Researcher Reflexivity #2

This week I continued to think about the roles of researchers. The same questions that I was pondering last Sunday were some of the key discussion points brought up in class by others, and it was interesting to hear others' opinions, as well as our professors thoughts on the topic. One suggestion from my professor was for researchers to remember their purpose at the onset of the research. A potential scenario is that researchers often notice multiple trends, some negative, others positive. The researcher can decide to not pursue the negative aspects, especially if the negative aspects were not the initial purpose for the research. I loved this idea, and with each discussion I have a better sense of ethical issues.

Yet, I know that there is still so much to consider about these ethical research questions that come up, and our classroom discussion was not enough to answer every scenario. As I was doing the readings for this week, Shulman (1990) was questioning who her "clients" were when pondering where her loyalties should lie - whether it was the research participants or consumers of research.

Then at the end of Friday Night Lights, a book that I chose as one of our novel options, H.G. Bissinger also broached the subject of the controversy surrounding the way he represented the community of Odessa in relation to football in his book. He said, "When I first arrived in Odessa, I anticipated a book very much in the tradition of the film, Hoosiers, a portrait of the way in which high school sports can bring a community together. There were elements of that bond in Odessa, and they were reflected in the book. But along the way some other things happened--the most ugly racism I have ever encountered, utterly misplaced educational priorities, a town that wasn't bad or evil but had lost any ability to judge itself. It would have been a journalistic disgrace to ignore these elements" (pp. 353-354). It would not have been the same book if Bissinger only showed the glowing aspects of Odessa football. Instead he showed various angles.

Again and again, throughout my readings and reflections this week I have been going back to my professor's comment in class about the importance of keeping purpose in sharp focus. Based on the first weeks of class it is apparent the questions that have been at the forefront of my mind will not be easily answered. I will continue to pay attention to how researchers deal with this through course readings, class discussions, and interactions with researchers.

Bissinger, H.G. (1990). Friday night lights. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

Shulman, J.H. (1990). Now you see them, now you don't: Anonymity versus visibility in case studies of teachers. Educational Researcher, 19(6), 11-15.