Researching South Asian women: issues of sameness and difference in the research process

This paper explores issues of gender, racial identity in the research proce ss, control and ownership of data and how this affects research. It also lo oks at the influence of outsider/insider status in carrying out research. T he article draws upon research carried out in East London on South Asian wo men. It argues that our racial identity can and does affect the research pr ocess in which women who have some shared experience with researchers may b e more willing to speak to researchers who reflect this. Furthermore, the c ontrol and ownership of the research project and data can also affect our r elationship to the project and often black/Asian researchers may be recruit ed to be interviewers in studies that are not always controlled by them. Wh en considering our outsider/insider status within the research process, thi s is influenced by our own personal experiences, our 'race', gender and oth er physical characteristics in ways in which we may have no control.