3 “I’m interested in Autoethnography, but how do I do it?” (Cooper & Lilyea, 2021)
I’m Interested in Autoethnography, but How Do I Do It?
Robin Cooper
Nova Southeastern University, robicoop@nova.edu
Bruce V. Lilyea
Nova Southeastern University, lilyea@nova.edu
Abstract
Autoethnography is one of the qualitative research methodologies that remains somewhat mysterious to many scholars. While the use of autoethnography has expanded across numerous fields, it can be difficult to find much guidance about the procedures involved in conducting an autoethnography. Recognizing both the flexibility and creativity inherent in autoethnography, as well as the need for rigor in achieving meaningful research results, we offer in this article some suggestions and reflections regarding the process of conducting an autoethnography – from developing the research question to reporting the findings. These recommendations draw from both narrative and ethnographic research methodologies, as well as descriptive and arts-based approaches. This discussion may serve as a resource for those interested in teaching and conducting autoethnography.
I’m Interested in Autoethnography, but How Do I Do It?
[…]
Readers often find autoethnography compelling and impactful, but we have heard many students and colleagues asking, “Where can I learn how to actually do autoethnography?” In this article, we focus on the process of conducting and reporting an autoethnography. Given the various models of autoethnography, our goal is to avoid being too prescriptive or rigid in terms of procedural guidelines. At the same time, we hope you may find it helpful to have some practical tips for conducting your own autoethnographic study, as this methodology is not highly structured and relies upon the researcher to determine specific procedures.
Autoethnography fills a gap in traditional research where the researcher’s own voice typically is not overtly included as part of the research. As you develop your autoethnography, it is key to keep in mind that the base unit of analysis is you, the author, and the researcher. Although this may seem like a simple idea, many of us have been trained that the researcher is to be somehow opaque, and certainly never the focus, so it can be a challenge to willingly reveal ourselves at the core of the research.
Getting Started: The Research Question
As with any qualitative research project, the first step is to compose your research question, which reflects the focus of your study. It is important that the research question reflects the focus of autoethnography, which is exploring a cultural issue through one’s personal story. An autoethnographic study is a form of cultural analysis. As you develop your research question, ask yourself, what is the cultural issue/feature you would like to address, what is it that you want to learn through your study, and what is the aspect of your own lived experience that you are interested in exploring? The answers to these questions can help you in the formulation of your research question. The following are samples of research questions for autoethnographic studies:
- What impact did the 9/11 terrorist attacks have on me, as a survivor, and on my overall sense of self? (McIntyre, 2016)
- What are the intrapersonal conflict experiences that originate from the researcher’s complex cultural background of Chabad-Lubavitch? (Silverman, 2017)
- What makes me the teacher I am? What has made me into the teacher I am? (Vasconcelos, 2011)
The research questions above highlight the autobiographical focus of autoethnography – the experience of surviving the attacks of 9/11; the personal experience of one’s faith; one’s own story of becoming a teacher. At the same time, they indicate the broader social and cultural contexts such as the United States after 9/11 and the unique cultural context of a religious sect that reflects the focus on society as well as self.
While autoethnographic reports may not always explicitly state the research question in the published article, having one articulated can help to guide you through the research process and keep you on track in terms of the focus, which, as Chang (2008) states, “transcends mere narration of self to engage in cultural analysis and interpretation” (p. 43).
Data Collection
One of the key questions that researchers ask when conducting an autoethnography is what constitutes their data. Since your own life is the primary source of information, there are several ways to collect your data.
You may conduct self-observations and take ethnographic field notes and jottings on your own observations. This was a technique utilized by Yehuda Silverman (2017) in his dissertation entitled Uncertain Peace: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Intrapersonal Conflicts from Chabad-Lubavitch Origins. Silverman utilized several techniques of data collection, including self-observation, in which he recorded memos of his observations of his internal conflicts throughout the day on a smartphone and then transferred them later to a spreadsheet log of observations.
You might develop self-reflective data, in which you journal your reflections about your experience and perceptions related to the topic. Lai (2012) asked himself a series of questions related to the death of his grandmother and recorded and transcribed his answers to those questions for later analysis. McIntyre (2016), who conducted an autoethnography about her experience of being in the World Trade Center on 9/11, describes writing in her journal daily, noting thoughts, feelings, memories, questions about her experience with the goal of having an entry every day, no matter how small (though at times she needed to pause to manage and process the emotions that arose from the data collection process). Additionally, there is the consideration of when the reflections are made, if they were made with potential research in mind, and if it is helpful to intentionally address factual, social, and emotional elements, rather than letting these emerge later. One’s reflections in the moment are likely to be different than reflections at a later point.
You may have access to external data, such as photographs, letters, diaries, reports, and other documents or artifacts that are pertinent to your study. Moynihan (2018) included documents such as court motions, judicial decisions, letters, and emails pertaining to her topic, which was Structural Violence in the New Hampshire Family Court System: An Autoethnographic Exploration. Others have used bills, doctor’s appointments, or other similar items such as artifacts to determine timeframes and spark memories.
Another technique for data collection is to chronologically list major events or experiences from your life that pertain to your research topic. Chang (2008) suggests this as a data generation exercise, in which you describe these events and how they contributed to cultural self-discovery, describe the circumstances of these events, and explain why they are important in your life.
You will likely draw heavily upon personal memory data. There are some challenges associated with using memory as a data source. It can be difficult to know what is “true.” Some memories may be vague while others are vivid. It can be beneficial to ask, do we “color” our memories for various reasons? How might your emotions impact your memory and event recollection? If we approach memory not so much as “objective reality” but as an indication of what holds meaning for us about the topic we are exploring, we can draw upon these memories with confidence as indicative of significant aspects of the experience (Bochner & Ellis, 2016). As you explore your memories, look for aspects of memory that reflect cultural values. Additionally, there is a consideration of what to include – some things seem too raw, too personal, too vulnerable, or maybe there is a question about relevancy. A suggested approach is to “over-include” information in the data collection stage of research, which allows you to be more intentional about what to highlight during the analysis and writing of the story/final presentation.
Since you are investigating your topic through the lens of your own life story, consider how family rituals, proverbs (those endlessly repeated family sayings), or other significant inputs during your formative years may have informed your view of the topic. Attitudes and perspectives we hold are often due in part to what you might describe as the “acculturation” process we experience growing up in our extended families. Sayings that are indicative of family attitudes assist in cultural analysis of our own lives.
Finally, you can draw upon ethnographic methods by making use of field notes to capture not only observations, but also asides, commentaries, and in-process memos (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 2011). You can also employ ethnographic writing in the form of rich, thick description to capture experience within context. In keeping with such writing, you can include sensory data to achieve verisimilitude, so that the reader can see and feel what it was like to have that experience or be in that setting.
Once you have collected your data – whether in the form of journal entries, historic artifacts, documents, field notes, and/or interviews – you will prepare the data for analysis. This may involve recording and transcribing interviews or recorded reflections. It may involve organizing artifacts and/or documents into categories or chronological order to prepare for further analysis.
Full source: I’m Interested in Autoethnography, but How Do I Do It? (nova.edu)