Emotions in the Qualitative Research Process: Introduction to the Special Issue

Authors

  • Irini Siouti Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
  • Minna Kristiina Ruokonen-Engler Institute for Social Research Frankfurt

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.1.4360

Keywords:

emotions, qualitative research, reflexivity, interpretative methods, qualitative interviewing

Abstract

Emotions play an important role in the qualitative research process. They can both hinder and facilitate scientific inquiry. Scholars rooted in different traditions of qualitative interpretative methods have emphasized the need to reflect on researchers' subjectivity. Thus, we argue that reflexive approaches can offer a starting point for exploring emotions in the qualitative research process. In this article, we introduce the special issue on "Emotions in the Qualitative Research Process." We provide a brief insight into the topic and discuss different theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. By focusing on the qualitative interview methods, we underline the importance of considering emotional reflexivity as a central element of interactive field research.

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Author Biographies

Irini Siouti, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Irini SIOUTI is professor for qualitative empirical social research and director of the Institute of Migration Studies at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. She is the speaker of the section "Biographical Research" in the German Sociological Association. Her main areas of research include qualitative social research, interpretative methods, transnational and reflexive knowledge production, migration and biographical research, political participation.

Minna Kristiina Ruokonen-Engler, Institute for Social Research Frankfurt

Minna Kristiina RUOKONEN-ENGLER is research associate at the Institute for Social Research Frankfurt and research coordinator at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. In her ongoing research project, she explores intergenerational experiences of social mobility through educational advancement in context of migrant families "Durch Bildung zu sozialem Aufstieg: Zur intergenerationalen Bearbeitung von Aufstiegserfahrungen in Migrationsfamilien" [Social Advancement Through Education: On Intergenerational Negotiations of Upward Social Mobility Experiences in Migrant Families], financed by DFG, 445115586). Her main areas of research include migration, social mobility, social inequality and discrimination, gender and diversity, qualitative methods and biography research.

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Published

2025-01-29

How to Cite

Siouti, I., & Ruokonen-Engler, M. K. (2025). Emotions in the Qualitative Research Process: Introduction to the Special Issue. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.1.4360

Issue

Section

Emotions in the Research Process. Methodological Challenges and Theoretical Reflections