Open AccessTelling Their Stories: The Use of Autoethnography as an Instructional Tool in an Introductory Research Course
Author(s) -
Henrietta Williams Pinchon
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2013.1511
Subject(s) - autoethnography , narrative , narrative inquiry , mainstream , subjectivity , pedagogy , qualitative research , psychology , graduate students , educational research , mathematics education , sociology , epistemology , social science , art , philosophy , theology , literature
This paper focuses on the use of autoethnography as an instructional tool in introductory research courses. Since many students fear research courses in graduate education programs, many of them build up paralyzing anxieties that prevent them from completing the courses and/or their programs. To address this , I propose the use of autoethnography as an instructional tool. This form of inquiry will be useful by allowing students to (a) explore how personal experiences influence their research (e.g., subjectivity, assumptions), (b ) identify gaps in the mainstream literature (e.g., is this story being told?), (c ) use various data collection strategies in a non - threatening research project (e.g., document analysis , journals, interviews), and (d ) write up narrative findings.