ERIC Number: EJ883623
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Mar
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0951-8398
EISSN: N/A
Gaining Research Access into the Lives of Muslim Girls: Researchers Negotiating "Muslimness", Modesty, "Inshallah", and "Haram"
Hamzeh, Manal Z.; Oliver, Kimberly
International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v23 n2 p165-180 Mar 2010
This paper explores the process of gaining research access into the lives of Muslim girls in the southwest USA. We discuss four emerging "entry markers" that challenged the process of gaining and sustaining access over a period of 14 months. These included being Muslim enough, being modest enough, "inshallah" ("Allah" or God willing), and "haram" (forbidden). Additionally, we reflect on (1) how one researcher identified the four "entry markers"; (2) how she negotiated these markers by using her cultural and linguistic literacies and her fluid insiderness/outsiderness; and (3) how building and maintaining relationships with key members of the local Muslim community was central to this study and was directly reliant on negotiating the positions of difference on the embodiments of a specific and prevailing body discourse--the "hijab" discourse. This negotiation was only possible by the researchers' practice and maintenance of critical reflexivity throughout the study. (Contains 8 notes.)
Descriptors: Muslims, Females, Researchers, Feminism, Critical Theory, Access to Information, Human Body, Clothing, Barriers, Adolescents, Reflection, Personality Traits, Semitic Languages, Cultural Awareness, Parent Child Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A