Stories of families leaving South Africa: The impact on the researchers

摘要

In a postmodern world we no longer believe that as researchers we enter the research process as neutral and objective information gatherers. There is much more cognizance of the role that researchers may play in the process of research, as well as the impact that a certain topic may have on the researchers themselves. In this paper the authors will describe their role in a large research project examining the impact of emigration on family life in South Africa.During the apartheid years South Africa witnessed a number of emigration fluxes mostly linked to specific political events. Since 1994 a large number of South Africans have chosen to leave the country because of political and economic uncertainty, as well as growing levels of crime and violence (Goldin, 2002).