‘To be honest, it’s complicated’: training postgraduate students to work with emotions in qualitative research

Abstract

Emotion is an integral part of the knowledge production process, yet is rarely acknowledged within research methods teaching or textbooks. As educators, preparing students for fieldwork is essential, and should go beyond skill-learning, towards building confidence in their ability to react both ethically and appropriately during fieldwork. This paper reflects on supporting students to manage the disruptiveness of learning about their role within the research process while acknowledging research as an emotionally-driven practice. We outline why learning opportunities on emotion are essential within the context of a pan-social-science methods course for postgraduates. Consideration is given to how space is provided for students to consider their motivations, emotions, and subjective engagement with their research, and the broader consequences for knowledge production in action. Two examples are shared as a means to create space for careful consideration of emotions, and of potentially delivering a strategy for implementing a pedagogy of emotion.