Methodological reflections on ethics, relations of care and reciprocity in feminist research praxis

Abstract

This paper puts forward a model of feminist research practice, termed ‘TROVE’. This model emerged through methodological reflections on research ethics for a project exploring women's experiences of gender inequality over the life course. The paper discusses five relations of care that became core to the research: relations within the team; between researchers and participants; in participants' connection with their past, present, and future selves; among participants as a group; and across generations. Reciprocity, both in discourse and practice, played a pivotal role in these care relationships. The TROVE model highlights reciprocated relationships based on trust, recognition, openness, vulnerability, and empathy. These elements demonstrate the inherent value of care and reciprocity in feminist praxis and ethical research. They help to navigate tensions between procedural and situated ethics, and thereby have potential applications beyond explicitly feminist studies.