Self-reflexivity as an ethical instrument to give full play to our explicit and implicit subjectivity as qualitative researchers

Abstract

Being a qualitative researcher involves, mainly, assuming the subjective dimension of the research process. This article reflects the process through which I am going through as a junior qualitative researcher within the educative field. If we are immersed in social or humanistic knowledge construction as researchers, we are part of a complex process of relations, we influence and we are influenced, as well. It is an ethical assumption which implies taking responsibility. In this article, I try to reveal how I dealt with my explicit and implicit subjectivity, developing self-reflexivity strategies that allowed me to expand the understanding of the phenomenon.