Autoethnography in action research for health education practitioners

Abstract

We propose a methodological framework for conducting collaborative and analytic autoethnography (CAAE) in action research inquiry. Similar to other action research methodologies, CAAE is: (a) systematic, framed by a research question and employing explicit, transparent methods; (b) problem-based, drawn from health educators’ practices; and (c) cyclical, predicated on the assumption that a plan for implementing changes is derived from the findings and will be tested in subsequent action research cycles. The autoethnographic action research framework comprises four phases: inductive stage/formative assessment—developing a hypothesis (phase 1), pre-deductive stage—organizing the study (phase 2), deductive stage/summative evaluation—collecting data and testing the hypothesis (phase 3), and synthesis stage—constructing meaning (phase 4). Collaborative analytic autoethnography supports reflexivity, awareness, and agency by providing practitioners with an explicit framework for continually evaluating the complexities of self, the Other (i.e. experiencing self from another’s perspective), and context.