Abstract:
Newkirk (1996) warns that the research practices which are part of a qualitative approach to research may result in data collection becoming "an act of seduction" ending in betrayal as participants are reconstructed in the final text to meet the agenda of the researcher. The potential for seduction and betrayal is increased when the researcher is an insider to the participant community. When the researcher is recognised as a member of the participant community there are advantages in terms of access to rich data. There are also ethical issues as participants share experiences and understandings in ways that would be denied to an outsider. When these friendly conversations are reconstructed and interpreted as research data, the "person becomes portrait" (Stronarch & MacLure 1997) in ways that may not sit well with their sense of self. This paper explores the ways in which these issues were resolved (and not resolved) in a study of English as a second language (ESL) teacher identity in which the researcher was positioned as a long-standing member of the ESL teacher community.