Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods

This chapter is a critical engagement with the concept of objectivity borne out of a project where I as the researcher shared characteristics with the participants in the research project, namely that we were all LGBTQI+ barristers. The chapter summarises some of the findings of that research before going on to consider why distance or neutrality in research is not only an unrealistic expectation but is instrumental in maintaining problematic power dynamics. Through an exploration of feminist and queer thinking it goes on to explore strategies and approaches that can be used to think in a more engaged and ethical way about quality and rigour in research.