Educator and researcher
Acknowledgement: This blog post extends our presentation at the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (HERDSA) Conference 2025. We acknowledge the other co-authors of our paper, as it was a truly collaborative project: Huy-Hoang Huynh, Ziqi Li, Abdul Qawi Noori, and Zhiheng Zhou. As the South African proverb says: “If you want to …
We are seeking expressions of interest for our new book provisionally titled Positionality & Reflexivity in Research (Editors: Sun Yee Yip and Lynette Pretorius from Monash University). Whose research is it? Who owns it? Whose interests does it serve? Who benefits from it? Who has designed its questions and framed its scope? Who will carry …
Continue reading “Call for abstracts for our book on positionality and reflexivity in research!”
As qualitative researchers, we’ve often used pseudonyms in our work to protect the identities of participants. It’s a standard practice and one that’s meant to safeguard confidentiality while ensuring their stories remain authentic. But recently, we conducted a study that made us pause and rethink how we approach pseudonyms. It highlighted the power of inviting …
Continue reading “Whose story is it anyway? The transformative power of pseudonym choice”
Hi there! Have you ever wondered what it really takes to thrive during a PhD? For over a decade, I’ve worked closely with graduate students, helping them navigate the academic and emotional hurdles of this journey. Along the way, I’ve seen a lot—students overwhelmed by isolation, stress, and uncertainty. Many come to me not knowing …
In today’s data-driven world, there is a lot of talk about making decisions based on so-called objective data. For example, schools and universities use information about the mix of students and staff to shape how they teach and run things. Information such as age, where people live, how much schooling they have had, or their …
Autoethnography has become an increasingly popular research methodology, particularly within the humanities and social sciences. I use it regularly because of its emphasis on personal experiences, reflexivity, and storytelling which allows for a deeper exploration of complex experiences and societies. So what is autoethnography? The name autoethnography comes from three core aspects: self, culture, and …
Continue reading “Autoethnography: What is it and how do you do it?”
Credit: Text has been republished from an article in Monash News https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/how-the-pandemic-shaped-academic-identity-stories-of-resilience-and-struggle A new book shares the stories of PhD students, early-career researchers, and established academics during the COVID-19 pandemic to shed light on the struggles faced by those in the industry. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives, and academia was no exception. …
Continue reading “How the pandemic shaped academic identity: Stories of resilience and struggle”
I find it quite amusing that I would be writing this blog post to advocate for a research methodology as emotional and subjective as autoethnography. For over a decade, I was trained to conduct scientific research where objective answers were sought to solve problems. My research focused on examining a gene activated in athletes’ hearts …
Continue reading “Combining research and storytelling: Using personal experiences as research data”
