The following is my understanding of what it is to be a reflective and reflexive researcher after reading "Turns of Thought: Teaching Composition as Reflexive Inquiry" by Donna Qualley for Writing, Research and Technology, a class I am taking at Rowan University.
My understanding of being a reflective and reflexive researcher is that it involves the examination of our own thought processes and beliefs, and how they influence our processing of information. The reading more adequately describes reflexive research as involving "... a commitment to both attending to what we believe and examining how we came to hold those beliefs while we are engaged in trying to make sense of an other." In other words, a reflexive researcher would not simply research, but also explore how his/her method of processing information will influence how he/she will absorb the information gained from research.
While an individuals background, culture and experiences influences their thought process, the individual is usually unaware of the impact of such influences until he/she is compelled to examine them. As experienced by the author, this self-examination often occurs when we are taken out of our comfort zones and integrated with those who do not share a similar way of thinking due to cultural and background differences. That is why it is important to be reflexive when researching. Researchers should not let their own thoughts cloud the analysis of data. The ultimate goal of reflexive researching is to examine our thinking processes so that we can make adjustments to our way of thinking and come to better conclusions by, as Qualley states, "... deepening, complicating, challenging, or transforming what we currently understand."
I am guilty of being a closed-minded researcher. I find out what I find out, and simply add it to my memory bank. I am not asked to examine how I processed researched information very often. Reflexive researching as Qualley described it, can make me, or anyone, a more adequate researcher and writer.
My understanding of being a reflective and reflexive researcher is that it involves the examination of our own thought processes and beliefs, and how they influence our processing of information. The reading more adequately describes reflexive research as involving "... a commitment to both attending to what we believe and examining how we came to hold those beliefs while we are engaged in trying to make sense of an other." In other words, a reflexive researcher would not simply research, but also explore how his/her method of processing information will influence how he/she will absorb the information gained from research.
While an individuals background, culture and experiences influences their thought process, the individual is usually unaware of the impact of such influences until he/she is compelled to examine them. As experienced by the author, this self-examination often occurs when we are taken out of our comfort zones and integrated with those who do not share a similar way of thinking due to cultural and background differences. That is why it is important to be reflexive when researching. Researchers should not let their own thoughts cloud the analysis of data. The ultimate goal of reflexive researching is to examine our thinking processes so that we can make adjustments to our way of thinking and come to better conclusions by, as Qualley states, "... deepening, complicating, challenging, or transforming what we currently understand."
I am guilty of being a closed-minded researcher. I find out what I find out, and simply add it to my memory bank. I am not asked to examine how I processed researched information very often. Reflexive researching as Qualley described it, can make me, or anyone, a more adequate researcher and writer.
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