ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explain the concepts of researcher stance, positionality and reflexivity, and demonstrates how they are related and even interconnected concepts. They suggest ways of ensuring that researchers choose to address these concepts both in the research design and in the way they undertake and present the research. A personal stance is a position taken towards an issue that is derived from a person’s beliefs and views about the world. It reflects deeply held attitudes and concerns about what is important. Reflexivity can be broadly defined to mean an understanding of the knowledge-making enterprise, including a consideration of the subjective, institutional, social and political processes whereby research is conducted and knowledge is produced. The researcher is part of the social world that is studied and this calls for exploration and self-examination. As a concept, reflexivity is deeply embedded in both researcher perceptions of self and of the world, which ultimately are connected to personal stance.
