A phenomenological reflection on approaching attitudes towards race in research

Abstract

Through a phenomenological lens, this reflection explores the interplay between research ethics, researcher positionality, power and researcher identity during a semi-structured interview on International Student diversity in Higher Education. The phenomenological process of bracketing, i.e. the act of suspending biases or attachments, provides scope to evaluate researcher ethics during data collection and subsequently, during data analysis when met with racist language from the perspective of a researcher, specifically a researcher belonging to an ethnic minority group. This reflection advocates critical reflection on researcher identity throughout the research process to enable the researcher to better anticipate and prepare for challenging or confrontational interview responses. Furthermore, this reflection emphasises the significance of open questioning during data collection as a tool for increasing understanding of interviewee perspectives and avoiding confrontation whilst increasing the validity of findings.

Key words: Ethnicity; Linguistic Ethnography; International student diversity; Phenomenology; Power; Reflective practice; Reflexivity; Researcher positionality