Feeling Out of Place When Seeking Research Access? Reflexivity Through Affective Spacing

In this paper, we propose that drawing on our “feeling of being out of place” when seeking research access can be a valuable source for methodological reflexivity. Drawing on the concept of affective spacing, we examine why and how “feelings of being out of place” emerge as we approach research settings, what emerges as matters of concern in this process and what insights attending to these feelings can provide. We conclude by discussing the revelatory and consequential implications that affective spacing can have for our research. This, we argue, can also help better prepare qualitative scholars to acknowledge and navigate their own involvement in their research.