V.

Action Research Method

The importance of this research has been acknowledged higher education through the field of
researching. In this paper, we reflect our experience of researching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) by the Immaculate Conception College environment. The focus is not on the findings that occur
from the detailed interviews conducted person, but on the methodological reflections of the research
process itself. Mostly, we focus on the idea of ‘vulnerability’ in the qualitative research literature which
suggests that some study topics are particularly sensitive and some interviewees are especially weak. I say
that because LGBT students in Immaculate Conception College who live under the governance of family
and by religious power in secondary education, they are exposed to huge social pressure to reject or
conceal their LGBT identities. In that sense, they can be regarded as vulnerable interview subjects.
However, LGBT students, especially those who are in the closet, redefined the interview as an occasion to
ponder their identity struggles, and to release problems and worries that in everyday life they can share it.
For some LGBT students, knowing of the very existence of the research itself and participating in the
research were tolerating. The LGBT students had the capacity to shape the meanings of the interview,
thus, they were far from being completely vulnerable. Quite unexpectedly, I found myself as a researcher in
a relatively vulnerable position, feeling emotionally overwhelmed by the research and feeling guilty of not
doing ‘enough’ for the LGBT students. This paper argues that although researchers need to continue to pay
attention to the ethics of conducting culturally sensitive research, the vulnerability of some interview
subjects should not be overestimated. Otherwise researchers risk further silencing the voices of those who
are already socially humbled. I also contend that qualitative research should acknowledge researchers’
vulnerability.

By: Dina M. Mantaryo