Similarities And Disadvantages Of Autoethnography

After talking to students in classroom who were assigned to do a project on Pratt, getting a frequent response “I didn’t read it, it’s too hard to comprehend” was an ordinary thing. Therefore, writing a response to Pratt’s essay in a language that is comprehendible by regular people can be very helpful to those struggling students. In "Arts of the Contact Zone" Pratt discusses the mix of two different cultures in one area. Where one person is born and lives in a "contact zone" he/she is surrounded by two different conflicting cultures, and there are two different languages. She also introduces us with a new word "autoethnography", which means the way in which subordinate peoples present themselves in ways that their

Power point slide Qualitative research is a difficult term to define…. Nevertheless, it is important to be familiar with some definitions in the field. The definition provided by Creswell 2009 is enlightening because it incorporates ……….. most important part of definition for me were reports detailed views of informants and natural setting.

Qualitative research key characteristics are the researcher immerse her/himself in the setting, contexts of inquiry are not contrived they are natural, want the subjects to speak for themselves, attend to the experience as a what not as separate variables, these is no one general method, the process entail appraisal about what was studied and it implies a direct concern with expertise as it is lived or felt or undergone (Hughes, 2006)

Ethnographic methodology provides rich and complex data (Brownlow, 2012). In the ethnographic approach a researcher joined the studied group in their natural environment, stayed as a part

Qualitative research reflects different ways that researcher’s collect data and explore all of the information through literature review. Participant’s that are reviewing is often observed for analysis while “the role of the researcher focuses as the primary data collection instrument necessitates the identification of personal values, assumptions and biases at the outset of the study; Qualitative researchers ask at least one central question” (Creswell, 2014, which can be explored in several contexts with further questions. According to the text Research Design (2014) “the researcher’s role is typically involved in a

According to Mary Louise Pratt’s Arts of the Contact Zone, an autoethnographic text can be defined as a text where the author describes himself or his people using mechanisms provided by others. Such texts are almost always the product of a “contact zone” or a place where cultures meet and clash. In other words, autoethnographic texts are those in

Autoethnographies combine elements of both autobiographies and ethnographies. Specifically, autoethnographies are academic essays that are introspective and narrative-oriented looks at the self, much like autobiographies and memoirs. However, autoethnographies are set apart from autobiographies and journals in that they join that introspection with ethnographic research methods concerned with connections between community and the self. Due to their unique nature, ethnographies are beneficial in enhancing cultural understanding of the connections between groups and individuals, as well as the self; and have the potential ability to transform the self and others through the cross-cultural building of bonds and understanding (Chang 2007). Using public and locations can be a helpful tool in self insight, as they encompass a specific discourse (Thomas 1987). The authors reactions to that discourse as well as their identity within the discourse In my own autoethnography, I will examine my own reactions to the courtyard in the

The social scientist is not some autonomous being standing outside society, the question is where he (sic) stands within it . . . (Mills, 1959, p. 204) . . . learn to use your life experience in your intellectual work: continually to examine it and interpret it. (Mills, 1959, p. 216)

In this qualitative phenomenological research, the researcher went to the building that the participants’ schools were located for participants’ convenience. The researcher followed a protocol of first conducting individual interviews with each of the ten participants. A semi-structured, conversational style of individual interviewing was adopted in order to explore the respondents’ stories which made interviewing multiple subjects more methodical (See Appendix A for Interview Protocol). According to Meehan, 20014),

An autoethnography is a piece of work that is written by the marginalized culture, commonly used to reach out to the more dominant culture. This piece of work is used to give a more authentic representation and at the same time eradicates cultural stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations produced among the dominant discourse of society. Hence, the pure splendor of contact zones is gaining the perspectives from the marginalized people of society. When marginalized people are able to voice their own perspectives and experiences we are able to emphasize and receive a more transparent representation. For example, we can not seek understanding on the topics of racial tensions and police brutality, without first finding out the authentic perception of African Americans and other marginalized cultures who fall under the oppression of racism in America. Marginalized individuals are not to be ignored but to be cultivated and intertwined in our

A qualitative methodological approach was the obvious choice in that it allows for the collection and interpretation of stories, narratives, interviews and other forms of non-quantifiable data. A qualitative approach also does not demand or strive for detached objectivity of the researcher but instead encourages the disclosure of researcher bias and the engagement of the researcher with the research and subjects, often in the role of participant-observer (Dade, Tartakov, Hargrave, & Leigh,

This investigation requires an ethnographic study, auto-ethnographic (ie from the investigator's own experience) and cyber-ethnographic, watching and participating in online communities of these spaces.

Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and attempts to understand a human problem by developing a holistic narrative and reporting detailed views of informants about the culture of a problem. It forms a report with pictures and words. One of the most important distinctions that sets qualitative research apart from more traditional types of research is that qualitative research is holistic in that researchers study phenomena in their entirety rather than narrowing the focus to specific defined variables” (p. 93). Similarly, Cresswell (1984) indicated that qualitative research “is defined as an inquiry process of understanding a social or human problem, based on building a holistic picture, formed with words, reporting detailed views of informants, and conducted in a natural setting” (p. 2). Cresswell’s definition clearly delineates the major characteristics of qualitative research. Pg. 50 (Smith & Davis, 2010).

Therefore field notes along with photographs enables people to understand the pragmatic rationality for what, at first sight appears to be immoral or self-destructive. An example is, a field note depicts, and it is okay to have risky injections rather than getting arrested by the police. Thus questionnaires can’t bring out the best out of people who think that their story is worth telling. Photographs depicts two things, the first one being the detailed documentation of life while the second depiction is of the mood of the participants. Bourgeois says that fieldwork is important because, the researcher is merging into the environment, relaxing into the conversations, friendships and other interactions while mentally racing to register the importance of what is happening and conceptualize strategies for a deeper understanding. Bourgeois has chosen photo-ethnography over surveys because it draws emotion, aesthetics and documentation into social science analysis and theory and strives to link intellect with

When utilizing a qualitative approach, the task becomes one of determining the qualitative method to be used. Additionally, Stake (2010) used purpose, research design, and methodical data techniques as a way of classifying types of qualitative research. Similarly, Cresswell & Cresswell (2007) spoke of five practices of qualitative research. These five practices consist of biography, phenomenological study, grounded theory study, ethnography, and case study. This researcher chose a phenomenological study for this research project.