Reflexivity: Interviewing Women and Men Formerly Addicted to Drugs and/or Alcohol

• Published in: Qualitative report Vol. 19; no. 38; p. 1
• Main Author: Grant, Judith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fort Lauderdale Nova Southeastern University, Inc 22-09-2014; The Qualitative Report
• Subjects: Alcohol; Drug addicts; Females; Individual Characteristics; Interviews; Knowledge Management; Males; Methodology; Narcotics; Narratives; Psychoanalysis; Qualitative research; Research Projects; Researchers; Social Responsibility; Social Science Research; Social sciences; Social Studies; Studies; Substance Abuse; Surveys; Women
• ISSN: 1052-0147; 2160-3715
• DOI: 10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1004

This article considers how one researcher used reflexivity in two research projects. Qualitative research often involves a consideration of sensitive topics, one which may include research with individuals formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. However, there is little in the literature that focuses directly on such experiences for researchers in this field; that is, a consideration of how a researcher might use reflectivity while interviewing those formerly addicted to substances. Exploring the following themes, I highlight how I reflected on the experiences that my participants (25 women and 25 men) revealed about their stories of their addiction and recovery processes: (1) my personal characteristics and my background work; (2) the importance of documenting power balance or power imbalance in my research; (3) documenting the unexpected; and (4) reflecting on the impact of my interviews/field notes.