INSIDER RESEARCHERS: CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
PENELITI ORANG DALAM: TANTANGAN & PELUANG
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.
Downloads
References
Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1994). Observational techniques. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, 377–392. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Breen, L. J. (2007). The researcher ‘in the middle’: Negotiating the insider/outsider dichotomy. The Australian Community Psychologist, 19(1), 163-174
Conant, R. W. (1968). Black power in urban America, Library Journal, 93(15), 1963-1967.
Creswel. J.W. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. (7th ed.).Harlow: Pearson Education.
DeVerteuil, G. (2004). Systematic Inquiry into Barriers to Researcher Access: Evidence from a Homeless Shelter. Professional Geographer, 56(3): 372-80.
Drever, E. (1995). Using semi-structured interviews in small-scale research .Edinburgh, The Scottish Council for Research in Education.
Herrmann, Andrea W. (1989). The Participant Observer as "Insider": Researching Your Own Classroom. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (40th, Seattle, WA, March 16-18, 1989).
Merton, R. (1972) Insiders and outsiders; a chapter in the sociology of knowledge. American Journal of Sociology, 78(July), 9-47.
McClintock, D; Ison, R & Armson, R. (2003). Metaphors for Reflecting on Research Practice: Researching with People. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 46(5), 715-731.
Mercer, J. (2007). The challenges of insider research in educational institutions: Wielding a double-edged sword and resolving delicate dilemmas. Oxford Review of Education, 33(1), 1-17.
Oakley, A. (1981.) Interviewing women, in: H. Roberts (Ed.) Doing feminist research .London, Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Simmel, G. (1950). The sociology of George Simmel. New York: Free Press.
Schulz, A. (1971). The stranger: an essay in social psychology. In B. R. Cosin, I. R. Dale, G. M. Esland, & D. F. Swift (Eds.), School and society,(London: Routledge and Kegan Paul in association with The Open University Press.
Shaffir, William. (1999). Doing ethnography: Reflections on finding your way. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 28 (6), 676–86.
Smyth, A., & Holian, R. (2008). Credibility Issues in Research from within Organisations. In P. Sikes & A. Potts (Eds.), Researching education from the inside (pp. 33–47). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Unluer. S. (2012). Being an Insider Researcher While Conducting Case Study Research. The Qualitative Report, 17 (58), 1-14.
Wilson, W. J. (1974). The new black sociology: reflections on the 'insiders' and 'outsiders' contro- versy, in: J. E. Blackwell & M. Janowitz (Eds) Black sociologists: historical and contemporary perspectives .Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Copyright (c) 2016 Khaliza Saidin
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.