Insider/outsider issues: Reflections on qualitative research

Abstract

In this report, I present some of the "outsider/insider" issues involved when carrying out qualitative research with the judiciary, a neglected area within the methodological account. This research note highlights the tensions in the research process and interviewing is a former court judge and later doctoral student, then interviewing other court judges. My position as "outsider/insider" had implications for my ability to understand the terminology, abbreviations, and acronyms used by the participants and the issues raised by them that were specific to the Indonesian court setting.This article contributes to an examination of the ways in which our ethical appraisal navigates our whole methodology.