Writing a “Good” Autoethnography in Educational Research: A Modest Proposal

Abstract

In this paper, I first discuss what autoethnography is elaborating on an autoethnographic spectrum. Then, I draw on several scholars’ understanding of what a “good” autoethnography is and propose a list of suggestions to contribute to autoethnography’s conceptualization and operationalization in qualitative educational research in the future. Believing that a good autoethnography is the work of a scholar who aims for the witty hand of an artist and the sharp/critical mind of a social scientist, I suggest that a good autoethnography (a) creates a sense of transformation through a story of illumination, healing, understanding, and/or learning, (b) engages readers as a companion rather than passive audience through commonalities and particularities, (c) goes beyond personal confessions by mindfully offering autobiographical and background information, (d) uses appropriate tools and sources and explains why using them makes sense, (e) denaturalizes social issues by making invisible power dynamics visible, and (f) embraces the subjectivity of memory and interpretation. I explain each suggestion in more detail in subsections and provide some guiding questions for future autoethnographers to help them make mindful decisions before and during their autoethnographic endeavors.

Decolonizing Higher Education in Norway: Critical Collaborative Autoethnographic Reflections on a University Pedagogy Course

“…In this study, we draw on critical collaborative autoethnography (Adams, 2017;Blalock & Akehi, 2018;Chang, 2016;Eriksen et al, 2023). This methodology allows us to be both researchers and researched, to self-reflect on our emotions, thoughts, and beliefs related to our personal experiences (Keleş, 2022) of decolonizing LTHE, and to enable metacognitive critical reflections of those experiences. Thus, the methodology can to a greater extent ensure a double research process (Delamont, 2009;Eriksen, 2020;Pillow, 2015;Țîștea, 2020), potentially leading to decolonial transformative LTHE practices in our work on the module (Blalock & Akehi, 2018).…”

Mystory as an international graduate student: a socialization autoethnography

“…Many scholars converge on the idea that autoethnography is a form of qualitative research method that allows researchers to analyze their personal experiences within their sociocultural contexts (Chang, 2008;Ellis and Bochner, 2000;Keles , 2022a;Wall, 2008;Yazan and Keles , 2022). As opposed to doing research "on" the researched to understand the underlying phenomenon, autoethnographers focus on "self" destabilizing the borders between the researchers and the researched (Keles , 2022b). Doing so, it invert "binaries between individual/social, body/mind, emotion/reason and lived experience/theory in academic work" (Gannon, 2006, pp.…”

“…Personal memory plays a central role in most autoethnographic studies, especially the ones in which researchers focus on their life stories that encompass years of experience (Keles , 2022b). To explore my L2 and academic discourse socialization, I used personal memory in the form of self-reflections as the primary source of data generated through my personal memory.…”

I Need You To Survive: Black Women Resisting White Supremacy Culture for Faculty and Student Wellbeing

“…Analyzing our personal narratives allowed us to critically interpret our experience as Black women who are faculty in higher education. Through its immersive depth, a skillfully crafted autoethnography can actively unlock, disclose, promote healing, invigorate, pose challenges, and empower individuals (Keleş, 2022). The perspectives shared help better understand Black women's experiences and how our intersectionality exists within higher education.…”