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Abstract: This paper offers a narrative of two doctoral students' understandings of the relationship between bracketing and reflexivity, building on Baksh's 2018 reflection on the tensions between them. Sharing our personal experiences led us to recognize our assumptions and challenge each other to unlearn and reconceptualize our initial understanding of bracketing. We emphasize the importance of reflexivity as an ongoing process and point out the dangers of attempting to bracket without first recognizing the impact of our own positionalities and experiences. We conclude our paper with tips for reflexivity to provide support for researchers who are navigating similar tensions.
Keywords: qualitative research, bracketing, reflexivity, positionality, identity, reflection
It is our second semester of our first year of the PhD program in social work at the University of Windsor, a small cohort of three. We have had an unconventional start to the program as we had no choice but to attend all of our classes online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Although we missed the physical environment of the classroom and human connection, Zoom became the lyceum for our many passionate discussions about research and the search for truth. It was the conversation we had in our "Qualitative Data Analysis" course that would eventually lead us to write this paper.
Learning about the underlying tenets of qualitative research left me (Carly) feeling conflicted. In alignment with qualitative epistemologies, I had simultaneous and seemingly contradictory viewpoints about how to receive these methodological approaches. As a practicing social worker with a passion for understanding people's authentic experiences and stories, the idea of qualitative research was fascinating. On the other hand, my background in psychology and coinciding quantitative research portfolio made certain qualitative standpoints more difficult to embrace. I recognized the importance of reflexivity and transparency, but the ideas did not exactly sit comfortably with me. Throughout the course, I was continually challenged to confront personal biases that I was previously unaware of. We were asked to read an article surrounding a novice researcher's reflections about navigating the tensions between bracketing and reflexivity (Baksh, 2018); I could not help but relate to Baksh's perspectives. Thankfully, I knew I would be able to discuss my own personal tensions at our weekly Zoom lyceum.
I (Samina) could not help but...