Language, Emotions, and Access to Refugee Women: Ingredients for Reflexivity

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Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates how the use of reflexivity is fundamental to overcoming methodological challenges in conducting qualitative research about the process of becoming a refugee woman, as well as guaranteeing that the results achieved are trustworthy. Using considerations from the fieldwork, this chapter emphasizes the major role that reflexivity assumed in the researchers’ work and inner development, namely regarding: the use of translators during the conduction of interviews; the emotional impact of the research on the researcher; the relationship between the researcher and the research; and the ordeals of collecting data during lockdowns/a global pandemic. It is argued that promoting ethical practice and methodological reliability are mutually reinforcing objectives to overcome methodological challenges in which the process of reflexivity is a central tool, as well as to enhance potentially useful outcomes.

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Correspondence to Gabriela Mesquita Borges .

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Borges, G.M., Faria, R. (2023). Language, Emotions, and Access to Refugee Women: Ingredients for Reflexivity. In: Díaz-Fernández, A.M., Del-Real, C., Molnar, L. (eds) Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41574-6_17

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