Positionality: The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity

Abstract

This article considers the way in which positionality shifts and is formed during a cross-cultural study to reveal the complexity of the insider-outsider status. As a researcher in a male-dominated game setting, I reflect on the research process and my interactions with participants to show the interplay of space, context, and identity in shaping a researcher’s status. I discuss the process of gaining access to the research site and participants, and data collection in relation to space, context, and identity. The interaction of my identities with space, and context informed my status at various moments. This interplay constructs a complex status of an “in-out-sider”. These findings prepare researchers to pay close attention to the role space, context, and identity play in shaping their positionality. This study serves as a welcome addition to the emerging literature on positionality, and to the situatedness of a researcher status.