Deane, K. D. and Stevano, S. (2016) Towards a political economy of the use of research assistants: reflections from fieldwork in Tanzania and Mozambique. Qualitative Research. 16(2), pp. 213-228. 1468-7941.
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Abstract:
Research assistants play a vital role in the research process, often acting as more than just translators or interpreters. However, their contributions to and impacts on the research process and outcomes often remain unacknowledged or unaccounted for. We build on previous work
that looks at the subjective relations between the researcher, research assistant and research participant to explore this issue. In particular, drawing on a political economy approach, we look at how research assistants, through their objective position, mediate relations between
researcher and participants, and also how power relations and different configurations of roles influence the research process and outcomes. Our analysis concludes that ignoring the role of research assistants in empirical research will lead to flawed processes, biased data and possibly misleading results.
Additional Information:
A pre-publication version of this article was made available electronically by the publisher on 24 March 2015
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Fieldwork, methods, power relations, research assistants, subjectivity
Creators:
Deane, K. D. and Stevano, S.
Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes:
Date:
April 2016
Date Type:
Publication
Page Range:
pp. 213-228
Journal or Publication Title:
Qualitative Research
Volume:
16
Number:
2
Language:
English
ISSN:
1468-7941
Status:
Published / Disseminated
Refereed:
Yes
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