Negotiating Group Identity in the Research Process: Are You In or Are You Out? focuses on researcher identity and the role it plays in conducting research, whether as a member of the culture being studied (i.e., an insider) or as an outsider to that culture. Contributors address the problems researchers face as insiders and outsiders, the practical strategies used to overcome related obstacles, the implications of insider/outsider status for the design of the study, the value of insider an...

“The essayist needs the objective world,” writes M. Gessen, the guest editor of The Best American Essays 2026, asking, “But does the objective world need the essayist?” There is no straightforward answer to Gessen’s query, yet the authors in this volume tackle it headfirst. In doing so, they provide a mosaic depicting the year 2025, examining the degradation of American media, human consciousness, queer identity, wealth disparity, illness, capital punishment, war, and art. The twe...