A research project that involves non-mobile academics researching the educational experiences of two communities of fairground people presents several ethical and methodological risks. The researchers argue, however, that such a project provides an opportunity for particular findings that might not arise in research conducted by fairground people alone. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin's (1986) concepts of 'outsidedness' and 'creative understanding', the authors posit a two-way flow of information and communication that benefits both the occupational Travellers and the researchers. These concepts enable the construction of a useful framework for analysing and negotiating the play of different interests in the context of both the research project and the contemporary university research environment, with broader implications for understanding and performing the ethics of educational research.