Autoethnography as a qualitative research method takes the lived experiences of the researcher, examining those incidences in relation to the cultural context. The performative process searches for meaning and understanding in view of the reader. This chapter explores the use of autoethnography, offering a discussion of its development as a methodology. The first part of the chapter introduces autoethnography and examines its major components. I present my journey from using narratives to autoethnography as a natural and organic evolution and give illustrations from my narrative, autoethnographic, and collaborative autoethnographic works. The chapter explains the importance of reflexivity to autobiographic work and emphasizes the importance of a theoretical framework to interpretive analysis. Finally the strengths and weakness of autoethnography are discussed.
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Front Matter
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Part I: AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS
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Part II: PRACTICAL APPROACHES
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Part III: CRITICAL APPROACHES
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Part IV: METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
