ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses my experiences as a researcher studying the lived experiences of women workers for a government food entitlement programme. The ethnographic fieldwork took place in Odisha state, India, and involved communities in 64 villages. Drawing upon feminist research methodologies, I reflect upon the fluid relationships between researchers and participants and the embodied affective intensities that arise from this. I discuss embodying different levels of insider/outsider positions in different field sites. I argue that the researcher-participant relationship is continuously shaped and re-shaped by the field site, and the sites within oneself. I argue that honesty, humaneness and humility in the field are more important than collecting data for the sake of research. My contention is that qualitative researchers should keep a flexible approach and allow field sites to determine their methodologies instead of following fixed rules such as the over-emphasis on getting signed consent forms from participants. I have shown that in most cases, both the researcher and the participant influence each other’s position, which makes the research process dynamic and empowering for both.
