Diane's Response To Tierney

Get Real: Representing Reality

Tierney, W. (2002). Get real: Representing reality. Qualitative Studies in Education, 15 (4), 385-398.

Summary:

In this article William Tierney suggests that acceptable narrative strategies for qualitative research be broadened. He begins by briefly discussing the “crisis in representation” and some responses to the “crisis.” One prevalent reaction he looks at in the article is the current trend to automatically insert the author explicitly into the text by simply writing in the first person. He asserts that the use of author’s voice must be purposeful and that new narrative structures may create the possibility to transgress the norms rather than react to them. Tierney then discusses some challenges inherent in expanding the diversity of narrative methods including the nature of writing, available readers for inventive narrative texts, and the purpose of the research act.

Personal Reflection:

I am just beginning to think about research in a formal way and think this is a very exciting time to be involved in this work. Since this article was written in 2002, there has been a greater diversity of narrative strategies employed and seen as acceptable. The idea of purposeful use of the author’s voice is of prime concern for any postmodern research and fraught with ethical considerations. The ethics of honoring the voices of participants and explicitly examining the researcher’s relationship to “others” is at the heart of good research.

Analyzing my place in the world in relation to race and class privilege and difference as well as critically looking at power systems has been one of my prime concerns for the past ten years. Although as a result of writing for this class, I have come to the realization that I need to do more work personally in the area of gender. I am looking forward to see how all this plays out in my research and how the act of research further informs my understanding of privilege and difference.

Although it is important for me to write research in a way that other people want to read, my interest in innovative narrative structures is primarily to capture the unique voices of others and locate myself in the telling of their stories in order to perhaps shed light on the reflexivity of the work. In other words I am not interested in experimental research for the sake of experimentation, but for the possibility of bringing other voices forward in a way that honors them or the unique interplay of our relationship. I am determined that my future research will change the world for the better in some way and using forms to best communicate the complexity of difference is key .

Another important idea presented in the article was the idea of representing time in a non-linear way and the need for inventing research forms to capture a more open view of time. In undergraduate school I was highly involved in making films and viewing art, documentary and mainstream films in a comprehensive film house on campus. I can’t begin to tell you what a formative experience this was for me and how I am still discovering the underpinnings of what I learned from that experience! Time as weight and sequencing to make and discover new relationships are particularly interesting. Presenting time in inventive ways might create an opportunity to synthesize my experiences with film in research.