Soundtracking: Method(ological) Development via Intuitive Feminist Inquiry

How does one be different, methodologically, and/or socially without being ignored, invalidated, or even erased? This is a conundrum for qualitative researchers who are with tasked with valuing difference within socio-political education systems fixed on ideas of truth, rightness, and validity. To explore these tensions, we provide an authentic and transparent illustration of how intuition, an often-invalidated way of knowing, instigated the development of a novel method(ology), soundtracking. Proceeding from an embodied, engaged feminist perspective, we re-conceptualized reflexive praxis as critical, compassionate, and actionable. We explored method(ological) development via layered reflexivity: self, epistemological witness, and social contexts. Through our inquiry based in trust, we developed the idea of reflexive discernment, a process of relating with and to others in ways that support mutual thriving. This current project contributes to considerations for research agendas aimed at increased connections and well-being, ethical praxis, and expanded narratives.