The Sociology of “Dirty Research”: Interresearcher Positionality, Marginalization, and Stigma Management

Although social science research has thoroughly reflected on researchers’ positionality vs. their field and informants, interresearcher positionality has been less rigorously explored. The author examines stigma management and positionality surrounding “dirty research.” He develops a theory of “dirty research” that expands the definition of this concept, identifies its core tenets, and reflects on its consequences and perils for a wide range of scholars. This theory examines the fluidity of “dirty work” and, by extension, “dirty research,” suggesting that the latter should also extend to the study of “dirty people” and “dirty activities.” The author also assesses the academic and personal consequences and perils potentially associated with conducting “dirty research” and the ways in which these consequences vary by researchers’ intersecting identities and demographics. The author then reflects on his own positionality and experiences in conducting “dirty research,” noting both his privileged position and the challenges that nevertheless persist. The author ends with thoughts about future directions for scholars who engage in “dirty research” given the serious challenges of stigmatization and marginalization.