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Qualitative methods to capture the nuance of realities: My journey to explore their stories, our stories and my own stories
(Asian Qualitative Inquiry Association, 2025) Lee, Jinah
This study reflects on my research journey with qualitative methodologies — specifically narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and duoethnography — as ways to capture the nuanced and complex realities embedded in diverse contexts. Through revisiting four distinct studies, I demonstrate how these approaches offer rich possibilities for novice and early-career researchers seeking to engage deeply with lived experience. My doctoral research employed narrative inquiry to foreground their stories — the lived experiences of participants shaped and expressed through personal narratives. Building upon this foundation, I turned to autoethnography to explore my stories in relation to theirs, acknowledging the entangled nature of researcher and participant narratives and the emergence of our stories. Most recently, duoethnography has enabled collaborative meaning-making, where your stories and my stories intersect, challenge, and evolve together. Across these methodological explorations, I highlight the importance of reflection, reflexivity, retrospection, and iteration as central practices within qualitative inquiry. These elements not only support the construction and co-construction of realities but also foster deeper understanding of complexity and context. By critically positioning ourselves in relation to the stories we study, co-create, and share, researchers can cultivate spaces for ethical engagement, transformative insight, and relational accountability.
Decolonising otherness and sense of belonging: Autoethnography of a Korean woman migrant in Aotearoa New Zealand during the pandemic (2020-2022)
(Asian Qualitative Inquiry Association, 2025) Lee, Jinah
This autoethnography examines my lived experiences as a Korean migrant in Aotearoa New Zealand during the 2020-2022 global pandemic, interwoven with narratives from Asian women migrants in my doctoral research. Through personal and collective storytelling, I explore the intricate interplay between belonging and otherness, a duality that resonates deeply across our shared experiences. Employing a qualitative methodological approach, this study critically engages with decolonising perspectives, neo-racism, and social identity theory to unpack the complexities of ethnic and racial exclusion, cultural hybridity, and the pervasive ‘us and them’ dichotomy amplified by colonial worldviews. The narrative reveals layers of otherness ― manifested in feelings of displacement, experiences of victimisation, and unintentional harm ― while highlighting the profound human need for belonging. The findings reveal nuanced lived realities often overlooked in broader societal discourses. This study contributes to understanding the dynamics of social identity, power relations, and belonging, offering critical insights into how Asian women migrants negotiate their place in a world shaped by ethical and racial divides. It calls for a re-examination of narratives that perpetuate exclusion, advocating for more inclusive frameworks that honour diverse experiences.
Settling in: Korean international students as English language learners in New Zealand
(Asian Qualitative Inquiry Association, 2024) Lee, Jinah
This small-scale study examines the initial settlement period of Korean international students in New Zealand. Using Bour-dieu’s (2018) theory of social and cultural capital, the ethnographic research explores the settlement experiences of these students. The findings reveal that participants face significant challenges in adapting to new social and cultural practices, along with a notable lack of social support during this transition. Most prominently, they identify English language profi-ciency as the primary barrier to successful settlement. As both an insider and outsider, the researcher reflects on the par-ticipants' stories and analyzes them through the lens of her own experiences. The findings provide valuable insights for supporting the return of international students to countries such as New Zealand and the Republic of Korea in the post-pandemic era, with a particular focus on improving support services and enhancing sustainability.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) identities
(Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2023-12-28) Semlyen, Joanna; Ellis, Sonja J.
Psychology has a long history of pathologizing LGB identities. Although decades of sociolegal change and advancement of LGBTIQ+ psychology have afforded LGB people the right to self-determination, much of psychology continues to ignore the ways in which the power of LGB people can only exist within the framework of heteronormativity. Even in the western world, the inclusion of LGB people is not universally experienced. The existence of continued victimization, and more subtle forms of discrimination including the appropriation of "gay" culture, indicates that the privileging of heterosexual identities and "lifestyles" is still very much present. Interfacing with constructs such as heteronormativity, liberal humanism, and homonormativity this chapter explores the way in which LGB identities are impacted by politics and power. It also explores the way in which the constituent groups under the LGB identities umbrella are differentially affected by gendered politics, and the ways in which some ways of being LGB are privileged over others under heteronormativity.
Understanding the extent in which NSSI and ODI-type behaviour are ways of dealing with the same issues for young people in New Zealand
(The University of Waikato, 2025) Aykroyd, Summer; Curtis, Cate
NSSI and some forms of aggression are behaviours that appear to have similar functions and risk factors. There is a gap in the research in understanding the extent of how these behaviours crossover and are ways of dealing with the same issues. 10 semi-structure in-depth interviews were conducted to understand ways of dealing with negative emotions and if this differed with engagement in NSSI or ODI-type behaviours. Overall this research found that while they were ways of dealing with the same issues, the individuals experience of emotion, interpersonal relationships and situational factors determined the extent of what behaviour they engaged in.