Paperpresentation in Symposium: Reflexivity in addressing the role of the researcher as an active 'player' situated in and related to the studied phenomena

Symposium title: Sharing examples of situated reflexivity from under the canvas of the 'large tent': still opaque but striving for greater transparency Abstract title: Reflexivity in addressing the role of the researcher as an active 'player' situated in and related to the studied phenomena Reflexivity, as a tool to enhance quality and claim integrity and trustworthiness in qualitative research, is today somewhat consolidated, but still under negotiation. The ways in which researchers conceptualize and understand 'reflexivity' and the role of the 'reflexive subject' is complex and unclear, even though it has important consequences for the way we make decisions about, conduct and represent our research, and how we underpin our knowledge claims (Finlay, 2002 a.; Finlay, 2002 b.). In this paper I will investigate reflexivity related to the way we understand and act inter-subjectively through dynamic exchanges in the social world and how the social context affects the position from where the researcher acts as a 'player' in a situated context (Finlay, 2002 b.; Shaw, 2016). By turning the lens back onto myself, as a PhD candidate caught up in the ongoing process of becoming a researcher, I will try to make transparent how I interact and relate to the different interwoven cultural contexts that my studied fields represent (Berger, 2015). My project is comparative in nature, investigating the role of the learning context in relation to motivational processes within youth talent-development settings in ballet, classical music and sport. I have characterized my relationship to the three studied fields as a) closed relationship from within (ballet), b) semi-closed relationship from somewhat inside and outside (music) and c) distanced relationship from somewhat outside (sport). It raises different terms of relations on both systemic and personal level, and leads to different 'played out' interactions. My point of departure is; how do my relationships to the different cultural contexts I study affect different aspects of the research process and how can I make this transparent in my analyses and presentations to enhance the quality of the research and provide the reader with information about my knowledge claims? References: Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Qualitative Research, 15(2), 219-234. Finlay, L. (2002) a. “Outing” the researcher: The provenance, process, and practice of reflexivity. Qualitative health research, 12(4), 531-545. Finlay, L. (2002) b. Negotiating the swamp: the opportunity and challenge of reflexivity in research practice. Qualitative research, 2(2), 209-230. Shaw, J. A. (2016). Reflexivity and the “Acting Subject” Conceptualizing the Unit of Analysis in Qualitative Health Research. Qualitative Health Research, 1049732316657813.