It is commonly recognised that we have experienced a “reflexive turn” within the social sciences research. In this brief introductory post for The SRA Blog I wrote about reflexivity and positionality, what they mean,  and why they are important.

 

The full contribution to The SRA Blog is available here. 

 

I describe reflexivity as a second-order questioning and positionality as the understanding of ourselves and what we bring to research. Reflexivity is therefore the more private thought process than the public positionality statement that outlines the result of the private examination of the self. I also mention briefly how reflexivity can be “done”.

 

For some ideas relating to journaling for reflexivity purposes, check out my recent blog post as well as my other resources for research journaling.