ABSTRACT
This chapter brings together literature on emotional reflexivity and emotions in social research in order to challenge the ‘pleasure principle’ associated with fieldwork. It is emotional and embodied interactions with the researched, which more often than not provided a glimpse into the internal (social) dynamics of a culture, group, or the lives of individuals. The chapter begins by discussing the emotionalization of reflexivity, emotional labour, and the embodied nature of reflexivity. It then focuses on examples of emotions in research including ‘hidden ethnography’, intimacy and friendship as method, sensitive research, and risk and danger in the field. These examples draw attention to the ethical and moral quandaries which researchers face in the course of their work, including: how best to respond to challenging behaviours on the part of the researched and/or gatekeepers; how to ensure participant and researcher safety; and how to assuage the concerns of ethics boards and committees while successfully conducting research and doing justice to the stories of participants. It also considers how emotions can be viewed as ‘data’ in qualitative research.
