Vulnerability in Research

At the beginning of January, I had the privilege of watching the previous module 3 presentations. It was lovely to see the diversity of the topics everyone had researched and how it related to them and impacted their practices and lives. Everyone did an amazing job at explaining their research. I especially enjoyed seeing the artefacts that had been created because they seemed so personal and relevant to each individual.

Some examples are; writing and illustrating a story book, creating a pop-up book, Russian Dolls, choreographing dances, and singing songs.

The freedom that comes with creating the artefact can be really special- it can be whatever is relevant to you and your practice and research.  What was eye-opening to me was how each artefact and research topic revealed something about the researcher. It has got me thinking how research is a very personal thing- especially qualitative research- not only for the participants and the data collected, but for the researcher too. How we collect the data, the questions we come up with, how we analyse the data and the themes we find are all unique to the researcher, because we are unique as humans. But also, the topic of enquiry- we are able to choose what we research- that in itself reveals things about ourselves.

After having my supervision meet with Helen, she suggested watching this Ted Talk- ‘The power of Vulnerability’ by Brené Brown.

It’s a great Ted Talk to watch for any researcher. These are a few main points that resonated with me from the talk;

• When going into non-positivist, qualitative research, it isn’t about getting a fixed answer, or going in with exact ideas of what you want to find. It’s important to go in with an open mind to what may come up and how you can find a deeper understanding of what you’re researching.
• Embrace vulnerability- From her interviews and research, the people who embraced it didn’t talk about it in a negative way or a comfortable way- but how it is necessary. Vulnerability is necessary to live a fulfilled, truthful life. This goes for everyone, participants and researchers.
• You can’t always control and predict what is going to happen- especially in qualitative research. This makes us feel vulnerable as there is a lack of control, but if we want to collect data that is meaningful and truthful, we have to be open to whatever may come up within that research.
• Vulnerability is the birth place of love, creativity, belonging and joy. But often we numb it because of fear.  We live in a vulnerable world; everyone is vulnerable in some respect. When we numb our vulnerability because of fear, we also numb love, creativity, belonging and joy. What kind of life would that be to live?
• Courage – tell the story of who you are with your whole heart- the courage to be imperfect.

Keywords:

Shame  -  Vulnerability  -  Courage  -  Connection  -  Worthiness  -  Whole-hearted  -  Authenticity 

What strikes me about these words is how they don’t all seem to fit together. But actually, they are all interlinked in some way. Everything is connected and has an impact on something else.

I think overall from this talk, it’s shown me how researchers need to be open to being vulnerable. We are putting ourselves out into the world to find out more, to get authentic, meaningful data. If we are wanting our participants to give truthful information about their experiences, then I think it is important we take a look at ourselves in a truthful way as well. We need to question ourselves as much as we question the participants.

Let me know what you think of this Ted Talk!

Bibliography

Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability | TED Talk (Accessed 12/02/2021)