My Journey as a Qualitative Researcher by Nikhil Kumar

I was very young when I was handed over a story book to read by myself. That was a s sincere effort of my father to start reading and speaking in English right from the beginning. The story book was “The little match girl”. A story that made me think at a young age of 7 that how a structured combination of words curated with deep insights can bring an individual face to face with one’s own vulnerabilities. My vulnerability after reading that story was if I ever lose parents and the support of my family how will I be able to sustain my existence.

My journey to deep dive into tales and narratives to understand the unheard and unexpressed, that started there with an illustrated classic took a relapse after 15 years when I enrolled myself for post-graduate in Psychology in Delhi University and opted for Qualitative Research Methods as one of the papers.

The different readings and articles that I went through to understand the difficult concepts that I always overlooked like silence, speech, conversation, narratives, etc., made me realize how we as individuals often are surrounded by so many tales and stories that are often wounded and silenced by prejudices, social stigmas, dogmas and conventions that are perceived to be right by the majority.

Street Play Theatre - New Delhi

As a qualitative researcher, I have not only become cognizant of a new perspective to observe these issues but I have become more sensitive towards them. The readings that always seemed to be liability were proved to be an asset as that process churned and catalysed the process of self-inquiry in order to understand and empower the other. Through qualitative research I learnt how to use the personal experiences as a tool to effectively understand the struggles of the one being researched, I realized the journey from an outsider to insider can only be covered well if I do not supress my primary experiences with my own reality that we often would and neither allow myself to be overwhelmed by it. I understood how to use my experiences be it in silence via observing my ‘other’ or in a dialogue with the ‘other’ i.e., the process of critical subjectivity.

Qualitative research empowered me by awaking the curious student in me who does not claim to know everything. Since only if I know that ‘I don’t know’ I will be able to really empathise with the ‘other’ and in order to connect with the other I will have to give upon the claim that I know everything.

Street Play Performers - New Delhi

Maintaining a reflexive journal throughout the study is a very healthy habit for a researcher as it works as a doctor’s guide during the analysis of the data. Since we hear, read and watch the data after a significant time period to analyse it. Referring back to the reflexive journal to understand my own challenges while I was in interaction with my subject helps me to understand and analyse without any bias at a holistic level barring the research finding from any pre-conceived notion that I am influenced with.

Each story that I heard, shaped and reshaped my research process as every story helps another research question to emerge. Analysis of every verbatim, every transcript is a constant negotiation with the ‘my perception of reality’ vis-à-vis ‘how the other’s reality is shaped’ and unveils multiple layers of reflexivity during the process.

“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged.”

Peter Brook, The empty space

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Nikhil Kumar  is a post-graduate student at the Department of Psychology, University of Delhi. He is looking at street plays which address issues of gender in Indian society, organisations and workplaces. His Case Study is titled: Giving voice to unspoken issues of gender through the organization of Street Play Theatre.