Week 3 – My positionality (Positionality and Reflexivity)

[Last modified: October, 20 2024 06:14 PM]

  • What is the research question?

–           The happiness of people who are supported by government in the UK

(What is the minimal lives that are assured by the UK government)

 

  • What is the particular ethnographic focus?

–           Individual value of happiness.

 

  • Why is this of particular interest to them?

– Because the individual values of happiness are base of public health service. If people cannot feel happiness, they never satisfied with health services.

 

< Focus in on why they chose this topic >

  • Is it exploring a context or theme that they have personal experience of?

–           Throughout of my experience as a medical doctor and a consultant of global health, I recognise that one of the biggest challenges of public health is a discrepancy of what people want and the health policies. To solve this problem, I want to make clear the individual values on health.

 

  • Is it something that they are fascinated by for other reasons?

–           I have been wanting to find the answer to a question “The meaning of lives”

 

  • What preconceived ideas are they bringing to this research?

–           My work experience:

Medical Doctor (mainly as a cardiac surgeon)

Professor at a Public Health at a Japanese Medical School

Consultant for Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affaire

–           My personal backgrounds

Educational background (I graduated a medical school and have PhD in medical science)

Financial background (middle class in a developed countries)

Ethnicity and Nationality as a “Japanese”

Gender (Female)

Position in my family (the youngest sister)

–           My preferences

I have been preferring “stability” since I was a child.

 

  • Reflect on how their positionality might inform how they conduct research and interpret their findings.

 

–           At least, I have to consider my stance twice. One is if my conclusion is objective from my view. The other is that how readers of my article consider fromw their views.

–           I need to find “the biases from me” and “the biases from others”. For example, Japanese, as a citizen of one of G7 countries, the difference between “the Western culture” and Japan is not that big but that for the UK citizen seems not so small. I guess it depends on the culture of news. I think it is a kind of “valve” of culture. When I write the “anthropological” articles, I need to mind this issue.

 

  • Might their lived experience inform the way they interact with their participants?
  • Do class, race, gender, sexuality, or other identities inform their approach to the research? Might it offer particular insights?

 

–           It could be. Probably when I research about so-called “vulnerable” people, showing my vulnerable background like “Asian” “Female” “Immigrant” “who cannot use English well” support to get efficient information from subjects.

 

  • How might this inform the interpretation of data?

–           It could influence strongly to my research. I need to discuss about analyses. At least, If I publish English articles, I need to imagine how Western readers understand them. (Even if they don’t consider how non-Westerners consider their articles when they publish their articles ).

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