Paradigmatic Shifts in Doctoral Research: Reflections Using Uncomfortable Reflexivity and Pragmatism

Woodley, Helen; Smith, Laura Mazzoli

doi:10.1177/1609406920907533

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, it is not only the research concepts and methodologies that needs to be scrutinized, but also the role of the researcher (Berger, 2015). Through explicit documentation of positionality, both during the research process and dissemination of the outcomes, researchers can be transparent about areas of inquiry and analysis that might be subject to a priori assumptions, personal biases, and interpretations that are incongruent with the data (Savin-Baden, 2004; Woodley & Smith, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering New Connections: Insights From Individual and Collective Reflexivity in a Mixed Methods Study

Çayır

Felder

Nkwonta

et al. 2022

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Through intentionally engaging in reflexivity, researchers can be transparent about potential areas of social inquiry and analysis that might be subject to a priori assumptions, personal biases, and interpretations that are not rooted in the data. In the context of conducting research with others, reflexivity also includes a collective dimension in which each researcher’s positionality interacts with the others and shapes research outcomes. Fostering collective reflexivity within interdisciplinary teams enables the researchers to process conflicting perspectives, allow creative and innovative approaches to emerge, and develop a shared vision of the research concepts, methods, and outcomes. Despite its acknowledged value, the integral process of reflexivity is rarely documented in mixed methods social inquiry. In this article, we describe the process of reflexivity through individual and collective team insights gained within a mixed methods study that examined the lived experiences and perceptions of breastfeeding among African American women and their support partners. We describe three components of the reflexivity practice we engaged in: 1) Self-led; 2) Relational and team-led; 3) Methods-focused and team-led. We discuss how this process challenged, shaped, and enriched data analysis, data integration, and finally, our understanding of the research findings.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering New Connections: Insights From Individual and Collective Reflexivity in a Mixed Methods Study

Çayır

Felder

Nkwonta

et al. 2022

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To address this gap, a stimulating body of literature has emerged that aims to adapt methodological guidelines and tools to the practice of reflexivity. Some researchers have repurposed existing methods for the mission of reflexivity, such as visual methods (Darnhofer, 2018) and auto-ethnography (Woodley & Smith, 2020). Others have focused on formalising reflexive practices they developed to address their own reflexive needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to Problematise Categories: Building the Methodological Toolbox for Linguistic Reflexivity

Alejandro

2021

International Journal of Qualitative Methods

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Following qualitative researchers’ growing interest in reflexivity, a body of scholarship has emerged that aims to turn informal practices for reflexivity into methods that can be learnt and taught alongside other research practices. This literature, however, has focused on helping researchers become more reflexive toward their situatedness and positionality, rather than toward their use of language and its effects on knowledge production – a process I refer to as ‘linguistic reflexivity’. This article addresses this gap by formalising a method for ‘problematising categories’, an informal approach familiar to qualitative researchers as a promising solution to the analytical and ethical blinders that result from scholars’ unconscious use of language. I proceed in three steps. First, I review the literature to show the analytical, empirical and ethical rationales behind this approach and offer a definition of problematising categories as the practice of making conscious how socio-linguistic units of categorisation unconsciously organise our perception and can represent a problem for knowledge production. This practice, I argue, enables us to decentre ourselves from the taken-for-granted nature of those categories. Second, I develop a three-stage research method for problematising categories: noticing ‘critical junctures' when problematisation is called for, identifying the categorical problem through sensitising questions and reconstructing an alternative. Third, I demonstrate how problematising categories contributes to the research process by applying this method to my experience in problematising the binary pair ‘local’ versus ‘international’ in a research project on the environmental impact of Chinese investment in the Senegalese fishery sector. I show that problematising categories leads to more rigorous empirical findings and nuanced analysis in a way that is feasible within the frame of qualitative research projects. Overall, this article expands the practical tools for linguistic reflexivity and heeds the methodological call to make conscious and explicit choices for every dimension of our research.

show abstract

Reflexivity for Restorying the Ontological and Epistemological Truths in Qualitative Research

Lee-Johnson,

Fair,

O'Connor

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article serves to contextualize and problematize reflexivity as a construct for restorying the truths told by doctoral students in qualitative dissertation research. First, it gives an overview of Webster University’s EdD program and its inception of requiring qualitative research coursework for contextualizing the importance of qualitative framing in doctoral research. Then, the authors review and examine the definitions of reflexivity as a construct in qualitative research, the logic-of-inquiry required in dissertation research, the connections of reflexivity to the program ethos, global perspectives on worldview and knowledge construction, and the reframing of ontological and epistemological truths in the literature. The EdD Director and five doctoral candidates recount their positionality and intersectionality and contest the status quo framings of worldview and knowledge construction in educational research. Their resistance to the traditional ontological and epistemological truths and advocacy for restorying via reflexivity is a manifestation of their dedication to transforming the status quo ontology and epistemology in educational research.

show abstract

Paradigmatic Shifts in Doctoral Research: Reflections Using Uncomfortable Reflexivity and Pragmatism

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

Discovering New Connections: Insights From Individual and Collective Reflexivity in a Mixed Methods Study

Discovering New Connections: Insights From Individual and Collective Reflexivity in a Mixed Methods Study

How to Problematise Categories: Building the Methodological Toolbox for Linguistic Reflexivity

Reflexivity for Restorying the Ontological and Epistemological Truths in Qualitative Research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About