Disrupting Power in Qualitative Research: Three Alternative Approaches to Data Collection and Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 4

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Qualitative research is a power-laden endeavor. Despite researchers’ best intentions, inequitable power dynamics shape every stage of the research process. Therefore, it is incumbent upon researchers to actively and regularly unsettle these power dynamics. In this symposium, we present three alternative approaches to traditional qualitative research practices. Each of these approaches seeks to unsettle hegemonic power dynamics at different stages of qualitative research: scenario worldbuilding during data collection, layered re-storying during data analysis, and restorative justice-centric member checking during validation. By engaging in a conversation about the affordances and limitations of these three tools, we hope to contribute to a new vision for education research, one in which disrupting hegemonic power dynamics is an expected component of the research process.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Qualitative Research

Chair

• Alexander Parker, Johns Hopkins University

Papers

• Worldbuilding as a Way to Imagine Futures: Using Futures Thinking within Qualitative Interviewing - Ramya Kumaran, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Layered Re-Storying as a Power-Conscious Approach to Narrative Analysis - Kemeyawi Wahpepah, Harvard University

• Challenging Power and Repairing Harm: Reframing Member Checking Through Restorative Justice Principles - Alexander Parker, Johns Hopkins University

Session Organizer

• Alexander Parker, Johns Hopkins University

Discussant

• Giovanni P. Dazzo, University of Georgia