Stating where you stand in relation to your topic and participants (insider, outsider or both) and what that enables and hides.
- +Fits Feminist Epistemology, Interpretivist Epistemology, Constructivist Epistemology
- –Tension with Positivist Epistemology
Key thinkers: Robert Merton, Christina Chavez, Uma Narayan
The longer story
Where do you stand in relation to what you're studying? Positionality asks whether you're insider or outsider—and the answer is usually 'both, depending on which dimension.' You might be insider by profession but outsider by gender, insider by class but outsider by geography. This matters because it shapes access and interpretation. Insiders see things outsiders miss; outsiders question what insiders take for granted. Neither position is better—but you need to know which you occupy and what that means for your research. Ethics committees expect you to articulate this. So do your examiners.