Method as Meaning Making: A Doctoral Student and Critical Friends' Collaborative Inquiry

• In Event: The Teaching and Learning of (Self-Study) Research Methods

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how a doctoral student’s self-study methods evolved over time during her doctoral studies with a variety of methods to better answer her questions. Our aim is to display the evolving process of methods through the dissertation writing and collaboration with critical friends. The doctoral student’s five self-study publications are the primary data source of this study. For data analysis, the doctoral student created the table to examine five self-studies. Results revealed that critical friendship created a space for the doctoral student to develop her understanding of the methodology itself as well as the use of methods. Collaboration empowered the doctoral student in trying different methods to ask more complex questions over time.

Authors

• Megumi Nishida, University of Iceland

• Hafdis Gudjonsdottir, University of Iceland

• Deborah L. Tidwell, University of Northern Iowa