Please avoid disembodied quotes

A disembodied quote is a quotation from a research participant that denies their subjectivity and personhood.

My book Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone: An Essential Toolkit was published by Policy Press in March. In it I briefly mention ‘free indirect speech’ and ‘blended stories’ as ways to anonymise while still being true to people’s accounts and lives. I also talk about disembodied quotes. But what are they?

I want to thank Katharine Collins for introducing me to the concept of disembodied quotes. It was just in conversation, I hadn’t heard of them before, and I can’t find a reference or citation for them. But you should know what they are and avoid using them.

A disembodied quote is a quotation cited from a research participant as evidence or illustration but with very little back story or explanation, context or richness. Disembodied quotes float on the page as if they don’t apply to any particular human being or situation.

You might see them in student essays and research reports and even in supposedly more sophisticated and advanced work. They look something like this (the following is a made-up example):

In our research on normative assumptions around food, we found that some participants felt food should be shared, as a family meal or with friends.

“I believe you should eat together with your family” (Mary).

“It’s important to eat with friends where you can. It’s better for you than eating alone.” (John).

The quotations here say no more than the text, and could easily have been part of a survey response (How important is it to eat with family and friends? Very, A bit, Not at all, Don’t know). Quotations need to value the quality of the research that was done, and the time participants shared with you. Quotes should be rich and complex, should convey mood, laughter and other emotions. They should be true to the speaker and to the context. Where it helps, include some background to the conversation: what were you talking about at the time? Tell us a bit more about the participants than just a name. Compare the above with this example (also made up):

An interesting insight that emerged from our research on normative assumptions around food was the emotions attached to sharing food with others, and the difficulties of managing this in the context of a busy life. Mary, a mother of four children ranging from 4 years to 17 (we first met her on page 25), told us that her life gets really hectic and she ends up feeding the children separate meals as they each come home from their various activities. But, she said: “my favourite moments associated with food are always when we are all eating around the table together and taking our time”.

This second example is longer than the first, but it shares several rich and complex insights, is respectful of the speaker, and we get a much better idea of the meanings and constraints behind Mary’s choices in life. This is much more ethical too.

Please feel free to comment with your own examples of disembodied and embodied quotes.

Also, take a listen to the Qualitative Research Methods for Everyone Podcast especially Podcast 9, where Michaela Benson and I talk more on this topic.