Negotiating from the Inside: Constructing Racial and Ethnic Identity in Qualitative Research

This article provides a critical analysis of the role of the “insider” researcher in qualitative fieldwork in race and ethnicity. The analysis is based on research conducted on the construction of racial and ethnic identity in the Cape Verdean American community of southeastern New England. Reflecti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of contemporary ethnography 2000-06, Vol.29 (3), p.268-290
Main Author: De ANDRADE, LELIA LOMBA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Cultural Groups
Ethnic Identity
Ethnicity
Ethnology
Field work
Fieldwork
Group analysis
Group dynamics
Group Identity
Identity
Membership
Methods and techniques
Participant observation
Perception of others
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative Methods
Race
Research methods
Researcher Subject Relations
Sources and methods
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Summary:This article provides a critical analysis of the role of the “insider” researcher in qualitative fieldwork in race and ethnicity. The analysis is based on research conducted on the construction of racial and ethnic identity in the Cape Verdean American community of southeastern New England. Reflections are presented on the various ways that the researcher's status as an “insider” was evaluated and negotiated during fieldwork. It is suggested that these negotiations reveal the manner in which group members define the boundaries of the group, the attributes they associate with it, and the meaning of the group itself. This interpretation of insider status, as involving complex and ongoing definitions and negotiations of group membership, highlights the way that researchers and participants are simultaneously engaged in the construction of race and ethnicity.
ISSN:0891-2416
1552-5414
DOI:10.1177/089124100129023918