White British researchers and internationally educated research participants: Insights from reflective practices on issues of language and culture in nursing contexts

Abstract

This paper explores how reflective practices enabled researchers to achieve a more complex analysis of qualitative data generated from focus groups. Drawing on our experiences as two white British researchers, conducting a study with internationally educated nurses from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, we consider how our analysis led us to a more nuanced understanding of the data than might have occurred without reflectivity. We identified our respective standpoints, confronted our feared biases, particularly in relation to social stereotyping and prejudice, and located ourselves as co-producers of the data. This enabled us to consider how we might be representing, holding and paralleling, systemic patterns of discrimination, leading to several new insights. Reflective practice is often referred to in theory, less often in application. We hope that sharing our reflective process will benefit other researchers navigating the complex waters of identifying themselves in their research.