When I embarked upon my PhD, the first questions I was asked were: ‘why are you studying ‘your own people’?’ Or ‘Surely studying a group you already know so much about is a cop out, no?’ At times I felt demotivated by such comments and most certainly felt undermined, as the questioner was, in some passive-aggressive manner, declaring their distrust of an insider studying an insider’s group. Now, surely this depends on your understanding of who or what an insider is, no?
‘Insider’s approach’ or being an ‘insider’ refers to when researchers conduct research with populations of which they are also members, so that the researcher shares an identity, language, and experiential base with the study participants. I appreciate that as a British Bangladeshi woman, and as an ‘insider’, it may enhance the depth and breadth of understanding the British Bangladeshi population, which may not be accessible to a non-Bangladeshi. However, questions about objectivity and authenticity may arise out of my participation in this research project because, perhaps, I may know ‘too much’ or am ‘too close’ to the subjects I am studying. Also, the Bangladeshis are among the most homogenous, with ‘nearly all of them originating from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh’ (Rozario and Gilliat-Ray 2005: 4), and as a Sylheti myself, I will be able to interact, if needed, with the participants in the local dialect rather than standard Bangla (Bengali language).
Having said the above, I also feel an outsider, at times, may provide comfort for participants who wish to engage in a topic/subject area they feel passionate about without feeling restrained by an interviewer who is an ‘insider’. Also, the participants may also go into the interview with the assumption that an ‘outsider’ may know little about the nuances of the community politics/customs/rituals he/she is studying therefore making it easier for the participant to feel like they have the upper hand.
Though many will see me as an ‘insider’, I’d argue I have found myself being treated as an ‘outsider’ by the participants because I am not from East London. This made the participants assume I know little about the area therefore lack of familiarity with the space politics. Nevertheless, I do believe that this insider role will allow me, as a researcher, to a more rapid and more complete acceptance by the participants thus making the participants typically more open and gain a higher level of trust so that the data gathered will be of great depth. This surely will only enrich my research rather than limit it to ‘researcher subjectivity’.