60. Reflexivity and Positionality in Qualitative Research Explained

About this lesson

Reflexivity and positionality explained: Learn how your identity as a researcher shapes your qualitative data collection and analysis.

In this module, we explore two critical elements of qualitative inquiry, researcher reflexivity and positionality, which acknowledge the researcher as an active participant in the research process. Unlike quantitative paradigms that emphasize neutrality, qualitative research values transparency, subjectivity, and self-awareness.

What You'll Learn

• • The importance of continuous self-reflection in qualitative research
• • How to examine your influence as a researcher on data and interpretation
• • Ways to articulate and document your positionality
• • Practical tools like reflexive journals, memos, and peer debriefs
• • How clinician-researchers can navigate dual roles in healthcare research

This module is essential for researchers, students, and practitioners working in healthcare, public health, social sciences, or any field where lived experience, identity, and researcher presence are central to the inquiry process.

Perfect For

• • Health science and public health students
• • Nursing, psychology, and social work researchers
• • Clinicians engaged in patient-centered research
• • Qualitative and mixed methods scholars

TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:40 Reflexivity
• 01:55 Positionality
• 03:11 Practicing

Lesson notes

Full written notes for this lesson are in production. Until they publish, watch the video above and use the summary on this page as your study guide.