Inside knowledge: issues in insider research.

Abstract

Insider research, that is, conducting research in an organisation or culture to which the researcher belongs, poses specific problems for the design and conduct of a research study. In particular, researchers need to take account of the influence their connection with the culture has on the results and how they are interpreted. Benefits of this research approach include collecting in-depth data on the subject. In a personal account of her experiences of insider research, the author identifies some of these issues and makes suggestions about how they can be resolved.