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Emergent Issues When Researching Trauma: A Confessional Tale

Title:

Emergent Issues When Researching Trauma: A Confessional Tale

Connolly, Kate and Reilly, Rosemary C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7274-4488 (2007) Emergent Issues When Researching Trauma: A Confessional Tale. Qualitative Inquiry, 13 (4). pp. 522-540. ISSN 1077-8004

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Official URL: http://qix.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/13/4/5...

Abstract

This article examines the impact of conducting narrative research focusing on trauma and healing. It is told through three voices: the study participants who experienced the trauma; the researcher who shared her personal experiences conducting this research; and an academic colleague who acted as a reflective echo making sense of and normalizing the researcher’s experience. Issues explored in the paper include: harmonic resonance between the story of the participant and the life experiences of the researcher; emotional reflexivity; complex researcher roles and identities; acts of reciprocity that redress the balance of power in the research relationship; the need for compassion for the participants; and self-care for the researcher when researching trauma. The authors conclude that when researching trauma, the researcher is a member of both a scholarly community and a human community, and that maintaining the stance as a member of the human community is an essential element of conducting trauma research.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Applied Human Sciences
Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Authors:Connolly, Kate and Reilly, Rosemary C.
Journal or Publication:Qualitative Inquiry
Date:2007
Funders:
  • Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):10.1177/1077800406297678
Keywords:researcher reflective alliance; researching trauma; stresses of qualitative research
ID Code:6415
Deposited By: Rosemary Reilly
Deposited On:28 Oct 2009 14:16
Last Modified:07 Dec 2020 20:44

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