Space, Place, Common Wounds and Boundaries: Insider/Outsider Debates in Research with Black Women and Deaf Women.

The chapter discusses issues of identity in research. It does this by examining the impacts of the identity of the researcher, participants and the various identity interchanges that take place. This chapter draws on the perspectives and experiences of participants and researcher in a PhD study with five1 culturally Deaf (white) women and twenty five Black (hearing) women discussing their world of work in UK public sector organizations. The theoretical framework of ‘Africanist Sista-hood in Britain’ is that which underpins the positioning of the research and researcher. The chapter provides a reflexive account of the research but in a way that centralizes participant perspectives. Two goals have been achieved; firstly, it adds further contribution to the insider/outsider debate by adding participant perspectives on the issue, and secondly, it demonstrates the ways in which the theoretical framework of ‘Africanist Sistahood in Britain’ can be used in research not just with Black women but also via collaborative approaches with other social groups. In so doing, the chapter raises a number of important questions: Should researchers seek out participant perspectives on the insider/outsider debates in research? In what ways does the identity interchange between researcher and researched have an impact on the research process? What does Africanist Sista-hood in Britain have to offer to Black women and others carrying out research in the field?