Is It Really (All) About Empathy?—A Strong Reflexivity Approach to Emotionally Charged Research Experiences

In this article, we seek to deepen the understanding and reflexive analysis of emotionally charged situations in the research process. Through a nuanced and critically evaluative approach, we explore the complex meanings of empathy as presented in the qualitative methods discourse. We argue that empathy is an overstretched concept that can be more profoundly defined when situationally contextualized. For instance, empathy may refer to solidarity in political aspirations, humanity and compassion in research ethics, or affective resonance in methodological contexts. Focusing on the latter, we examine instances of seemingly "unsuccessful "or "failed" empathy in two of our projects. Utilizing the framework of "strong reflexivity" (KUEHNER, PLODER & LANGER, 2016), we discuss methodological strategies for analyzing and interpreting emotionally challenging research encounters. We argue that situational "failures" can yield invaluable insights for critical knowledge production when examined and communicated through a reflexive lens.