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Researcher Identity Memos: Reflexive Writing for Balancing Qualitative Rigour & Phronetic Contribution in Research Design
This paper submitted to the XIIIth Actor-Reality Construction Conference addresses:
- the Mandate of Qualitative Rigour: Objectivity, Assumptions, Bias
- some Phronetic Design Issues:
(Axiology, Context, and Solidarity with research subjects)
- the need for a Researcher Identity Memo
- what a Research Identity Memo is
- benefits of a Researcher Identity Memo
- how did these ideas influenced / impacted my research
- a personal example of a Researcher Identity Memo
- an anecdotal application & assessment.

Some qualitative researchers have the potential to bring to the table greater value than merely acting as glorified reporters of the social reality co-constructed by actor-subjects assumed to be knowledgeable agents. At issue is the trade-off between epistemic validity and phronetic contribution of knowledge generated from certain qualitative research. A myopic pursuit of objectivity risks a mire of ‘normal science’ in lieu of leveraging researchers’ unique expertise to facilitate defensible innovative theorizing or problem-solving. Scholars have accepted that complete objectivity in qualitative research is unattainable and that interpreting any qualitative data unavoidably incorporates the personal perspective(s) of the researcher. Therefore, subjectivity exists in our qualitative research: its presence is a matter of degree. But, the main trade-off for objectivity in research rooted in an axiology of usefulness is not subjectivity, but rather solidarity with our research subjects. Perhaps by dialing down the rheostat of objectivity slightly – concentrating less on being spectators of socially-constructed reality, the creative current of a researcher’s relevant expertise may potentially contribute new ‘possibilities’ about researched phenomena that could enhance the capabilities of research subjects and other stakeholders to cope and even thrive in their environments.
This is not to minimize the importance of managing qualitative rigour in interpretive research. Rather, I am suggesting harnessing the phronesis embedded in some researchers’ relevant expertise to increase their ‘Researcher Practical Value-Added’. This will be impacted by their knowledge of and sensitivity to language games they participate in during data collection & analyses, communication of findings, and subsequent discourse with research communities about the influence of their perspective (potentially leading to more opportunities for practically useful research). For these purposes, a ‘Researcher Identity Memo’ is a useful means of reflecting on and documenting a researcher’s perspective (expertise, values, beliefs, etc.) and should be considered as an element of our research design. And, a mechanism/protocol and widely available infrastructure for capturing and sharing this information could elevate our collective phronetic contributions. This paper provides an example of a researcher identity memo prepared for an entrepreneurship researcher investigating certain phenomena in venture capital investing who has 30 years of relevant practical experience in addition to related research experience.
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