The Liminal Researcher: Being Not Quite the Center of Attention

Liminality refers to being “betwixt and between” (Turner,1967). We draw on boundary theory to propose and elaborate upon the notion of “liminal researchers”—the in-between status we hold when we conduct research that is personally meaningful or in highly familiar settings, despite the fact that we are not actually a member of the group being studied. Indeed, being a liminal researcher in organizational studies denotes dwelling on the boundary of the group or phenomenon being studied and puts us in a position to be neither fully in nor fully out of the entity or topic of interest. To further develop these ideas, we draw on our personal and professional experiences as parents and researchers of individuals with developmental disabilities. We reflect on management-related projects that we conduct on students and workers with developmental disabilities and how a highly reflexive stance facilitates our research. Throughout, we use a boundary theory lens to explore being liminal researchers and provide strategies for authors, editors, and reviewers.

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Work Title The Liminal Researcher: Being Not Quite the Center of Attention
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Open Access
Creators
  1. Glen Kreiner
  2. Aparna Joshi
License In Copyright (Rights Reserved)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Academy of Management Perspectives
Publication Date August 1, 2021
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMP.2018.0086
Deposited July 25, 2022

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Version 1
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  • Created
  • Added Liminality.pdf
  • Added Creator Glen Kreiner
  • Added Creator Aparna Joshi
  • Published
  • Updated Work Title, Subtitle, Description Show Changes
    Work Title
    • The liminal researcher
    • The Liminal Researcher: Being Not Quite the Center of Attention
    Subtitle
    • Being not quite the center of attention
    Description
    • <Liminality refers to being“betwixt and between”(Turner,1967).We draw on boundary theory to propose and elaborate upon the notion of “
    • liminal researchers”—the in-between status
    • we hold when we conduct research that is personally meaningful or in highly familiar
    • settings, despite the fact that we are not actually a member of the group being studied.
    • Indeed, being a liminal researcher in organizational studies denotes dwelling on the
    • boundary of the group or phenomenon being studied and puts us in a position to be neither
    • fully in nor fully out of the entity or topic of interest.To further develop these ideas, we draw
    • on our personal and professional experiences as parents and researchers of individuals
    • with developmental disabilities.We reflect on management-related projects that we conduct
    • on students and workers with developmental disabilities and how a highly reflexive
    • stance facilitates our research.Throughout, we use a boundary theory lens to explore being
    • liminal researchers and provide strategies for authors, editors, and reviewers.
    • Liminality refers to being “betwixt and between” (Turner,1967). We draw on boundary theory to propose and elaborate upon the notion of “liminal researchers”—the in-between status we hold when we conduct research that is personally meaningful or in highly familiar settings, despite the fact that we are not actually a member of the group being studied. Indeed, being a liminal researcher in organizational studies denotes dwelling on the boundary of the group or phenomenon being studied and puts us in a position to be neither fully in nor fully out of the entity or topic of interest. To further develop these ideas, we draw
    • on our personal and professional experiences as parents and researchers of individuals with developmental disabilities. We reflect on management-related projects that we conduct on students and workers with developmental disabilities and how a highly reflexive stance facilitates our research. Throughout, we use a boundary theory lens to explore being liminal researchers and provide strategies for authors, editors, and reviewers.
  • Updated