Blog post Part of series: BERA Early Career Researcher Network Symposium Series 2022

Reflexivity in conducting qualitative educational research

Muna Albuloushi Nour El Houda Benlakhdar, PhD student at University of Northampton Rachel Wicaksono, Head of School at York St John University Sin-Wang Chong, Director of Impact and Innovation at University of St Andrews 31 Aug 2022

Introduction

In this piece, two early career researchers (ECRs), Muna and Nour, reflect on their experience of conducting qualitative research. The blog post is a continuation of the vibrant discussion the four authors had at the ECR Network Symposium held in June 2022. They show how, through careful and ongoing reflection on their decisions about theory, method and ethics, they created opportunities to make a contribution to knowledge in their own academic disciplines and to their understanding of qualitative research more generally. Muna begins by thinking about her ethical obligations to her research participants. Nour follows with an account of the benefits of flexible reflexivity when it comes to thinking about theory.

Being reflexive in the face of ethical dilemmas

Muna conducted a longitudinal case study about teachers’ cognition for her PhD. Work with the participants began before the Covid-19 outbreak and continued through for 11 months; in this time, some pivotal questions were raised highlighting a set of dilemmas related to ‘unspoken’ (or perhaps ‘taken for granted’) research ethics. One important question related to the participants’ wellbeing. Anxiety and stress, arising from the fact that the outcomes of the pandemic were unknown, were unexpected findings in the study, with the participants showing signs of depression. These findings led the researcher to reflect on the ethical obligations associated with the study. Should the researcher risk alarming the participants by sharing the fact that signs of poor wellbeing had been found? To what extent would the researcher’s own wellbeing and vulnerability be affected by these findings?

These reflective thoughts and reflexivity played a significant role in the study, encouraging more critical engagement with the research; for example, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, regular communication was not sustained from most participants. One participant became busy trying to save her business and was not responsive to the research; the researcher decided to respect her space and stopped further communication. However, reflecting on the research journey did not always result in finding answers. Instead, it may be preferable to leave these questions open, rather than settling for unconvincing and incomplete answers. This was the case not only because it is challenging to find answers to contemporary dilemmas (May & Perry, 2017), but also because this process was about the researcher confronting their own research and noting the dilemmas faced during the research process (Fine & Weis, 2004).

‘Finding’ a theoretical framework: Challenges and reflections

By conducting a qualitative needs analysis, Nour attempts to gain an in-depth understanding of the different sorts of challenges Algerian science PhD students face when writing scientific articles. Among the decisions doctoral students have to make is to select an appropriate theoretical framework (TF) to guide the data collection and analysis processes. Nour’s experience with ‘finding’ a candidate TF was characterised by confusion, indecisiveness and the fear of not ticking the box, as she was unable to identify the TF that aligned with her study’s aim.

‘An important takeaway is the necessity to develop one’s ability to turn an obstacle into an advantage.’

At this stage, it was necessary to find a robust TF; a useful starting point was to consult what research methodologists had posited on the matter. Grant and Osanloo (2014), for example, asserted that ‘Qualitative research designs may begin with a […] less structured theoretical framework to keep the researcher from forcing preconceptions on the findings’ (p. 16). Similarly, Nour’s approach was to develop predetermined categories by drawing on a variety of relevant theories (that is, deductively) then, using thematic analysis, identify the themes from the data she collected (that is, inductively).

Upon continuous reflection, Nour’s conviction is that qualitative inquiry offers flexibility as long as all decisions are justified. An important takeaway is the necessity to develop one’s ability to turn an obstacle into an advantage.

Conclusion

Muna and Nour’s reflexive approach to their research is evident in their accounts of the dilemmas they faced along the way – dilemmas that they faced not only in the early stages of their work but throughout the journey, and even at what might have been expected to be the ‘end’; ends which may have turned out to be other beginnings.

Both Muna and Nour are willing to share their reflections on their research journey and the obstacles they have faced along the way. In doing so, they generously create an opportunity for other ECRs, and other researchers generally, to think of problems in their research as topics for analysis, and as potential contributions to our understanding of research theory, methods and ethics, and the interaction between these three.

References

Fine, M., & Weis, L. (2004). Writing the ‘wrongs’ of fieldwork: Confronting our own research/writing dilemmas in urban ethnographies. In G. Shacklock & J. Smyth (Eds.), Being reflexive in critical educational and social research. Falmer Press.

Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2014). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your ‘house’. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 4(2), 12–26. https://doi.org/10.5929/2014.4.2.9

May, T., & Perry, B. (2017). Reflexivity: The essential guide. Sage.

Muna Albuloushi, Dr

University of Exeter

Muna Albuloushi has just submitted her PhD thesis at the University of Exeter, researching teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and identity. Her research interest was influenced by her previous education and work experiences. Obtaining MEd TESOL and then MSc in Educational Research, both from Exeter, has contributed to her knowledge about teachers’ cognition. As an EFL teacher, joining the Fulbright Teaching Assistant Fellowship for one year at Fairfield University, USA, has introduced her to different teaching contexts. Later, joining the Leaders for Democracy Fellowship through the Middle East Partnership Initiative, under US Department of State, Muna practised leadership skills, democracy and civic engagement.

Nour El Houda Benlakhdar, Miss

PhD student at University of Northampton

Nour El Houda Benlakhdar is a third-year PhD student in educational linguistics at the University of Northampton, UK. Her project is fully funded by the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. In her study, Nour aims to investigate the challenges and needs of Algerian PhD students in the sciences when writing scientific articles. Her areas of interest include EAP needs analysis, writing for publication, genre analysis, and qualitative inquiry.

Rachel Wicaksono, Professor

Head of School at York St John University

Dr Rachel Wicaksono is Head of the School of Education, Language and Psychology at York St John University. She is author/editor of, ‘Hidden stories: Interviews in applied linguistics’ (with Dasha Zhurauskaya, Palgrave, 2020) and ‘Ontologies of English: Conceptualising the language for learning, teaching, and assessment’ (with Christopher J. Hall, CUP, 2020), short-listed for the BAAL Book Prize in 2021.

Sin-Wang Chong, Professor

Director of Impact and Innovation at University of St Andrews

Sin Wang (Ph.D., SFHEA, FRSA) is Director of Impact and Innovation, and Affiliated TESOL Scholar at the International Education Institute, University of St Andrews, Professor and Head of Evidence Synthesis at the National Institute of Teaching in England. Sin Wang is Visiting Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong and Visiting Scholar at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His research interests include language and educational assessment, computer-assisted language learning, and qualitative evidence synthesis. Sin Wang is Editor of Review of Education (Wiley), Associate Editor of Higher Education Research & Development (Taylor & Francis) and Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching (Taylor & Francis). Sin Wang is Chair of the Scottish Association for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (SATEFL) and serves on the governing councils of British Educational Research Association and British Association for Applied Linguistics.