Reflecting on reflexivity: Stories of leveraging identity in the field

The aim of this work is to explore the contrasting yet parallel experiences of qualitative researchers in the field. This paper adopts a first-person narrative approach to build better understanding of the use of reflexivity throughout the preparation, generation and analysis stages of the research process. Reflexivity is the ability of the researcher to reflect upon, explore, and examine social processes, and contextual factors influencing the research, the participants, and the relationship between the researcher and participants. In this paper, one story reflects on research of gay entrepreneurs undertaken by a gay woman, and considers the influence of an aspect of shared identity on the data preparation, generation and analysis. The other story is a reflection of conflicting identity, in which the researcher, a white European woman, engages in research with marginalised indigenous women. The paper explores the unique challenges and opportunities faced by these researchers throughout their research journey. The discussion in this paper provides recommendations to researchers on how they can account for their identity in the data generation process. This paper contributes insight from the shared experiences of the authors, illustrating their reflexive techniques to assist qualitative researchers preparing for the field.