Ramifications of Category Entitlement: In What Ways Does Who We Are Determine What Others Will Say?

Abstract

The researcher-self as a significant presence in the field has become more prominent in research discussions but, though established, the issue remains contested in research debates. Our aim for this chapter is to acknowledge the presence of ourselves in our research and begin to explore the ways in which who we are shapes what we find and why we find it. We use a specific focus of category entitlement to explore the situated and connected category memberships of those involved in our own research with the express purpose of extending the debate beyond ideas that the researcher is influential, to explore how this influence is established and articulated.