Fisher Jill A, Monahan Torin
Department of Social Medicine and Center for Bioethics, University of North Carolina, North Carolina, USA.
Department of Communication, University of North Carolina, North Carolina, USA.
Qual Rep. 2023 Nov;28(11):3192-3212. doi: 10.46743/2160-3715/2023.6251.
Emotional labor may be vital to the success of qualitative research studies, particularly longitudinal studies that depend on the maintenance of research relationships over time. Rather than being limited to the comportment of researchers toward their participants, however, we find that participants also actively engage in practices of emotional labor to manage researchers and guide research interactions. We document elements of such "mutual emotional labor" in the establishment of rapport, in crafting experiences of personalized therapeutic benefit from participating in interviews, and in efforts to navigate closure at the conclusion of research projects. We argue that by recognizing forms of reciprocal emotion management, researchers may be better equipped to engage in ethical research practices that serve not only knowledge production but also human connection and care.
情感劳动对于定性研究的成功可能至关重要，尤其是对于那些依赖于长期维持研究关系的纵向研究。然而，我们发现，情感劳动并不局限于研究人员对参与者的行为举止，参与者也会积极参与情感劳动实践，以管理研究人员并引导研究互动。我们记录了这种“相互情感劳动”在建立融洽关系、从参与访谈中精心打造个性化治疗益处的体验以及在研究项目结束时努力处理收尾工作等方面的要素。我们认为，通过认识到相互情感管理的形式，研究人员可能更有能力从事符合伦理的研究实践，这些实践不仅服务于知识生产，还服务于人际关系和关怀。
