Vol 1 No 1 (2016): "Generating Knowledge through Research", 25-27 October 2016, CAS Auditorium - Universiti Utara Malaysia
Articles

INSIDER RESEARCHERS: CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
PENELITI ORANG DALAM: TANTANGAN & PELUANG


Khaliza Saidin
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Picture in here are illustration from public domain image or provided by the author, as part of their works
Published October 30, 2016
Keywords
  • Excellent Teacher,
  • Insider researcher,
  • Outsider researcher
How to Cite
Saidin, K. (2016). INSIDER RESEARCHERS: CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES. Proceedings of The ICECRS, 1(1), picecrs.v1i1.563. https://doi.org/10.21070/picecrs.v1i1.563

Abstract

A researcher plays an important role in the success of the topic being researched. Being an insider researcher could help the researcher to have more understanding about their research and the phenomena being studied. However, previous research revealed inconsistent results. Some argue that becoming an insider researcher could lead to a loss of objectivity and bias, while others found that it has potential to balance the ways issues being researched. The objective of this qualitative case study is to explore the potential and challenges of being an insider researcher. Ten excellent teachers were selected using purposive sampling and they were interviewed face to face. The findings revealed some advantages to the insider researcher in understanding the issues being studied as she has the common knowledge of the life, problems and challenges they face as excellent teachers. Moreover, the researcher also managed to reduced “red tape” in getting contact with the participants. The findings from this study enriched the literature on being an insider in educational research from the perspectives of excellent teachers.

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