COMMENTS ON “FEMINIST RESEARCH PROCESS”

There are many strengths in Grossman, Kruger, and Moore’s (this issue) article, “Reflections on a Feminist Research Project: Subjectivity and the Wish for Intimacy and Equality.” The article is filled with rich examples of the life of the research group, and explores important dimensions of‘ topics that are rarely discussed in accounts of studies. Grossman et al. do their colleagues a favor by sharing their own stones about the process of‘ doing research-the times when it is rewarding and exciting, as well as when it becomes difficult. The article provides the research community an excellent starting point for greater consciousness and reflection about our own research processes. Even more, we found it provided a catalyst for conversations about our own experiences working together (with others) on two research projects.We suspect the article could help other researchers begin or deepen conversations with their colleagues about the work they share. At the same time, we fear that some readers might find the account detailed in this article a bit alarming! Its focus is exclusively on the interpersonal process in the group, but surely a great deal of time must have been spent on the mundane tasks of all research projects, including making decisions about recruitment and sampling; scheduling participants; creating research materials; assigning interviewers; conducting, then transcribing interviews and checking transcripts. Without that context, some might conclude from this account that bringing a feminist perspective into research will only add taxing, even risky, interpersonal labor-labor that may not be interesting to all researchers. Although the potential costs of feminist research practices are indeed evident in this article, we are inclined to try to identify ways to maximize the potential benefits. We are drawn to this task both by the compelling evidence of the benefits evident in the article, and from our own experience.