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

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.

“...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?

“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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.