Open AccessPracticing Reflexivity in the Study of Italian Migrants in London
Author(s) -
Francesca Romana Seganti
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1191
Subject(s) - reflexivity , scrutiny , sociology , qualitative research , centrality , media studies , object (grammar) , ethnography , gender studies , social science , political science , anthropology , law , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , combinatorics
This article discusses the centrality of reflexivity in qualitative research through examples from my study on the role new media play in the lives of Italians in London. My hypothesis was that Italians were "in transit" in London and they were using new media to build "temporary" communities. I conducted in-depth interviews with members of the Italianialondra.com online community. I found they settled in London and the online community, instead of supporting "nomadic" identities, was used for re-territorialization. Through reflexivity I was able to determine the reasons for a partially wrong hypothesis. I also identified biases that clouded my interpretations of the object of study; thus promoting rich insight and enabling public scrutiny of the integrity of the research.