2025/01/20 by Loic Menzies · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics #Social Science and Policy Research #Oral History, Memory, Narrative Analysis
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1049096524001112
openalex publication_date 2025/01/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
ABSTRACT Conducting elite interviews presents well-documented challenges, often linked to dynamics that are influenced by researchers’ status. This aspect of positionality is sometimes characterized as “insider” or “outsider” status, but scholars have noted the lack of nuance in this rigid binary. Drawing on experiences during interviews with policy elites—primarily in England—this article describes the author’s “in-betweener” status and reviews four methodological considerations from this perspective, highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with different points on the insider–outsider spectrum. These observations are meant to stimulate reflexivity among researchers regardless of their status.