Fieldwork Across Borders: PGR Students Co-organise BSA Regional Event on International Research

Sociology Postgraduate Research students co-organised a regional event with the British Sociological Association titled 'Insider-Outsider'.

The British Sociological Association (BSA) Postgraduate Forum Regional Event “‘Insider-Outsider’: Navigating Challenges and Complexities in Cross-national and Cross-cultural Fieldwork” was held on 21 May 2025 at the School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds. PGR (Postgraduate Research) students, Luna Yihan Fu, Zexuan He, Paula Correa Bologna, and Karen Tatham, co-organised this PGR event funded by the BSA. PGR students and early-career researchers, working internationally in the field of cross-cultural and cross-national research joined this one-day event.

Insiders or outsiders?

Conducting fieldwork across national and cultural boundaries presents unique challenges. Home PGRs conducting field research overseas often encounter difficulties such as navigating unfamiliar cultural norms, dealing with language barriers, and addressing ethical concerns, all of which can significantly impact their research process and outcomes. On the other hand, international PGRs returning to their home countries for fieldwork must navigate the dual role of being both insiders and outsiders, negotiating their cultural identities at home against their identities as trained researchers from UK educational institutions. Despite the diversity of the PGR community and our research, there are limited spaces within academic settings where PGRs can openly discuss and reflect on these challenges in cross-national and cross-cultural fieldwork. This event addressed this gap.

Keynote speaker Dr Tesfalem Yemane (Visiting Fellow at the School of Sociology and Social Policy) provided his reflections on his positionality of his PhD experience through decolonial and postcolonial scholarship examining the case of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Tesfalem addressed the importance of boundaries in the construction of a researcher’s identity in their fieldwork.

Fourteen presenters delivered within three panels, exploring the nuanced experiences of researchers navigating positionality, methodological innovation, and power dynamics in diverse cultural contexts – including China, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Japan, India and the UK.

The first panel, chaired by Dr Tesfalem Yemane, took the theme of positionality and insider-outsider dynamics. Presenters reflected on how they navigate their identities throughout the fieldwork process. The panel explored the complexities of researcher positionality, highlighting how insider-outsider dynamics are fluid and context-dependent in international and cross-cultural research. Presenters reflected on the challenges of gaining trust, navigating power asymmetries, and adapting methodologies across cultural and linguistic boundaries. Across the cases, reflexivity, ethical sensitivity, and continuous negotiation of identity emerged as essential for conducting meaningful and respectful fieldwork.

Presenters (from left to right): Raden Hariyani Susanti (online), Heidi Rui Yang, Hannah Wainwright, Man Xu, Yujia Xu

The second panel, chaired by Dr Li Sun (Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Policy) highlighted methodological innovations, showcasing how researchers adapt and develop creative approaches in response to challenges in the field. These papers collectively demonstrate methodological innovation in qualitative research by adapting and reflexively responding to the challenges of cross-cultural, gendered, and sensitive fieldwork contexts. From the use of virtual interviews as therapeutic spaces to the careful management of translation and researcher positionality, the studies highlight how researchers navigate insider-outsider dynamics, power relations, and ethical complexities. Innovative strategies – such as minimising researcher presence to reduce participant anxiety or leveraging linguistic and cultural fluency to enhance trust – allow for richer, more flexible data collection. These reflections not only advance methodological practice but also show how reflexivity and adaptability are key to conducting ethical and effective research in diverse and often underexplored social contexts.

Dr Li Sun chairing the Panel 2

The third and final panel, co-chaired by Paula Correa Bologna and Luna Yihan Fu (PGRs, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds), centred on researcher-participant relationships, and the navigation of asymmetrical power dynamics between researchers and participants. Drawing on diverse fieldwork in the Indian, Chinese, and German contexts, presenters reflect on how participants exercise agency, resist dominant narratives, and even reframe the research agenda. Together, these papers illuminate the entanglements of identity, authority, and context in shaping knowledge production. By interrogating their own positionality and the agency of participants, the presenters call for a more nuanced understanding of power in a cross-cultural context as dynamic, multi-directional, and embedded in both institutional structures and everyday interactions.

Panel 3 Q& A sessions – from left to right (Paula Correa Bologna, Luna Yihan Fu, Ankit Vyas, Ziyin Zheng, Johanna Knebel, Priyambada Seal)

The event also provided attendees with the opportunity to connect, exchange ideas, and build academic relationships. We hope this event has contributed to creating an ‘insider-outsider’ researcher community space where PGRs can come together, connect, and support one another.

Networking session

We would like to thank the British Sociological Association for funding this event, and the people who have supported in making this event happen: Georgina Sailes (British Sociological Association), Grace Idle, Professor Kim Allen; Dr Patricio Simonetto, Professor Sarah Irwin, Sarah House, Dr Thomas Campbell, and the School of Sociology and Social Policy. Thank you to the PGR student event organisers Luna Yihan Fu, Zexuan He, Paula Correa Bologna, Karen Tatham.

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