The researcher's personal responses as a source of insight in the research process

Abstract

Drawing on accounts of the author's personal responses while undertaking a qualitative study on the norms governing the relationship between nurses and mothers, it is argued that such responses, rather than being seen as a source of bias, have the potential to be a source of insight and interpretation in the research. This paper tells the 'inside' story of previously published research that was 'sanitized' by the omission of any reference to the researcher's subjective responses. The recognition of such researcher responses has implications for how research is supervised and presented.