Inside out: Exploring the Constraints of Researcher Positionality in a Comparative Study Involving Marginalized Urban Migrants

Numerous studies have highlighted the complexity of the insider position in knowledge production. While shared nationality, gender, or language between researchers and study participants can facilitate fieldwork access, they may also limit the development of genuine rapport. A handful of studies have explored the significance of the researcher’s social class in studies involving marginalised migrant communities and the limitations it may impose on qualitative research outcomes. Using a case of a comparative study of marginalised Polish migrants accessing welfare systems in four top-immigrant destination cities: Berlin, London, Stockholm, and New York - we address this gap. Our study is based on 95 interviews with migrants and service providers conducted between 2020 and 2024. The findings suggest that a partial insider stance, resulting from shared characteristics such as ethnicity, language, or immigration status, but not social class, can create a false sense of rapport between researchers and participants, leading to inadequate knowledge production. We will focus on the limitations of our positionality as white Polish university-based scholars during fieldwork and the risks it carries. Our experiences revealed how class differences expressed in language (using academic categories, regional differences) or place of origin (capital city vs. other cities) between the researcher and participants influenced the quality of collected qualitative data. Throughout the research, we encountered participants' anxieties about discussing their earnings, reluctance to describe their living conditions, and efforts to use “proper language.” We also faced challenges in positioning ourselves in relation to participants' racist narratives. Our analysis explores how the researcher's position contributes to the reproduction of meanings and narratives and perpetuates feelings of shame and undeservingness among participants. The presentation concludes with ways of reducing such risks in qualitative research with marginalised migrants.