Feeling Their Stories

Contemplating Empathy, Insider/Outsider Positionings, and Enriching Qualitative Research

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4685477
AutoresSusan Gair (0000-0002-2139-0269, James Cook University, Townsville, North Queensland, Australia, autor correspondente)
Ano2012
Volume22
Fascículo1
Páginas134-143
Data de publicação2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1049732311420580
PMID21873286
OpenAlexW2119801905
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas77
Referências citadas46

Empathy is a very familiar term in the helping and caring literature. What appears to link empathy in the helping literature to the aims and goals of qualitative research and, in particular, to the argument underpinning insider/outsider debates, is a discernible common quest. That quest is to be able to hear, feel, understand, and value the stories of others and to convey that felt empathy and understanding back to the client/storyteller/participant. When relevant, the quest also includes conveying that felt understanding to a broader audience. In this article, I highlight commonalities between empathy in professional practice and empathy in qualitative research processes, including the shared experiences and understanding informing research relationships that are discussed as "insider/outsider" status. I review, discuss, and critique relevant literature, and I conclude by suggesting that cultivating empathy in qualitative research training could contribute to facilitating more enriched, insightful research encounters

Empathy · Epistemology · Feeling · Insider · Qualitative research · Simulation theory of empathy · Social science · Sociology · Empathy and Medical Education · Medicine · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Psychology · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Social Psychology