Research Agency and Critical Reflexivity: A Review of Positionality Practices in Qualitative Research

The notion of positionality represents one of the key epistemological turns in the Social Sciences since the 1970s by problematizing the social, historical, and biographical conditions that mediate relationships between researchers and participants, challenging positivist and functionalist epistemological neutrality. Its use has experienced significant expansion, demanding systematic analysis of existing scholarship. This study examines how positionality is conceptualized and applied in recent qualitative research (2018-2023) to identify production contexts and analytical frameworks that guide its use. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, combined with qualitative meta-synthesis. Sixty-two articles from Scopus and Web of Science were selected that reflected on positionality through concrete research practices. Analysis revealed the predominance of studies from the Global North (United Kingdom 27,4 %, Canada 12,9 %), with an interdisciplinary approach (30,6 %) and connections to doctoral training. Two main analytical frameworks were identified: the Insider-Outsider dynamic, which has evolved toward reflexive and hermeneutic approaches where the researcher's position is understood as fluid and contextualized; and the intersectional perspective, which analyzes how social identities interweave power dynamics. The findings reveal a fundamental tension between conceptualizing power as fluid and negotiable in microsocial interactions versus the influence of systemic structures that frame these encounters. The centrality of identity in reflections on positionality, while valuable for analyzing micro-agencies, may obscure the impact of institutional hierarchies and funding dependencies that shape researcher agency. The review exposes the need to deepen critical reflection on structural conditions that enable or constrain investigative agency, including academic capitalism and the geopolitics of knowledge.