4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.8 Positionality and critical reflection
This section examines the reflection and the positionality of the researcher with regards to the duration of the research project. This section further examines the thoughts of the researcher throughout the whole process of the research, with regards to conducting questionnaires, interviews, and personal visits to the study area of Clare Estate.
From the commencement of this research the researcher was given advice on how to conduct research and the type of position the researcher should adopt with regards to being objective. However, although the researcher at times tried to be objective, subjectivity also
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influenced the research process. This research was influenced by value judgments of the researcher. Cloke et al. (2004: 364) stated that ‘human geographical research can never be viewed as value free’ and should be viewed rather as a social process. Furthermore, Drapeau (2002), emphasised that subjectivity is a positive characteristic of research which allows one to understand the objective of the research as well as to access truth and knowledge while conducting the research. Subjectivity therefore aids any research, and this was adopted in the research.
With regards to the position of the researcher, Cloke et al. (2004) state that the researcher’s position is not fixed and constantly changing. Due to this changing position the researcher at times can be put in a vulnerable position. The position of the researcher being an
‘insider’ or an ‘outsider’ in the research process affects the outcome of the research.
According to Mohammad (2001), a researcher can either be ‘insider’ or ‘outsider’
depending on the political characteristics in a country. The ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’
attributes are not fixed and are dependent on the positionality of the researcher in that particular political and temporal context (Jackson, 1993; Mohammad, 2001). Since this research was conducted in Durban, South Africa, the researcher re-evaluated her position with regards to the changing political context of this country and highlighted her situatedness of her, in the research. Due to the fact that Clare Estate is a predominantly Indian community, and because the researcher is of Indian origin, access to these residents was unproblematic. According to Mohammad (2001) and Archer (2003), race, sexuality and gender influences research and they determine the structure of everyday interactions with people when doing research. Furthermore, through the action of conducting in-depth interviews with the residents in formal housing, the researcher presented herself as one who identified with the causes and plight of the residents in formal housing.
With regards to reflexivity, Rose (1997) states that reflexivity requires the researcher to look inward at his/her identity as well as to look outward at the relationship between the researcher and researched. Furthermore, Rose (1997) emphasises that researchers should never presume and fully understand the position of the research subjects and that the researcher must adopt a more modest approach, and this was also taken into account while conducting this research. Rose (1997) further states that, the researcher needs to be aware of the linkage between power and knowledge, since these can exclude, intimidate and not represent people properly. Dowling (2005) states, that in any social research, both the researcher and the researched occupy different positions in the research process, since they
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are characterised by the power relations that exist at that time. Dowling (2005) states that, the relationship between the researcher and the researched can be equal, where they both have similar positions and experience the same benefits and costs from the research.
However, Dowling (2005) further states that in most cases, the relationship is unequal, which favours either the researcher (an exploitative relationship) or the researched (an asymmetrical relationship). Therefore, in order to avoid this unequal relationship in this research, a style of reflexive thinking (‘critically reflexive’) that kept questioning the researcher’s position (Jackson, 1993; Dowling, 2005), was adopted in this research. This was adopted to ensure that the researched (people) are acknowledged, respected and are not taken advantaged off. This research was reflexive and that the researcher’s position was constantly scrutinised (Dowling, 2005).
Before and while conducting this research the researcher had to constantly examine her position as a researcher with regards to those being researched. The researcher wanted to undertake this topic because too much research has been done with regards to the plight of the individuals living in informal settlements, and very little research has been done on the perceptions of the residents in formal housing with regards to the presence of informal settlements in residential areas. The next aspect that the researcher needed to reflect on was the ethics of the research that she was undertaking.
Ethics and moral values are very important aspects in any research process, in order to value and safe-guard those being researched. Cloke et al. (2004) state that researchers need to be sensitive to the people who are being researched. This outlook of doing research was integral to the researcher’s research, since the researcher did not just want to do research on the residents’ in the formal community, but the researcher wanted to assist them as well by working ‘with them and for them’ (Cloke et al., 2004). The researcher also hoped to represent the individuals who participated in the research fairly and honestly.
However, at many times the aspect of ethics was questioned since on many occasions some of the residents from formal housing were uneasy with the note-taking and some questions, since they required personal information. Thus the researcher had to continually assure these residents, that their responses were highly confidential and that their responses will be analysed by the researcher only. Also, some of the residents from formal housing assumed that this research would immediately address the issue of the informal settlements in their neighbourhood. Thus the researcher had to constantly remind these residents that
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this research was a requirement for the researcher to obtain a Masters Degree only and this research was not conducted by the eThekwini Municipality to address the issue of the presence of informal settlements in Clare Estate. A compulsory letter of informed consent was drawn up by the researcher (see Appendix D, which is a letter of consent to participate in the research project), and an ethics form filled out by the researcher in accordance with the rules of the Faculty of Humanities at UKZN. Prior to the interviews, each respondent was required to sign the letter of consent. Some of the respondents were suspicious of this form, while others were nonchalant about it. The ethics form allowed the researcher to consider any ethical challenges that could arise during the research.
On reflection, it was realised that this research was important to undertake since it examines the complexities regarding who has access to land and on what basis and what social tensions are visible from the perspective of the residents in formal housing with regards to the presence of the informal settlements. However, this research only added to a field of knowledge and therefore like other research at Masters Level in the geography field, was unable to bring about change. This is further acknowledged by Pain (2003), who stated that many social and cultural geographers only study the area, without bringing about change. As a researcher, the idea of not solving the issue and bringing about change was problematic on a personal basis. The researcher constantly asked questions such as:
‘What is the purpose of this research?’, ‘how is this research helping the residents in formal housing with regards to the presence of the informal community?’ and ‘will the issue of the presence of the informal settlements in Clare Estate be solved by the eThekwini Municipality?’ Pain (2003) states that bringing about change and these types of questions are issues that many geographers face.
It was thus important for the researcher to acknowledge the position that she had taken in the research and to recognise the outlook that she brought with into the research. The researcher has attempted to make reference to her position and reflection in the research.
The following section will examine the constraints experienced when undertaking this study.