Auto-ethnography as a Tool for Community Engaged Research with Immigrant Populations
Disciplines
Immigration Law | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social Justice | Social Welfare Law | Social Work
Abstract (300 words maximum)
For my research project, I engaged in an auto-ethnographic process to identify and write a series of vignettes about areas in my life, that of my family, as well as my faith community about when and how our mixed immigration status was helped or hindered by internal and external community engagement. This led me to doing a content analysis of the vignettes to identify emergent themes. Here’s an excerpt of a vignette that signified an important turning point for me personally, my university studies, and desire to become an attorney.
At first, I didn’t want to notice it. I thought that it would make the stereotypes be true. But then I realized that this cynicism is a symptom. It isn’t one of ignorance or superstition; instead, it is the natural symptom of a community left vulnerable and isolated. The Latino community—and specifically the undocumented subgroup within it—was the perfect victim for powerful people to take advantage of.
Themes like this resulting in me searching for and identifying articles that resonated with this feeling of being vulnerable due to lack of voice and visibility. To deconstruct and decode written documents, I applied Bloom’s Taxonomy in completing a manuscript analysis for 20 grey, academic, and case law articles. Consequently, this poster presentation will document the process I undertook to complete each of these tasks, as well as share a draft of the manuscript I have written a “Student Perspectives” section for a forthcoming publication in the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. This is the first time I am formally documenting my journey as an immigrant youth and first-generation college student. I hope that this will encourage others to learn about and utilize auto-ethnography as an approach to help marginalized communities who are often unseen to be seen and heard.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
WCHHS - Social Work and Human Services
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Darlene Xiomara Rodriguez
Auto-ethnography as a Tool for Community Engaged Research with Immigrant Populations
For my research project, I engaged in an auto-ethnographic process to identify and write a series of vignettes about areas in my life, that of my family, as well as my faith community about when and how our mixed immigration status was helped or hindered by internal and external community engagement. This led me to doing a content analysis of the vignettes to identify emergent themes. Here’s an excerpt of a vignette that signified an important turning point for me personally, my university studies, and desire to become an attorney.
At first, I didn’t want to notice it. I thought that it would make the stereotypes be true. But then I realized that this cynicism is a symptom. It isn’t one of ignorance or superstition; instead, it is the natural symptom of a community left vulnerable and isolated. The Latino community—and specifically the undocumented subgroup within it—was the perfect victim for powerful people to take advantage of.
Themes like this resulting in me searching for and identifying articles that resonated with this feeling of being vulnerable due to lack of voice and visibility. To deconstruct and decode written documents, I applied Bloom’s Taxonomy in completing a manuscript analysis for 20 grey, academic, and case law articles. Consequently, this poster presentation will document the process I undertook to complete each of these tasks, as well as share a draft of the manuscript I have written a “Student Perspectives” section for a forthcoming publication in the Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. This is the first time I am formally documenting my journey as an immigrant youth and first-generation college student. I hope that this will encourage others to learn about and utilize auto-ethnography as an approach to help marginalized communities who are often unseen to be seen and heard.