This form of research focuses on the researcher’s own life-history, involves writing in the narrative first person voice, and can give unique insights into the social and cultural forces shaping his/her own practice. Autobiographical research can be part of a multi-method participant-observation study, helping the researcher to deal with his/her own biases prior to interpreting and representing the perspectives of other participants.

1. Autobiography

2. What is an Autobiography?
• The Greek origins of the word autobiography – autos (self), bios (life),
and graphein (to write) – indicate that autobiography refers to a
person's written story of their own life.
• Autobiographies can include a birth-to-publication account, or a
significant or defining period of time in a life.
• The process of autobiographical writing is an active construction of
yourself for a particular audience and purpose. You construct yourself
through writing [about] yourself.

3. Introduction
• Focuses on the researcher’s own life-history, involves writing in the
narrative first person voice, and can give unique insights into the
social and cultural forces shaping his/her own practice.
• Autobiographical stories are more than personal narratives. Stories
reflect a set of values, rules, and norms that govern a person’s
learning and sense of logic (Maynes, Pierce, & Laslett, 2008).
• Autobiography is a form of introspection.
• Retrospective narrative

4. Philosophical Assumption
• Theoretical framework used by researchers to collect, analyze and
interpret the data that is collected in a particular field of study

5. Philosophical Assumptions
Assumptions Qualitative research
Ontological (nature of reality). Multiple realities that are socially
constructed by individuals.
Epistemological (knowledge) Gained through understanding the
meaning of the process or
experience.
Axiological (role of values) Researcher's subjective values,
intuition, and biases are important;
learning participants' subjective
ideas valuable

6. Characteristics of an Autobiography
• Information in autobiographies is attributable, unlike the data
gathered in qualitative research interviews, where anonymity and
confidentiality is customarily assured to informants. This could also
have consequences for what is revealed and what remains hidden.
• An autobiography is usually book length because it covers a long
span of time. A shorter form of autobiographical writing is a personal
narrative, in which the writer focuses on a significant experience in his
or her life. Other short forms of autobiographical writing include
journals, diaries, and letters.

7. Characteristics
• Story: An autobiography is essentially a research of the life of a person. It
revolves around the various happenings in a person’s life.
• First Person: Another characteristic of an autobiography is that it is
ALWAYS a first person account. That means, the research is written and
told as the person has experienced it himself.
• Chronology: Generally, an autobiography follows a chronology. That is, it
begins with the beginning, and the research unfolds in the same order
that the events in the researcher’s life have taken place in.
• Important Events: A common misconception is that an autobiography is a
written account of ALL the happenings of one’s life. Infact, it is basically an
account of only the major events or those events that have made an
impact on the person’s personality and played a major role in the person
that he has become when he writes it.

8. Cont…
• Self Evaluation: It is in an autobiography that the researcher
evaluates the various events and happenings in his life, and tries to
establish a cause-effect relationship between them and his overall
personality and the decisions he has made in his life.
• Forms: An autobiography can be in any form. It can be written in
a book form, or can be an oral autobiography. Even the daily
entries of a person’s journal or diary can be termed as an
autobiography of sorts.

9. Procedure
• Choosing a topic: begins with a question( read, memorable life event) that
has been for the researcher, a personal challenge and puzzlement.
• Immersion: the researcher plunges deeply into an intensive and timeless
experience of the self.
• Data collection: the researcher documents the key ingredients of the
turning point experience.

10. Cont…
• Incubation: The researcher retreats from the intense, concentrated
focus of the project to enable another level of the expansion of
knowledge and understanding to take place.
• Contemplation: (deep reflective thought)

11. Significance
• Allows researches to analyze past events and actions
• Positions the researcher as the instrument of research and sole
participant.
• Offers researchers opportunities to find themselves through research
(duPreez, 2008).
• Allows the researcher to make meaning out of human experience.
(Polkinghorne, 1988; duPreez, 2008)
• Helps situate one’s self within the frame of systemic teachings while
providing all individuals with opportunities to have their voice heard.

12. Limitations
• Data collected is derived solely from the researcher which carries the
burden of its ethical use as a research methodology.
• Autobiographical research is inherently biased as it is driven by a universal
culture. (Anderson, 2001)
• Can be considered biased due to the various statuses, influences, and
teachings of the researcher. (Anderson, 2001)
• Narrative research itself is not ethically neutral.
• Doubts the relevance of information if it is trustworthy and meaningful.
• Narrative data is subject to distortion in its interpretation and representation
(Gass, 1994).