Negotiating the insider–outsider dilemma in urban research: Experiences of a graduate student returning home for fieldwork

IF 1.6 2区 社会学 Q2 GEOGRAPHY Area Pub Date : 2024-02-29 DOI:10.1111/area.12931
Elmond Bandauko
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Abstract

African doctoral students studying abroad and returning to their home countries for fieldwork face multiple and complex challenges. This paper reflexively addresses the question of positionality from the experiences of conducting research on urban governance and the spatial politics of street traders in Harare, Zimbabwe. The paper discusses dilemmas associated with navigating insider and outsider identities, showcasing how these categories continually shift while conducting research on street traders within a distinct socio-cultural and political context. Moreover, the author's background as a former street trader, now pursuing a PhD at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, adds a layer of complexity to the situation, offering valuable insights into how these ‘multiple’ positionalities can either facilitate or hinder data collection. The paper underscores the nuanced experiences of the researcher in the field, shedding light on the potential challenges, pitfalls and opportunities inherent in grappling with one's positionality. By foregrounding these complexities, the paper contributes to our understanding of the positionalities of researchers in the social sciences and adds to the growing body of literature on methodologies for conducting urban studies, particularly with vulnerable populations.

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谈判城市研究中的 "局内人-局外人 "困境:一位回国进行实地考察的研究生的经历
在国外学习的非洲博士生回国开展实地工作面临着多重复杂的挑战。本文从在津巴布韦哈拉雷开展城市治理和街头商贩空间政治研究的经验出发,反思性地探讨了定位问题。本文讨论了与驾驭局内人和局外人身份有关的困境,展示了在独特的社会文化和政治背景下对街头商贩进行研究时,这些身份是如何不断转变的。此外,作者曾是一名街头商贩,现正在加拿大西安大略大学攻读博士学位,这一背景使情况变得更加复杂,为了解这些 "多重 "身份如何促进或阻碍数据收集提供了宝贵的见解。本文强调了研究人员在实地工作中的细微体验,揭示了在处理个人立场时所固有的潜在挑战、陷阱和机遇。通过强调这些复杂性,本文有助于我们理解社会科学研究人员的立场,并为越来越多的关于城市研究方法论的文献增添了新的内容,尤其是针对弱势群体的研究方法论。
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来源期刊
Area
Area GEOGRAPHY-
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
13.60%
发文量
80
审稿时长
24 weeks
期刊介绍: Area publishes ground breaking geographical research and scholarship across the field of geography. Whatever your interests, reading Area is essential to keep up with the latest thinking in geography. At the cutting edge of the discipline, the journal: • is the debating forum for the latest geographical research and ideas • is an outlet for fresh ideas, from both established and new scholars • is accessible to new researchers, including postgraduate students and academics at an early stage in their careers • contains commentaries and debates that focus on topical issues, new research results, methodological theory and practice and academic discussion and debate • provides rapid publication
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