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Focus group interviews, especially when working in the field, could be more effective.

Focus groups are ideal for producing insights that result from group interaction. Several practices are helpful for facilitating group dialogue – it is valuable for the facilitator to have some cultural connection to, at least some experience with or understanding of, the participants

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The central tenet of duoethnography requires two consenting adults who approach each other in a caring, compassionate way. Trust fosters disclosure and connection.

They approached this project from a post-structural perspective, which allowed them to unpack how power informs the construction of identity by whom and how. Duoethnography provided them with a structural format for making sense of their shared experiences.

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“Despite common rhetoric that race is socially constructed, we have experienced and witnessed (and in this manuscript critique) the essentialized ways in which racial identities are often actualized and policed.”

“...racial essentialism casts people who do not adhere to predefined and fixed notions of race as inauthentic…”

The lived experiences of both authors emphasize their disconnections from their race and a feeling of otherness. This comes out in their criticism of normative characteristics of each race and racial essentialism. How would others who use those characteristics as a key part of their racial identity respond to these criticisms?

The authors point out that a power dynamic exists and at least partially resisted efforts to mitigate it. What other strategies could they have used that may have been more effective?

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Schedule time for the non-interview parts of the interview as well (testing equipment, introductions, ordering coffee, etc.)

“Two is one and one is none”

Individuals are “more likely to be disagreeable and argumentative when they communicate online” (cause: online disinhibition effect)

As with previous chapters, one emphasis is that interviewing is a skill. Drawing out the correct information on half-answered questions or redirecting tangents takes practice.

Interviewing also allows researchers to push back (critical interview techniques). Respondents can be encouraged to think about and justify their views, which is a level of self-examination that may be rare.

Focus groups can have some benefits with language but extra challenges with management.

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p.198-199 – This list of considerations is a very helpful breakdown of the various domains to consider when coordinating an interview. The “nonhuman” factors are, indeed, just as important to consider as well and might actually have a greater impact on the interview than other aspects.

p.202 – When I was teaching online for high schoolers in a public school in Texas during 2020-2021, we had a hard limit on the amount of time we could do direct/mediated instruction (about 45 minutes maximum) without a break. At first, it felt disruptive, but compared to other experiences I would have later in online teaching and learning, 45 minutes felt like a good break point for any session.

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p.243 – It is really meaningful that they start this article on duoethnography with an epigraph containing quotes from each researcher to situate the direction and focus of the article.

p.244 – The phrase “practicing vulnerability” sticks out to me because it is a good reminder that vulnerability is a skill that does not just exist in a neutral form.

The article presents a hopeful model for continuing to trouble and challenge the interconnected aspects of identity and power in higher educational institutions.

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On being racially enough A duoethnography across minoritized racial identities ( Ashlee & Quaye, 2021)

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“The best interviewers are comfortable in conversation and able to listen carefully while also improvising questions that suit the context and topic at hand. Comfort comes in familiarity and practice” (p. 197, Kindle).

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“Duoethnographers use past stories to inform the present. By retelling our stories to each other, we gained new meaning in hearing how the other person responded to our story and noted parallels and inconsistencies in our story as compared to each other’s” (p. 248).

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Who considers themselves a good interviewer? One of the key takeaways from Tracy is that interviewing a both a science and an art form. You need to understand your intention and audience to best decide on the appropriate interview process/procedures. On the other side, developing interview skills will help you solicit participants' honest insights, valuable perspectives, and engagement.

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How many folks considered duoethnography as a methodology prior to this article? The key point I am taking away from duethnography is that it is a synthesis and analysis of two people's self-reflections on a topic that brings them together. The self-reflexivity is an important part of this process, and without it, you are not collaboratively forming meaning with your duoethnography partner.

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“For much of our lives, we have struggled with not feeling enough in our racial identities, believing one could identify as an Asian or Black person in the “right” way” (Ashlee and Quaye, 241).

I really resonated with this article because of the Korean-American author and the discussions between both authors about racial identities and acceptance within their identities. While her stance was that she did not appreciate being told what is Asian enough or White enough, I resonated a lot because so much of our lived experiences is how people around us categorize us based on our looks (gender, culture, dis/ability, age, etc.). In college, we had an adopted Korean student join our Korean church group and the college Korean American Student Association. I think she probably felt out of place some of the time, but in general, we were her hangout group and she ended up marrying one of the Korean students. While at first many of us were curious about her experience growing up in a White family, we quickly just saw her as one of us. After reading this article, I am curious to know if and how  she might have felt a little more out of place than we realized.

I also grew up very similar to Ashlee  in that I was generally around more White communities, but it was a lot more diverse than most White communities. While the dominant narrative was White, the diversity of the neighborhood was unusually high in both the military base I grew up in and in the religious compound my parents moved to after my dad retired from the military. In high school my parents moved to the high desert of California and there were a couple other Korean students there at the local public high school. I preferred to hang out with my Mexican-American friends and then my group started incorporating more White students as well. In the end, it was probably the “ideal” and accepting group as many different cultures floated in and out of it. However, I never really associated with the few other Koreans because students would immediately start assuming that the one guy and I liked each other and the other girls were into their makeup, clothes, and boys (like Ashlee talked about in her article too). In looking back, I wish I had taken better care of two Korean students who had just immigrated from Korea. The more “Americanized” Koreans were not really my cup of tea, but I could have done better to help the other two students.

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I think focus groups would be a lot of fun to do, but it will take a lot of practice and hyperfocused/intentional monitoring to keep things on track. I would like this to be my greatest strength as a researcher because I think we understand ourselves so much in an area of community.

I will probably do a lot of technology-mediated interviews on Zoom because it’s so convenient and cheap.

But I think I want to do the bulk of my interviews in one-on-one and face to face to sort of get a better idea of who I am researching with.

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"...When similar people gather to share their problems and ideas, they discover solutions and sensemaking frames... focus groups themselves are a material force that cultivates agency and power for participants" (p. 207).

I kind of alluded to this advantage of group interviews in my Methodology assignment, but I really appreciate this angle on the value of group interviews. It reiterates the notion of there being power in numbers, and the possibility for the revelation of new insights, transformation, and strength with collective effort.

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Key Ideas & Concepts

Writing as Inquiry

Writing is not only a way to present data but a way to think and analyze.

The act of writing helps clarify arguments, patterns, and interpretations.

Qualitative Writing as Art + Science

Combines creativity and systematic rigor.

Should be engaging, evocative, and credible.

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“We often question if we are ‘enough’—enough of our racial identity to belong, to speak, to represent.”
→ Highlights internalized doubt and the tension between authenticity and societal expectation.

“Our racialized selves are constantly negotiated within spaces that both welcome and marginalize us.”
→ Speaks to the fluidity and contextual nature of racial identity.

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I really appreciated the cyclical effect of duoethnography. That by sharing my experiences, I understand them better and my listening to others experience, it helps me also further understand myself in relation to others.

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To some extent, I feel like my experience with being a conduct officer helps with interviews. In conduct, I listen to the stories that students tell about what decisions they made. My role is to ask reflective questions that allow the students to then dig deeper and think about why they made those decisions over others and how those decisions reflect their values. I think this line of questioning and seeking to understand fits within the interview space.