in journal articles, particularly those reporting findings from quantitative studies. This article, therefore, focuses on the reflexive methodological reporting of ways in which each researcher’s positionality may have affected the observed phenomenon, the data collection process, and the dynamics of participation in fieldwork. The authors’ reflective statements show that the researchers were aware of their positionality before, during and after the research process. Positionality is a concept that has largely been individualized. In this paper, although we present our individual research experiences, we also had to consider our position as a group. As a multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural team, our group identity was complex. Those who were part of the African-American community or identified with a similar heritage acted as “insiders” (while simultaneously reflecting upon the ways in which they were “outsiders”) and as cultural brokers, enabling us to respectfully gain access to willing participants. Those who did not identify as people of color played other vital roles.

Keywords

Reflexivity / positionality / African American communities

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