Abstract
This chapter explores first the role of researcher perspective in the research process, then the unique nuances of the researcher positionality in dissertations in practice, followed by a discussion of the advantages and limitations of the unique positionality assumed by dissertations in practice. This chapter concludes by noting the importance of constructing conceptual coherence between the implications of the scholarly-practitioner's positionality statement and the discussion of the dissertation's ethical considerations and limitations. The dissertation in practice, more so than with traditional Ph.D. dissertations, assumes that the researcher holds close personal connections to the research site, participants, and contexts. Far from envisioning the researcher as an objective outside observer, the dissertation in practice assumes that the researcher has a vested interest in solving the professional problem of practice within their place of employment in the presence of colleagues. For this reason, the full disclosure of the researcher's positionality becomes all the more important.
TopBackground: Understanding Researcher Positionality
Researcher positionality statements are most often found in qualitative research or research rooted in an interpretivist worldview, wherein the researcher seeks the understandings and interpretations of their participants rather than attempting to ascertain one singular, measurable truth. Positionality generally refers to what researchers know and believe about the world around them and is shaped by their experiences in social and political contexts. A researcher’s positionality shapes their interpretations, understandings, and beliefs about their research as well as other’s research. Holmes (2014) argues,
Open and honest disclosure and exposition of positionality should show where and how the researcher believes that they have influenced their research; the reader should then be able to make an informed judgment as to the researcher’s influence on the research process and how ‘truthful’ they feel the research is. (p. 6)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Problem of Practice: A problem of practice or problem of practice dissertation is a professional Ed.D. dissertation in practice embedded in the work of a researcher-practitioner, often designed to solve a real-world problem in addition to increasing understanding on a broader scale ( CPED, 2020 ).
Outsider: Standing in contrast but not in opposition to “insiders,” “outsiders” are those visiting researchers who enter into a site and gather their data through observation and interview but do not have the connections to the site that an “insider” does ( Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993 ).
Insider: Sometimes considered on a spectrum with “outsider,” insiders are considered to be those who have a connection to or are embedded in a research site or context, such as teachers conducting research within their classrooms ( Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993 ).
Emic: An insider perspective presented in contrast to and on a continuum with “etic,” an emic perspective views cultures and systems as interconnected wholes and affects methodology by involving longer, more in-depth time spent with the subjects rather than short observations and interviews ( Morris et al., 1999 ).
Reflexivity: The key to writing a statement of positionality, reflexivity is the process by which a researcher understands how their background and experiences affect the research design and process ( Tufford & Newman, 2012 ).
Positionality: Positionality is an explicit statement by the researcher reflecting where and how they feel that they have affected their research so that the reader can make a more complete understanding of the truths therein ( Holmes, 2014 ).
Interpretivist: An interpretivist worldview is a relative ontological stance that posits that humans first interpret their world and then act on those interpretations while the world itself does not. This leads to a conclusion that a singular phenomenon might have multiple interpretations rather than a singular truth that can be determined by a process of measurement ( Hammersley, 2013 ).