Self-as-Subject for Doctoral Research

This chapter presents reflections on the use of self-as-subject research within doctoral education as a pathway to explore meaning of study phenomena to uncover new knowledge from the individual of the self. Knowledge is contextual and discoverable from within this rich internal experience of the researcher-participant and extant and contemporary perspectives are presented to illustrate the importance and appropriateness of the selection of self-as-subject research methods including autoethnography and heuristic inquiry for doctoral-level research. The importance of the relational aspects of the doctoral researcher and doctoral research supervisor is briefly considered as well as contextual and institutional aspects necessary to inform doctoral researchers who may choose these methods of inquiry.

Adolescent Experience With Parental Cancer and Involvement With Medical Professionals: A Heuristic Phenomenological Inquiry

Experiencing the death of a loved one can be a difficult occurrence. Adolescents, in particular, experience death in a unique way. Yet there is relatively little research on adolescents’ experience with parental death and their involvement in the medical setting during a parent’s terminal illness. This qualitative study utilized heuristic inquiry, a type of phenomenological research, to investigate adolescents’ involvement in the hospital setting during parental terminal illness. Qualitative analysis of participants’ experiences resulted in two primary categories associated with adolescents’ involvement with medical professionals during parental illness: factors influencing hospital involvement and experience with health care professionals. The findings have implications for medical and mental health professionals who work with adolescent family members of terminally ill patients.

Displacement of self-continuity: An heuristic inquiry into identity transition in a 3D motion-capture-based animated narrative short film

This practice-led artistic research considers how a fictional allegory might be employed to examine issues of acculturation, displacement and identity transition. Using the story of a refugee family, the study explores through artistic practice the implications of identity reconstruction inside the body of a new culture. The animated short film Stella is designed to serve as a provocative vehicle for considering the social implications of identity loss and transition. Methodologically, the project is shaped by an heuristic inquiry. Inside this journey, the researcher generates a narrative that draws upon experience and theory. The artist creates an experimental animation in which the self of the artist is investigated through iterations of creative explorations. These experimental explorations not only span the conceptual and storytelling side of the creative process but also touch upon technological achievements. In this process a relationship results that elevates both the self (the writer/director/animator) and the body of knowledge, through the process of making and reflection. Beyond its contribution to understanding processes and implications of acculturation, displacement and identity transition, the project’s technological significance lies in its propensity to extend the application and demonstrate the potential of performance capture (using motion capture technology), 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry.

Going “Beyond the Surface” in an App-Based Group: A Heuristic Inquiry

Six co-researchers conducted a heuristic inquiry of a group experience composed of hundreds of video messages, posted consistently over 4 months, via the Marco Polo smartphone application, to explore the universal implications associated with this uniquely intimate experience. This diverse, artist-led group was composed of five individuals who identify as female and one individual who identifies as non-binary, of African and African American descent, from three states in the United States, with varying levels of income and education. According to the founder, the purpose of the group was to cultivate a space for “wellness through creativity, connection, and collaboration,” primarily for herself, but also for her closest friends. A formal study was necessary to illuminate the salient themes and generate findings from this serendipitous group process. Three themes emerged: (a) the group changed over time, in alignment with long-established theories of group work (i.e., forming, storming, norming, performing, and mourning/adjourning); (b) group members navigated conflict within the group and in dyads outside of the larger group; (c) and members experienced meaningful benefits and impacts as a result of participation, which supports the growing research on online mental health support groups. Implications for future research, training, and practice are provided.

Tantangan Teologi Agama-agama: Suatu Diskursus Model

Live side by side between religions is no longer a choice of life, especially in Indonesia. Because Indonesian society is formed from various religions and tribes or sub-tribes. Therefore, the effort to find a format and order to live side by side in getting along well and harmony is a relevant topic of all time. In this paper, the pattern of life in diversity is traced to the time of the first human life on earth through the narrative of the Scriptures in Christianity, the Bible. With the help of searching for cognate libraries, this paper presents proposals that are simple and easy to understand for each adherent of the religion. Various data collected were then processed using the heuristic inquiry theory approach while the data from the scriptures were explored with a hermeneutic pattern. The tripolar typology that is considered to be the first or pioneering pattern in the theology of religions is now gaining a new partner in realizing life between religious communities towards harmony. Abstrak Hidup berdampingan antar pemeluk agama tidak lagi menjadi pilihan hidup, apalagi di Indonesia. Sebab masyarakat Indonesia terbentuk dari berbagai agama dan suku atau sub-suku. Karena itu pula upaya mencari format dan tatanan hidup berdampingan dengan rukun dan harmonis menjadi topik yang relevan sepanjang masa. Dalam tulisan ini, pola kehidupan dalam keberagaman ditelusuri hingga masa-masa kehidapan pertama manusia di bumi melalui narasi Kitab Suci dalam kekristenan yaitu Alkitab. Dengan bantuan penelusuran pustaka serumpun, tulisan ini menyajikan usulan yang sederhana dan mudah untuk dimengerti oleh masing-masing pemeluk agama. Berbagai data yang berhasil dihimpun kemudian diolah dengan pendekatan teori heuristic inquiry sedangkan data dari kitab suci didalami dengan pola hermeneutik. Kerangkeng tipologi tripolar yang dianggap menjadi pola pertama atau perintis dalam teologi agama-agama kini memperoleh mitra baru dalam mewujudkan kehidupan antar umat beragama menuju keharmonisan

exploration of travel and transpersonal development

This paper explores the relationship between travel, transpersonal development and spiritual growth. Due to the personal engagement of the participants and the author in the subject areas being investigated, Moustakas’ (1990) heuristic inquiry was chosen. This is a qualitative methodology ideally suited to reveal tacit knowledge through those “who have directly encountered the phenomenon” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 38). Interview analysis from the author’s original MSc research uncovered themes that were presented through individual depictions, an exemplary depiction and a composite depiction, portraying recurrent collective themes. The composite depiction forms the results section of this paper. The discussion utilises insights and theories from transpersonal psychology as analytical tools to more closely explore the deeper workings of the phenomena being researched. It suggests that for people who are open to experience and capable of processing that experience, travel, through a search for authenticity and transcendence of the known self and outer world can implicitly share similarities with spiritual practices, therapy, and rites of passage. This can lead to self-knowledge, meaningful transformation, and authentic transpersonal development. Furthermore, the liminal aspects of travel can continue on returning home to aid the process of integration, and ‘re-create’ both personal and communal life at home.