Reflexivity Within the Context of Research Requires

Reflexivity within the context of research requires the researcher to critically reflect and examine the influence that the researcher's history, values, culture, and perspectives bring to the current research project. This process involves the researcher becoming consciously aware of biases, opinions, and beliefs they may have that could influence the collection, interpretation, and presentation of data in a study, especially in the context of qualitative research. Reflexivity also involves exploration of researcher's voice. The voice of a researcher must also be carefully and consciously examined as it is important for maintain consistency throughout a study. Researcher's voice especially becomes apparent in the data interpretations sections of qualitative studies, due to the subjective nature of analysis within these contexts.

In regards to the exploration involved in reflexivity, the researcher may start by looking at experiences they may have had in the past that resulted in the pursuit of this particular research topic. The current study is an investigation into the benefits that may incur for businesses as a result of social networking as a marketing strategy, potentially providing smaller businesses with a competitive edge in the marketplace. When exploring why I have chosen to pursue this line of research, I could reflect on my personal history for any insights. My past history with regard to studies in business and marketing show a natural progression towards the current research topic. Understanding the impact that social networking has on the marketing effectiveness for small businesses requires a foundation in comprehension of how social networking works and how it could provide benefits. In the past, I had experience with companies that were not open to change and had not adjusted their marketing strategies in order to remain current and contemporary with competition. I observed how this resistance to change potentially resulted in these companies missing business opportunities and incurring greater expenses that could be reduced if more current marketing strategies were utilized. This experience prompted me to explore and find evidence for the benefits social networking could provide for marketing platforms for small to medium sized businesses.

Reflexivity also involves the exploration of personal values that influence the research being conducted. My core values include integrity, innovation, and maximizing potential. These values influence the manner in which the current study is approached, as there is motivation to identify factors involved in social networking that can most effectively benefit small businesses so that they can achieve towards their greatest potential. Therefore, a bias may exist with regard to the manner in which data is interpreted, due to the fact that I am a proponent for the use of social networking as a marketing strategy for small businesses.