‘Do it yourself’ scholarship: from punk rock to qualitative research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) framework as a mode of critical qualitative scholarship. The authors argue that the production and distribution methods used by punks, zine-makers, graffitists, and skateboarders – among others – may support the social justice intentions of critical qualitative inquiry. The use the DIY framework to suggest activism itself is a collaborative process shaped by the frictions between activists and dominant systems, but mediated by the consumers of cultural production. Through examples and case studies, the authors demonstrate how DIY methods support patterns of collaboration that can lead to social change. The paper concludes with a proposal for DIY scholarship that suggests how critical qualitative researchers can amplify the utility of their methods to support social justice.

Keywords:

• Social justice
• qualitative research
• public policy
• activism

Notes

1. By critical qualitative scholarship, we mean research that is intended as a form of activism toward social justice, an agenda which we assume represents the public good.