Collaborative Autoethnography

201 Pages·2012·3.506 MB·English

by  Heewon Chang, Faith Ngunjiri, Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez

Collaborative
autoethnography
DEVELOPING QUALITATIVE INQUIRY
Series Editor: Janice Morse
university of utah
books in the new Developing Qualitative Inquiry series, written by leaders
in qualitative inquiry, will address important topics in qualitative methods.
targeted to a broad multidisciplinary readership, the books are intended for
mid-level/advanced researchers and advanced students. the series will forward
the field of qualitative inquiry by describing new methods or developing particu-
lar aspects of established methods.
Series Editorial Board
h. russell bernard, Kathy Charmaz, D. Jean Clandinin, Juliet Corbin, Carmen
de la Cuesta, John engel, Sue e. estroff, Jane gilgun, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Carl
Mitcham, Katja Mruck, Judith preissle, Jean J. Schensul, Sally thorne, John van
Maanen, Max van Manen
Volumes in this Series:
1. Autoethnography as Method, heewon Chang
2. Interpretive Description, Sally thorne
3. Developing Grounded Theory: The Second Generation, Janice M. Morse,
phyllis noerager Stern, Juliet Corbin, barbara bowers, Kathy Charmaz, and
adele e. Clarke
4. Mixed Method Design: Principles and Procedures, Janice M. Morse and
linda niehaus
5. Playbuilding as Qualitative Research: A Participatory Arts-based Approach,
Joe norris
6. Poetry as Method: Reporting Research Through Verse, Sandra l. Faulkner
7. Duoethnography: Dialogic Methods for Social, Health, and Educational
Research, Joe norris, richard D. Sawyer, and Darren e. lund, editors
8. Collaborative Autoethnography, heewon Chang, Faith Wambura ngunjiri,
and Kathy-ann C. hernandez
Collaborative
autoethnography
Heewon Chang
Faith Wambura Ngunjiri
Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez

Walnut Creek, California
leFt CoaSt preSS, inC.
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Walnut Creek, Ca 94596
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Copyright © 2013 by left Coast press, inc.
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced,
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without the prior permission of the publisher.
iSbn 978-1-59874-555-9 hardback
iSbn 978-1-59874-556-6 paperback
iSbn 978-1-61132-781-6 institutional ebook
iSbn 978-1-61132-680-2 consumer ebook
library of Congress Cataloging-in-publication Data:
Chang, heewon, 1959-
Collaborative autoethnography / heewon Chang, Faith Wambura ngunjiri,
Kathy-ann C. hernandez.
p. cm.— (Developing qualitative inquiry vol.8)
includes bibliographical references and index.
iSbn 978-1-59874-555-9 (hardback : alk. paper) — iSbn 978-1-59874-
556-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — iSbn 978-1-61132-781-6 (institutional ebook) —
iSbn 978-1-61132-680-2 (consumer ebook)
1. ethnology—authorship. 2. ethnology—research. 3. ethnology—Methodology.
i. ngunjiri, Faith Wambura, 1973- ii. hernandez, Kathy-ann C., 1968- iii. title.
gn307.7.C43 2012
305.8'00723—dc23
2012024594
printed in the united States of america
∞ ™ the paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
american national Standard for information Sciences—permanence of paper
for printed library Materials, anSi/niSo Z39.48–1992.
Contents
list of illustrations 7
preface 11
Chapter 1. What is Collaborative autoethnography? 17
autoethnography 18
autoethnography and Collaborative autoethnography 21
Collaborative autoethnography 23
benefits of Collaborative autoethnography 25
Challenges of Collaborative autoethnography 30
Conclusion 35
Chapter 2. typology of Collaborative autoethnography 37
the Size of research teams 37
the extent of Collaboration 40
Modes of Collaboration 43
Methodological variations of Collaborative 46
autoethnography
Conclusion 52
Chapter 3. getting ready for Collaborative autoethnography 55
Forming a research team 55
Deciding on a research Focus 62
Selecting a Collaboration Model 67
Defining roles and Setting boundaries 69
Conclusion 71
Chapter 4. Data Collection 73
Collection of Diverse Data 73
personal Memory and archival Data 75
Self-observational Data 77
Self-reflective and Self-analytical Data 78
Conversational and interactive Data 86
Data Collection Strategies 87
Conclusion 93
Chapter 5. Data analysis and interpretation 95
Data organization and Management 95
logistical Considerations for Data analysis 98
and interpretation
Data analysis 101
to use CaQDaS or not, that is the Question 109
Data interpretation 110
Conclusion 113
Chapter 6. Collaborative autoethnographic Writing 115
the Writing Challenge 115
the Collaborative Writing paradigm 117
pre-Collaborative autoethnography Writing 118
Collaborative autoethnography Writing 123
post-Collaborative autoethnography Writing 131
Conclusion 134
Chapter 7. applications of Collaborative autoethnography 137
practice in the Classroom 137
building Community 142
research as activism 145
tool for Critical Work 146
professional Development 147
Conclusion 148
epilogue: our approach 151
the beginnings 151
planning our Data Collection 152
Collaborative autoethnography Writing 153
in retrospect 157
notes 159
references 161
appendix a Writing prompts used for individualized 171
Data Collection
appendix b article: “exemplifying Collaborative 175
autoethnographic practice via Shared Stories of
Mothering” by geist-Martin et al.
index 189
about the authors 199
Illustrations
Figures
Figure 1-1 Autoethnography continuum 19
Figure 1-2 Common dimensions of AA/CAE 22
Figure 1-3 The iterative process of collaborative 24
autoethnography
Figure 4-1 An example of a culturegram 80
Figure 4-2 Symbols used for a kinsgram (Chang, 2008, p. 83) 81
Figure 4-3 An example of a kinsgram (Chang, 2008, p. 84) 82
Figure 4-4 An example of a sociogram 83
Figure 4-5 A constellation of social relationships 84
Figure 4-6 A Venn diagram of our similarities and differences 85
Figure 4-7 The sequential model of data collection 91
Figure 5-1 Micro-coding example 105
Figure 5-2 Relationships among codes, categories, and themes 106
Tables
Table 2-1 Comparison among various collaborative 47
autoethnographic approaches
Table 4-1 Autoethnographic data types 74
Table 6-1 CAE supporting member tasks and responsibilities 122
Table 6-2 Prominent typologies of collaborative 125
autoethnography writing

to
each of our husbands
Klaus, Chas, and Mark
our Collaborators in life