Keeping and Using Reflective Journals in the Qualitative Research Process

Authors

Michelle Ortlipp, Charles Sturt UniversityFollow

Abstract

The problem of bias in qualitative research particularly is still debated in methodology texts and there is a lack of agreement on how much researcher influence is acceptable, whether or not it needs to be “controlled,” and how it might be accounted for. Denzin (1994) refers to this as “the interpretive crisis” (p. 501). I chose to make my experiences, opinions, thoughts, and feelings visible and an acknowledged part of the research process through keeping reflective journals and using them in writing up the research. The aim of this paper is to show how reflective journals were used in engaging with the notion of creating transparency in the research process, and explore the impact of critical self-reflection on research design.

Keywords

Self-reflection, Qualitative Research, and Research Journals

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the Centre for Research and Graduate Studies, Charles Sturt University, for providing financial assistance that supported the writing of this paper.

Publication Date

12-1-2008

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1579

Recommended APA Citation

Ortlipp, M. (2008). Keeping and Using Reflective Journals in the Qualitative Research Process. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 695-705. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1579