Bookended by Grief: An Autoethnographic Examination of a Sensitive Qualitative Dissertation

• In Event: 68.061 - Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: 68.061-3 - Sensitive Topics and Ethical Practices in Qualitative Research

Abstract

In preparing to conduct a dissertation study examining campus tragedies and their impact on faculty teaching and research activity, the author shares a personal narrative of entering doctoral training while still grieving a personal loss, and the role this experience had in shaping his entrance into the academic community. This story is then connected to the scholarly literature on vicarious trauma and resilience to draw larger conclusions regarding preparation for inquiry into difficult subject matter as researchers.

Author

• Nate Cradit, National Louis University