Book Chapter:The Researcher as Insider Versus the Researcher as Outsider: Enhancing Rigour Through Language and Cultural Sensitivity

Chapter 3 The Researcher as Insider Versus the Researcher as Outsider: Enhancing Rigour Through Language and Cultural Sensitivity

Fiona Irvine, Gwerfyl Roberts , and Caroline Bradbury-Jones

Book title: Doing cross-cultural research; ethical and methodological perspective

Editor Pranee Liamputtong: Springer 2008

Reference:

Irvine, F, Roberts, G, Bradbury-Jones, C 2008. In Liamputtong, P. (Ed.). (2008), Doing cross-cultural research: Ethical and methodological perspectives (Vol. 34). Springer Science & Business Media.

IMPORTANT QUOTATION

Chapter 3 is written by Fiona Irvine, Gwerfyl Roberts, and Caroline Bradbury Jones. In this chapter, they focus on the researcher as insider versus the researcher as outsider and the way rigour through language and cultural sensitivity can be enhanced. Fiona and colleagues argue that evidence suggests that in research studies involving minority language users, rigour is enhanced when researchers share a common language and culture with research participants, and, thus, are considered to be “ insiders ” . However, it is clear that the use of “ insiders ” is not always possible and where the researchers and the researched do not share a common culture and language, measures can be taken to ensure that the research is rigorous. Furthermore, cultural and linguistic concordance does not in itself guarantee rigour; researchers must also demonstrate that their approach stands up to judgment against criteria that are congruent with the relevant research paradigm. In their chapter, Fiona and colleagues consider best practice in research studies involving more than one language when the researchers are either insiders or outsiders. They draw on examples from published literature as well as from their research experiences as insiders and outsiders to examine approaches for enhancing rigor when conducting qualitative research. Attention is given to cultural issues which, they argue, are inextricably linked to language, and therefore require cultural sensitivity on the part of the researcher in order to effectively capture and interpret data. They also examine sampling and recruitment, in which they demonstrate the measures that can be taken to facilitate the recruitment of participants with different language backgrounds. They give some consideration to data collection and identify strategies that can be adopted to gain rich data from participants where researchers either share or do not share the same language as the researched. Translation and interpretation are both identified as approaches that can facilitate rigorous cross-cultural research if addressed appropriately. The process of transcription, which is rarely addressed in the literature, is also examined and suggestions are given about how this can be tackled when operating in more than one language. Finally, they consider data analysis and offer suggestions for best practice when analyzing data collected in two or more languages. In Chapter 4 , Jennene Greenhill p. xiii

Twinn (1998 : 660) argues that in order to “ maximise the quality of data” , it is important to interview participants in their first language. This approach is made possible when the researchers are insiders and have access to the same language as the participants. P.43

In situations where the researchers are bilingual, we concur with Twinn’s (1998) assertions and recommend that the language of choice of the participants is preserved throughout the research process. Therefore, transcriptions should be produced in the original language, and thus, in planning a project, consideration should be given to the additional costs associated with transcribing different languages. P.43

Table 3.2 Measures to improve rigour in transcription Step. Measures to improve rigour in transcription

1.     Transcription by bilingual transcribers using languages spoken during the interview

2.     Production of second copy of transcriptions with dialogue translated to language of researchers

3.     Back-translation of transcripts to ensure concept equivalence

4.     Peer review of transcriptions and tapes by bilinguals with context-specific knowledge to ensure that the translation accurately conveys the meaning of the dialogue

5.     Member checking with participants to ensure the credibility of the transcription

Having established this framework, we were able to code, analyse and interpret the data without having to translate any data into another lan- guage. This process was maintained through to the production of a bilingual research report. However, writing papers for publications posed a particular challenge, and here, it was necessary to translate Welsh data into English to meet with requirements of the publishing journals.

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 3.9 Conclusion The literature demonstrates that unless researchers take full account of the linguistic diversity of their sample populations and respond positively to the language preferences of their participants, there is potential for bias within research that may compromise the validity of findings and impede the development of new evidence

for policy and practice. This chapter shows that in research studies involving diverse language speakers, data collection, transcription and analysis is best undertaken in the preferred language of the respondents, using native researchers; or insiders. However, the deployment of researchers who have a combination of strong, appropriate linguistic and research competencies is particularly challenging and in some situations, unattainable. In this case, it would not be appropriate to abandon good quality research and deny the opportunity for individuals to engage in research that might offer insights that could improve people’s future well-being. Rather, the best alternative is to build a series of systematic measures into the research process to enhance cultural and linguistic sensitivity. However, this does not release insider researchers from ensuring that sufficient regard is paid to the rigour of their research. This chapter has offered some insight on best practice in cross-cultural and bilingual research for researchers who consider themselves either to be insiders or outsiders to the culture under study. In this chapter, we have outlined a way forward for the cross-cultural and multilingual research community by giving due consideration to language at key stages of the research process, through ensuring appropriate recruitment and sampling approaches; effective data collection; quality translations, transcriptions and interpretations; and adequate analytical approaches. In this way, health and social care research should truly reflect the linguistic diversity of the international population that is scrutinised in cross-cultural research and provide the evidence base for best practice and policy that meet the needs of service users.

Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.