Regimes of Trustworthiness in Qualitative Research: The Rigors of Reciprocity

Abstract

In this article, the authors explore the relationships between trustworthiness and reciprocity in qualitative research: What new questions about trustworthiness arise when we view qualitative research through the lens of reciprocity? Every stage of the research process relies on our negotiating complex social situations. Participants are active in this process, and reciprocity occurs at many different levels. In this article, the authors problematize the relationship between trustworthiness and reciprocity in relation to the researcher, the research process, and the write-up. The authors consider the possibilities and the demands and obligations of reciprocity as they explore framing questions, access and rapport, insider-outsider status, passionate participation, data production, data analysis, and authorizing accounts. The authors’ experiences and interpretations and tales from and of the field shape and are shaped by our understandings of reciprocity.