Interviewing Fathers

Feminist Dilemmas in Fieldwork

Bibliographic Data

ID3665871
AuthorsCaroline Gatrell (0000-0003-3134-3252, Lancaster University, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume15
Issue3
Pages237-251
Publication date2006-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Gender Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0958-9236 • E-ISSN: 1465-3869
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09589230600862059
OpenAlexW2085365391
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited48

This paper explores the dilemmas encountered carrying out empirical research using a feminist methodological approach. Specifically, I recount my experiences while undertaking qualitative research, in which I explored the experiences of employed mothers in the UK. At the beginning of my study, I adopted a feminist ‘position’. This paper explains how an initial decision to exclude men from the research sample proved more complex than anticipated, and was eventually reversed. The issue of equality between the researcher and participants is discussed and the question of whether the approach of the researcher should change, depending on the gender of the respondents, is considered. It is suggested that the experience of doing fieldwork may be different from the outcomes anticipated from the literature. In this case, the behaviour of male interviewees during the interview was very similar to that of female interviewees. Men were just as co-operative and articulate as women. This was not predicted on the basis of some of the existing literature on woman-to-man interviews. It is suggested that the application of epistemology in the field, especially in relation to woman-to-man interviewing, is complex, but that cross gender interviewing may be beneficial in terms of research outcomes

Interview · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Gender Diversity and Inequality · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Psychology · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Social Psychology