Research skills journaling and professional development

¶ … Skills: Journaling

The value of journaling in the qualitative research process

When I first began this assignment, my immediate reaction was: why do I need to write down my thoughts and feelings in a journal when I have Facebook and Twitter? Don't I already have social media venues in which to vent a steady stream-of-consciousness? However, over the course of the journaling process, the value of the exercise became very clear: journaling is a unique form of self-expression. Unlike other types of writing, the main purpose of journaling is to better understand one's self, rather than to engage in direct communication with others. In other modes of writing, whether a research paper or an online blog, the writer is always aware that he or she is writing with an audience in mind. Because every audience is unique, the writer must engage in self-censorship, tailoring the content to meet that audience. With journal writing, the author writes for his or her own needs, whether it is to record information about the day's events or to simply reflect upon life.

The value of journaling for a qualitative researcher also became clear to me through this experiential process of journal writing. On a very basic and practical level, journaling enables the researcher to keep track of day-to-day events as they happen in the moment. Retrospective analysis may be colored by faulty memory or the researcher's desire to formulate a cohesive theory. Taking notes as events unfold are an important way to ensure accuracy in reporting. This is particularly true of qualitative research because of its inherently subjective nature. Unlike data-driven quantitative research, there is no statistical analysis to screen for errors. The researcher must embark upon the observation or case study with intense self-consciousness of his or her own situation. The reflective components of journaling can also help the qualitative researcher be more aware of the process, possible prejudices, and unforeseen turns of events or complications that challenge the initial paradigm and set of assumptions he or she brought to the research.

For my first journaling exercises, I focused upon recreating short dialogues that I had at work, with family members, or in school. These exercises made me think about the 'character' I play in these different venues and how different my personality is, depending on with whom I am speaking. I am casual yet professional at work: I make jokes and laugh, yet I always keep a certain, guarded distance from my colleagues. My work self is very much my 'social self.' In contrast, I am much more relaxed when I am with friends and family and feel less inhibited. With friends in particular I am willing to open up and let down my guard. I feel as if I have 'nothing to prove.' This awareness helps me understand the different components of my character and how the external environment shapes me, as it shapes others.

For the next journaling exercise, I used another of the prompts in the book and chose to reflect upon my own body as an exercise: my feelings, personal experiences with my body, and aspects of my body I would like to change. I can also see how this would be a valuable topic to reflect upon for a researcher, given that people's feelings about their bodies have such a major impact upon their lives. Someone from a different culture may have a different somatic sense of him or herself than the researcher, and understanding these differences can be a fruitful area of intercultural dialogue.

During a qualitative study, the researcher should be mindful of how different subjects feel about aspects of life he or she takes for granted: like the role of the body; perceptions of health and beauty; clothing; and the acceptable 'space' between persons when they speak. Body language is yet another way in which people communicate and unless the researcher understands his or her own body language, it is difficult to judge others. Of course, it might feel self-indulgent at times for a researcher to be so acutely conscious of his or her own feelings and attitudes. But ultimately, this is of great service to the subject. The basic presumption of qualitative research is that the researcher cannot totally strip him or herself of all biases. However, through articulating the presumptions he or she brings to the process, the researcher can at very least contextualize the evidence that is being presented and enable the reader to make an informed choice as to whether to give credence to the study or not. Finally, if the qualitative researcher is engaged in participant-observation, it may be necessary for him or her to change certain behaviors to fit in and to accomplish his or her goals of being an unobtrusive observer. Journaling enables the researcher to question what is 'normal' and what is 'not.