“Electric Word Life”: Methodological Dignity in Equity-Driven Research

ABSTRACT

In this essay, I offer methodological considerations for justice-oriented qualitative research. Particularly within the context of Trumpism within the U.S. and rising threats to historically marginalized communities globally, this essay explores how research for equity-driven scholarship must attend to frequently invisible sociopolitical learning. Specifically, I illustrate how three elements of research—often taken up separately—comprise elements researchers must consider in our work. I frame these overlapping layers as part of a framework for methodological dignity. First, platforms, as non-neutral factors shaping where and how research is undertaken, are examined within the contexts of learning and schooling. Next, I look at how the communities and environments in which research is conducted both impact and are impacted by research processes. Finally, although research positionality is commonly covered in scholarly manuscripts, I explore how this shifting aspect of scholarship impacts the kinds of questions asked and how they are studied.

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank Drs. Kris Gutiérrez and Marcelle Haddix for their feedback and support on an early draft of this essay. I also want to recognize the scholarly contributions of Dr. Antonio N. Martinez, whose work embodies a methodological dignity that continues to guide my scholarship today.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Antero Garcia

Antero Garcia is an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University where he studies how technology and gaming shape both youth and adult learning, literacy practices, and civic identities. Antero’s research has appeared in numerous journals and books, including Good Reception: Teens, Teachers, and Mobile Media in a Los Angeles High School and Doing Youth Participatory Action Research: Transforming Inquiry with Researchers, Educators, and Students.