Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Ethical confessions of the “I” of autoethnography: the student's dilemma

Ethical confessions of the “I” of autoethnography: the student's dilemma Purpose – This paper aims to draw attention to a unique paradox concerning doing an autoethnography as a PhD. On the one hand, a student may feel a pull towards revealing a vulnerable, intimate, autoethnographic self, yet on the other hand she may be pushed away from this because the oral/ viva voce examination process may deny the student anonymity. Through the telling of this tale the complexities concerning self‐disclosure and student autoethnography reveal are explored. Design/methodology/approach – The tale is autoethnographic: a fictionalised account based on real events and co‐constructed from substantial field notes, personal diaries, e‐mails, and reports. Findings – This paper contributes to relational ethics concerned with self‐disclosure and the “I” of a reveal, and highlight the possibilities for developing Medford's notion of mindful slippage as a strategy for removing highly personal and possibly harmful elements within student autoethnography. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a preliminary theoretical framework that has not been empirically tested and is situated within “introspective” autoethnographic research. Originality/value – The paper takes an innovative approach to autoethnography, addressing ethical value systems specifically within a PhD context. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal Emerald Publishing

Ethical confessions of the “I” of autoethnography: the student's dilemma

Download PDF
19 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/ethical-confessions-of-the-i-of-autoethnography-the-student-s-dilemma-gHB2hA0SXa

References (69)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1746-5648
DOI
10.1108/17465640910951435
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to draw attention to a unique paradox concerning doing an autoethnography as a PhD. On the one hand, a student may feel a pull towards revealing a vulnerable, intimate, autoethnographic self, yet on the other hand she may be pushed away from this because the oral/ viva voce examination process may deny the student anonymity. Through the telling of this tale the complexities concerning self‐disclosure and student autoethnography reveal are explored. Design/methodology/approach – The tale is autoethnographic: a fictionalised account based on real events and co‐constructed from substantial field notes, personal diaries, e‐mails, and reports. Findings – This paper contributes to relational ethics concerned with self‐disclosure and the “I” of a reveal, and highlight the possibilities for developing Medford's notion of mindful slippage as a strategy for removing highly personal and possibly harmful elements within student autoethnography. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a preliminary theoretical framework that has not been empirically tested and is situated within “introspective” autoethnographic research. Originality/value – The paper takes an innovative approach to autoethnography, addressing ethical value systems specifically within a PhD context.

Journal

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management An International Journal – Emerald Publishing

Published: May 8, 2009

Keywords: Self actualization; Individual psychology; Personality; Ethics; Research work; Theses

There are no references for this article.