08/16/2023
A Lovely Piece
Before I started reading literature for my research, I did not give many thoughts to words and how they can affect others. That is not to say that I went around spouting whatever came to my mind. I was not critically aware of how words can mean one thing to me and different to another individual. One of these words is participants. The piece Lovely to me, by Anjela Wong, showed me how important it is to use the word Collaborators instead of participants.
“We completed our degrees to honor our family, community, and those individuals who have mentored, supported, and loved us throughout our academic journey. Essentially, we represent them, and as such, we hold ourselves responsible for bridging research and activism…Therefore, I cannot ‘just do any type of research’ without the consent of my research collaborators because I have a commitment and responsibility to them” (Wong, 2017, p.85). Wong pushes the ideas of researchers owing a huge responsibility to Collaborators and scholars are held accountable on how society view specific community (Wong, 2017, p.89). Scholars pose questions and can understand these questions because Collaborators are involved. Therefore, it is my responsibility to give back to my Collaborators and inform them of what my findings will be. Collaborators will have unique backgrounds and histories to them. I am an outsider and must recognize the authorities that I have to ensure that Collaborators feel comfortable with me.
I also learned that critical self-reflexivity and humility is important. “Self-reflection on privilege, implicit biases, and ‘capital’ as key aspects of both undergraduate and graduate programs or else, the hierarchical structures perpetuate in a constant oppressive cycle” (Wong, 2017, p.91). Wong is saying that scholars who do not take time to reflect will cause a continuous cycle of oppression to communities that are collaborating with scholars. Thus, using words such as Collaborators instead of participants and amplifying an individual’s voice instead of giving voice can help toward a more equitable society (Wong, 2017, p. 88-89). This piece has prompted me to reflect on these questions:
1) For whom is this study worthy and relevant? Who says so?
2) What knowledge will the community gain from this study? What knowledge will the researcher gain from this study?
3) What are some likely positive outcomes from this study?
4) What are some possible negative outcomes?
5) How can the negative outcomes be eliminated? To whom is the researcher accountable? What processes are in place to support the research, the researched and the researcher?
The Questions above are from Linda Tuhiwai Smith, as quoted in Wong’s piece, Lovely to Me
I am sure that I will have more questions in the future while conducting my research. I may not be able to answer them all, however, to me, these questions are best to not have a definite answer. This will cause me to reflect upon myself continuously, so I can have a clear conscience. Lastly, I am conducting my research to understand the questions because I have seen inconsistent support between Hmong men and Hmong women. I hope that my final product will show the community why this is happening and bring awareness to everyone.
Below are works that I have referred from.
Smith, L.T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous People. New York, NY: Zed Books.
Wong, N.-W. A. (2017). “lovely to me”: An Immigrant’s daughter’s critical self-reflexivity research journey. Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.31274/jctp-180810-75