Telling their stories: The use of autoethnography as an instructional tool in an introductory research course

Abstract

This paper focuses on the use of autoethnography as an instructional tool in introductory research courses. Since many students fear research courses in graduate education programs, many of them build up paralyzing anxieties that prevent them from completing the courses and/or their programs. To address this, I propose the use of autoethnography as an instructional tool. This form of inquiry will be useful by allowing students to (a) explore how personal experiences influence their research (e.g., subjectivity, assumptions), (b) identify gaps in the mainstream literature (e.g., is this story being told?), (c) use various data collection strategies in a non-threatening research project (e.g., document analysis, journals, interviews), and (d) write up narrative findings. © 2013: Henrietta Williams Pichon and Nova Southeastern University.