All human interactions contain some element of power relations. In the context of social science research in which researchers seek to obtain information from research participants, these power relations are readily apparent. Who asks the questions and who answers? Do rules around the setting and which questions may be posed situate the researcher in a position of weakness, as is often the case with researching political elites (Ruffa, this symposium)? Or is the researcher in a position of power, able to induce participation by virtue of vast systemic imbalances embedded in research structures, framings, and identities?