“Me-search”: Challenges and opportunities regarding subjectivity in knowledge construction

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the experiences with me-search among scholars in the field of education, defined as the conduct of research about one’s own identity or in one’s own setting.

Design/methodology/approach

Centered around the tensions inherent in the training received around objectivity and subjectivity, these individuals discuss how they came to conduct me-search and the challenges inherent in it, with a particular focus on the teaching and advising of students conducting this kind of qualitative work.

Findings

Applying Richardson and St. Pierre’s (2005) concepts of writing stories, the following reflections provide a grounding of the “me” in methodology, with an eye toward using this methodology to create social change.

Originality/value

While this is a common research approach, relatively little guidance exists on the practice of “me-search”, particularly for young scholars.

Citation

Gardner, S.K., Hart, J., Ng, J., Ropers-Huilman, R., Ward, K. and Wolf-Wendel, L. (2017), "“Me-search”: Challenges and opportunities regarding subjectivity in knowledge construction", Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 88-108. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-D-17-00014