Insider-Outsider: Researchers in American Indian Communities.

LL RESEARCH, BY ITS VERY NATURE, is political. Crossing borders from the academic to the real lives of people is fraught with tensions and misunderstandings. Qualitative researchers must continually be aware of how those we study view us as well as how we view them. Qualitative research, and especially ethnography, relies on what we, as observers, see and what we are told by the participants in our research studies. This is not always a seamless path. Sometimes researchers are "blocked" by participants who decide they are unworthy or not to be trusted with local "insider" information. The political motives of the researcher can be questioned by research participants-who could range from members of a minority community to school officials or corporate executives-who have reason to believe the study will contribute little to the betterment of their emotional, social, political, or economic situation. This challenge becomes echoed in questions such as: Why are you doing this research? and Who will benefit from the results?