Guided by Qi in the Teahouse: Using A Culturally Situated Methodology in A Video-Cued Ethnography Study

• In Event: Culturally Situated Approaches in Qualitative Research

Abstract

I discuss in this paper how I have used a culturally situated methodology in a video-cued ethnography study with Chinese immigrant mothers raising children with disabilities. Qi is a Chinese concept that means breath, spirit and life force. I explore what it means to be guided by qi as my methodology and what it allows me to produce in my data collection and analysis. The result of my study is a liao tian session in a Chinese teahouse using photos, quotes, narratives, and poetry. The use of a culturally situated methodology in this study informs future studies with diverse immigrant communities on how to conduct research that centers participants’ voices and ways of knowing.

Author

• Eleanor Xiaoxiao Mehta, St. John's University