I am currently working on my masters thesis about a german far-right group and their use of instagram and social media. During my research I encountered several racist and homophobic expressions, including the N-word.
Of cause these findings have to be mentioned in the paper.
But do you directly quote this? Do you censor the most extreme parts?
Quoting things correctly is one of the most fundermental rules of sience, but doing so would reproduce racism, even if it is in a commented, sientific context.
How did/do you deal with such problems in your papers? Does your institut/lab have rules about this?
I am really looking forward to hearing your opintion on that matter.
One way could be to code an offensive word in the text of a direct quote, and then decode it in full in a "glossary of terms" appendix, where you write the offensive word in full, once.
A good response from Karl. Direct quotation directly signifies that they are not 'your words' Matthias. On the other hand - don't be over-sensitive to the situation. Anyone reading/marking your work/thesis will know the context of it. Social research works best when it doesn't censure - and 'stays true' to the social reality and accurately represents the social actors/players within. So, for me, ensure that your opening chapter clearly defines context - and contains some sort of 'disclaimer'. As well as direct quotation - you can add emphasis to words or terms i.e. italics. Again - explain early on that emphasis means you are using them 'in context' because, not to, would not accurately represent the topic context.
I note your point about 'reproducing racisms' - but I don't see it that way. It is already there. You are merely 'representing' what is already known to exist. As long as you are presenting in an objective, distant, neutral and balanced manner (and not intending to 'fuel any flames) - then you can't be accused of 'reproducing'.
Matthias - There is no problem in using the original text from instagram and social media and directly quoting this. You are right in saying that these findings have to be mentioned in the paper. It does not mean that by doing so would reproduce racism, but you are producing information in a scientific context and it is contextual in nature. The only thing you need to do is to adopt a proper methodology and reference style. You can use 'citing in text' or 'in text citations' and put within your paper the sources of the information you have used to write your paper. This demonstrates support for your ideas, arguments and views. The second part is the construction of a reference list. It will show the complete details of everything you cited.
You could show the way they use the emotional aspect related to those words. But I think you're doing an important unpleasant job but it's important to write those things down, with quotation signs, and a good argument around the linguistic aspect of fascism (in illiterate populations, the strange mix of language pretension and violence, f.e. but there are plenty of ways to approach the question). Don't let their stupidity overcome knowledge. Evidence their tricks;
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