Self-portrait with mortar board: a study of academic identity using the map, the novel and the grid

Abstract

This paper introduces the ‘map’, the ‘novel’ and the ‘grid’, three strategies inspired by the creative arts that potentially enrich higher education research by revealing layers of truth otherwise difficult to discern. The ‘map’ was inspired by the Map of an Englishman, an etching by Grayson Perry RA. It is used to create and analyse a visualisation of academic identity. The ‘novel’ depends upon finding an appropriate work of fiction to provide an analytical framework of metaphorical themes which help to draw out social and cultural issues. The ‘grid’ visually encodes the themes underlying large quantities of electronic communication to create a graphical précis of discourse at a chosen point in time. I demonstrate these strategies in an autoethnographic study of academic identity. My findings echo and enhance those of other studies into academic identity, suggesting the strategies could be helpful ways of seeing and understanding the research context.

Keywords:

• academic identity
• autoethnography
• creative arts
• higher education research
• research methodologies

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Lynn Clouder for her critical friendship and my anonymous peer reviewers for their insights. I also thank the colleagues who contributed to the ‘grid’ images, Dr Arinola Adefila and Steven Ball.