ABSTRACT
Although I do not want to be seen as an 'emotional exhibitionist', a term coined by Ellis and Flaherty (1992) to describe the 'unpacking in public' of the researcher's responses to the experience of conducting research, I do want to expose my frame of reference. By so doing, I hope to reduce the distance between the reader and my account here. Some believe that presenting qualitative research challenges claims to a singular, correct style for conducting research (Richardson, 1990) and that authors should not be embarrassed by their own subjectivity because their personal stories serve as a reminder that emotions and experiences are not the exclusive property of research participants. It appears that researchers often feel for their participants and their research and yet they are able to track back and forth between an "insider's passionate perspective and an outsider's dispassionate one" (van Maanen, 1988, p77). This results in fluctuating levels of absorption, detachment and confusion in the management of their multiple Selves and roles.
