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Using Autoethnography, Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Photovoice as research methods in migration studies

Date
May 06, 2022
Time
9:30 AM EDT - 1:30 PM EDT
Location
Hybrid (facilitators in person, 15 in person, 10-15 online) (max. 30 students)
Migration ResearchGyms
About the workshop:

This Research Gym explored the opportunities and limitations in using the interdisciplinary research methodologies of Autoethnography and Participatory Action Research (PAR), specifically Photovoice, for studying complex trajectories and issues in migration.

Even though personal experiences of the migration researcher and their situatedness within the research field are often key drivers of their work, these  perspectives, stemming from their 'lived experience,' are little utilized as critical tools. This workshop examined the autoethnographic approach as a form of qualitative inquiry to help the researcher systematically analyze their own personal experience to more deeply understand the sociological and cultural contexts around migration.

Further, frameworks and techniques that underpin PAR, for instance in a research method like Photovoice, disrupt the power dynamics that exist in conventional research settings between the researcher and their research participants. Often conceptualized as community-based research, Photovoice is a visual research methodology rooted in collaboration and co-creation with research participants.

This workshop covered:
  • How does the researcher’s positionality and the migrants’ lived experiences shape research design and methods?
  • How can Autoethnography add depth to qualitative research in migration?  
  • Why are Storytelling, Autoethnography and other forms of Participatory Action Research, including Photovoice, important methodological tools?
  • How can alternative research approaches provide opportunities to reset the power dynamics in research?

How this workshop was delivered:

This workshop used an interactive format for presenting information and promoting discussion. Case studies using research methods like Autoethnography and Photovoice were shared in advance. The session relied on participatory tools and narrative activities in a small group setting to facilitate reflective practice and experiential learning.

9:30 - 10 AM – Welcome reception

10 – 11:10 AM – Positioning ourselves auto-ethnographically: Sharing research stories

  • Autoethnography as research methodology
  • Autoethnography activity (group discussion in breakout rooms) 
  • Activity debrief  

11:10 – 11:20 AM – Break

11:20 - 11:30 AM – Introducing Participatory Action Research (PAR)

11:30 - 11:45 AM – Discussion on ‘alternative’ research methods and their implications for migration research and practice

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM – Lunch (provided)

12:15-12:50 PM – Introducing Photovoice, with workshop guest Michelle Nguyen, CERC Migration

12:50-1:30 PM – Activity/ Q&A and Wrap-up  

About the workshop leader:

Alka Kumar is a research fellow at CERC Migration. She completed doctoral work in labour market integration for racialized skilled immigrants within the interdisciplinary Peace and Conflict Studies program, University of Manitoba. At CERC Migration, she co-leads the StOries Project: Strangers to Ourselves, a teaching and training project with a cohort of graduate students. The project explores the potential of storytelling and creative writing to generate new insights into multigenerational migration histories, and in contested notions of identity, race and multiculturalism in Canada.

All workshops are being offered free of charge. Our workshops are often oversubscribed and we maintain a waiting list. We ask that you please cancel your registration if you are no longer able to attend. We appreciate your understanding.