Cover not available

Article published In: Multilingualism and Mobility in the Twenty-First Century: New Trajectories and Possibilities in Migration Linguistics
Edited by Ariane Macalinga Borlongan and Lisa Lim
[AILA Review 37:1] 2024
► pp. 156–176

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required
Approach

Rethinking researcher-participant roles

Ethics of care and collaboration in the migration linguistics of precarious migrants

ORCiD logo with link | Southern Luzon State University
 | Southern Luzon State University
 | Southern Luzon State University
 | Southern Luzon State University
Published online: 4 June 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.23014.gui
Abstract
Recent studies on language and migration have attempted to address the social injustices stemming from global disparities in wealth and opportunities. However, there’s a risk of researchers unintentionally reinforcing traditional power dynamics, positioning themselves in power while reducing participants to mere data sources. Focusing on migrants in precarious living conditions, whose migration is often a consequence of political and economic upheaval in the origin, this paper interrogates the role of researchers and the researched with respect to social justice perspectives. We argue that conducting research on, for, and with such vulnerable migrant populations requires a reflexive understanding of our own positions and decisions throughout our engagement with participants. We propose that this approach is most effectively executed if we treat participants as equal partners in knowledge generation and social action, guided by principles of care, empathy, and unconventional methodologies. Through this, we hope to advocate for migration linguistics that is truly fair, just, and empowering among migrants.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Migrants in precarity: Who and why?
  • 3.Understanding researcher roles and impact on the researched
    • 3.1Positioning ourselves as researchers
      • An objective recorder?
      • The voice of the voiceless?
      • An instrument of research
    • 3.2Positioning study participants
      • Immobile migrant vs. mobile expats?
      • A ‘migrant’ only if in precarity?
      • Victims needing extraordinary support?
      • Agents capable of self-identification and determination
  • 4.CARE for migrants in precarity: Some ethical (re)considerations
    • Complete transparency
    • Avoiding stigmatization or re-traumatization of participants
    • Resolute commitment to privacy and confidentiality
    • Embracing cultural and linguistic sensitivity
  • 5.Conclusions: Treating participants as partners in knowledge generation & social action
  • Notes
  • References
References (75)
References
Abu-Lughod, L. (1990). The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power through Bedouin Women. American Ethnologist, 17(1), 41–55. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aguilon, C. J., Guinto, N., & Aberion, L. (2022). Discourse Analysis. In A. Rosario & S. Wa-Mbaleka (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in the Asian Context (pp. 219–233). London: Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alberti, G. (2014). Mobility strategies, “mobility differentials” and “transnational exit”: The experiences of precarious migrants in London’s hospitality jobs. Work, Employment & Society, 281, 865–881. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Alcoff, L. (1991). The Problem of Speaking for Others. Cultural Critique, (20), 5–32. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Allan, K. (2013). Skilling the Self: The Communicability of Immigrants as Flexible Labour. In A. Duchêne, M. G. Moyer, & C. Roberts (Eds.), Language, migration and social inequalities a critical sociolinguistic perspective on institutions and work (pp. 56–79). Bristol & Buffalo: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Allison, A. (2012). Ordinary Refugees: Social Precarity and Soul in 21st Century Japan. Anthropological Quarterly, 85(2), 345–370. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barrientos, S., Kothari, U., & Phillips, N. (2013). Dynamics of Unfree Labour in the Contemporary Global Economy. The Journal of Development Studies, 49(8), 1037–1041. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bates-Eamer, N. (2019). Border and Migration Controls and Migrant Precarity in the Context of Climate Change. Social Sciences, 8(7), 198. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J., & Jie, D. (2020). Ethnographic Fieldwork: A Beginner’s Guide. Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Borlongan, A. M. (2019). Studies on language and migration: Towards ‘migration linguistics’. Diliman Review, 63(1), 17–23.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2022). Language Issues of Migrants during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reimagining Migrant (Linguistic) Integration Programs in (Post-)Pandemic Times. Journal of English and Applied Linguistics, 1(2). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Migration linguistics: A synopsis. AILA Review, 36(1), 38–63. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1996). Understanding. Theory, Culture & Society, 13(2), 17–37. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cameron, D., Frazer, E., Harvey, P., Rampton, B., & Richardson, K. (1992). Researching Language: Issues of Power and Method. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1993a). Ethics, advocacy and empowerment: Issues of method in researching language. Language & Communication, 13(2), 81–94. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1993b). Reply to comments. Language & Communication, 13(2), 141–145. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Capstick, T. (2020). Language and Migration. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chacko, E., & Price, M. (2021). (Un)settled sojourners in cities: The scalar and temporal dimensions of migrant precarity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 47(20), 4597–4614. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Charity Hudley, A. H., & Flores, N. (2022). Social justice in applied linguistics: Not a conclusion, but a way forward. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 421, 144–154. Cambridge Core. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P., & Saez, E. (2018). Economic Mobility. In D. B. Grusky & J. Hill (Eds.), Inequality in the 21st Century (1st ed., pp. 209–214). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Constable, N. (2007). Maid to order in Hong Kong: Stories of Filipina workers (2nd ed.). Ithaca, USA: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Coupland, N. (2016). 20 Five Ms for sociolinguistic change. In N. Coupland (Ed.), Sociolinguistics: Theoretical Debates (pp. 433–454). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cresswell, T. (2006). On the Move: Mobility in the Modern Western World. New York & London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
D’Agostino, M. (2022). Multilingual Young African Migrants: Between Mobility and Immobility. In A. De Fina & G. Mazzaferro (Eds.), Exploring (Im)mobilities: Language Practices, Discourses and Imaginaries (pp. 17–37). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duchêne, A., Moyer, M. G., & Roberts, C. (2013). Introduction: Recasting Institutions and Work in Multilingual and Transnational Spaces. In A. Duchêne, M. G. Moyer, & C. Roberts (Eds.), Language, migration and social inequalities a critical sociolinguistic perspective on institutions and work (pp. 1–21). Bristol; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eckert, P. (1989). Jocks and Burnout: Social Categories and Identity in the High School. New York & London: Teacher’s College Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ekmekci, P. E., & Arda, B. (2017). Interculturalism and Informed Consent: Respecting Cultural Differences without Breaching Human Rights. Cultura (Iasi, Romania), 14(2), 159–172. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Elliot, A., & Urry, J. (2010). Mobile Lives. London & New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gawlewicz, A. (2016). Language and translation strategies in researching migrant experience of difference from the position of migrant researcher. Qualitative Research, 16(1), 27–42. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, Massachusettes: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gogia, N. (2006). Unpacking Corporeal Mobilities: The Global Voyages of Labour and Leisure. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 38(2), 359–375. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grain, K. M. L. (2016). The Social Justice Turn: Cultivating “Critical Hope” in an Age of Despair. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(1). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guinto, N. (2023). Lived Experiences of Unequal Englishes of Filipino Domestic Workers in Hong Kong. International Journal for Research in Education, 47(2), 12–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hammersley, M. (2010). Creeping Ethical Regulation and the Strangling of Research. Sociological Research Online, 15(4), 123–125. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hannam, K., Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). Editorial: Mobilities, Immobilities and Moorings. Mobilities, 1(1), 1–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heath, S. B., & Street, B. V. (2008). On ethnography: Approaches to language and literacy research. New York: Teachers College Press: NCRLL/National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heller, M., Pietikäinen, S., & Pujolar, J. (2018). Critical Sociolinguistic Research Methods: Studying Language Issues that Matter. New York & London: Routledge. Retrieved from Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hui, A. (2016). The Boundaries of Interdisciplinary Fields: Temporalities Shaping the Past and Future of Dialogue between Migration and Mobilities Research. Mobilities, 11(1), 66–82. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hymes, D. H. (1996). Ethnography, linguistics, narrative inequality: Toward an understanding of voice. London: London : Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ingold, T. (2014). That’s enough about ethnography! HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 4(1), 383–395. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
International Organization for Migration. (2023). Key Migration Terms. Retrieved September 18, 2023, from International Organization for Migration website: [URL]
Keyton, J. (2011). Communication research: Asking questions, finding answers (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kubota, R. (2022). Linking Research to transforming the real world: Critical language studies for the next 20 years. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies. (world). Retrieved from [URL]
Kulick, D. (2015). The Problem of Speaking for Others Redux: Insistence on Disclosure and the Ethics of Engagement. Knowledge Cultures, 3(6), 14–33.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ladegaard, H. J. (2024). Migrant Workers’ Narratives of Return: Alienation and Identity Transformations. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ladegaard, H. J., & Phipps, A. (2020). Intercultural research and social activism. Language and Intercultural Communication, 20(2), 67–80. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lanza, E. (2008). Selecting Individuals, Groups, and Sites. In W. Li & M. G. Moyer (Eds.), The Blackwell Guide to Research Methods in Bilingualism and Multilingualism (pp. 73–87). MA, USA: Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Machin, H. E., & Shardlow, S. M. (2018). Overcoming ethical barriers to research. Research Ethics, 14(3), 1–9. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Miike, Y. (2019). Intercultural communication ethics: An Asiacentric perspective. The Journal of International Communication, 25(2), 159–192. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mintz, S. (2022, November 15). The Social Justice Turn. Retrieved September 15, 2023, from [URL]
Munck, R. (2013). The Precariat: A view from the South. Third World Quarterly, 34(5), 747–762. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nowicka, M. (2018). Cultural Precarity: Migrants’ Positionalities in the Light of Current Anti-immigrant Populism in Europe. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 39(5), 527–542. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Paret, M., & Gleeson, S. (2016). Precarity and agency through a migration lens. Citizenship Studies, 20(3–4), 277–294. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Parreñas, R. S. (2015). Servants of Globalization: Migration and Domestic Work (2nd ed.). Stanford University Press. Retrieved from [URL].
Pennycook, A. (2021). Critical Applied Linguistics: A Critical Re-Introduction (2nd ed.). New York & Oxon: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Phipps, A. (2013a). Intercultural ethics: Questions of methods in language and intercultural communication. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13(1), 10–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013b). Linguistic Incompetence: Giving an account of researching multilingually. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(3), 329–341. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Piller, I. (2020). Language and Social Justice. In J. Stanlaw (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 1–7). John Wiley & Sons. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Piper, N. (2022). Temporary labour migration in Asia: The transnationality-precarity nexus. International Migration, 60(4), 38–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rafael, V. (1997). “Your Grief Is Our Gossip”: Overseas Filipinos and Other Spectral Presences. Public Culture, 9(2), 267–291. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rampton, B., Maybin, J., & Roberts, C. (2015). Theory and Method in Linguistic Ethnography. In J. Snell, S. Shaw, & F. Copland (Eds.), Linguistic ethnography: Interdisciplinary explorations (pp. 14–50). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as fairness: A restatement. Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Romocea, O. (2014). Ethics and Emotions: A Migrant Researcher Doing Research among Romanian Migrants. Sociological Research Online, 19(4), 176–189. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scandone, B. (2022). ‘I Don’t Want to Completely Lose Myself’: Social Mobility as Movement Across Classed, Ethnicised, and Gendered Spaces. Sociological Research Online, 27(1), 172–188. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schmenk, B., Breidbach, S., & Küster, L. (Eds.). (2018). Sloganization in Language Education Discourse. Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sheller, M., & Urry, J. (2006). The new mobilities paradigm. Environmental Planning A, 381, 207–226. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slote, M. (2007). The Ethics of Care and Empathy. London & New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Standing, G. (2011). The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. London: Bloomsbury Academic..Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tolich, M., & Anito Jr., J. (2022). Asian Qualitative Research Ethics: Lessons for the West. In A. Rosario & S. Wa-Mbaleka (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in the Asian Context (pp. 51–63). London & New York: SAGE Publications. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2014). R-Words: Refusing Research. In D. Paris & M. T. Winn (Eds.), Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Qualitative Inquiry with Youth and Communities (pp. 223–247). London: SAGE Publications. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tupas, R. F. (2015). Unequal Englishes: The politics of Englishes today. Houndmills, Basingstokes, Hampshire New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tyner, J. A. (2004). Made in the Philippines: Gendered discourses and the making of migrants. London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
UNESCO, (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights – Legal Affairs., 33 C/Resolutions + CORR. + CORR.2 + CORR.3 + CORR.4 + CORR.5 § (2005).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Urry, J. (2000). Sociology beyond Societies: Mobilities for the Twenty-first Century. London & New York: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wyss, A., & Dahinden, J. (2022). Disentangling entangled mobilities: Reflections on forms of knowledge production within migration studies. Comparative Migration Studies, 10(1), 33. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue