Autoethnography: Unpacking a Method and Lived Experience(s) as Data

Abstract

It is not unusual for new research tools and approaches to be viewed with some level of skepticism before their eventual acceptance, and popularity. Autoethnography, a qualitative research method, has found itself in similar quagmire as it presently struggles with the question of acceptance and popular usage, three decades after its introduction by Carolyn Ellis (1995). This worrisome attitude, to its use, most especially in studies where it is the most suitable (yet unused), underscores the need to revisit its nature and application. In this review, we examine the definitions of autoethnography, its strengths and limitations, and provide some guidelines to writing a good autoethnographic work, with the hope that more scholars will consider its use where it will be invaluable in knowledge production.