Alignment and positionality in your research proposal
Personal aims and intentions
Over the last two weeks I have been talking about a problem I see in student’s dissertation papers and dissertation proposals, namely: lack of detail in their ‘positionality’ and weak alignment with their stated ‘research aim’ or reason for undertaking research. These problems can be addressed early on in planning to undertake research, in the ‘research proposal’. My previous post talks about the importance of adding more detail to your positionality statements. Here, I want to emphasise the importance of carefully aligning your positionality and research proposal.
Below is an example of a very good alignment between the researcher’s proposal and her positionality. I use Ning Rong’s ‘research aim’, and positionality as it was offered in her research proposal. I am suggesting that her research aim and positionality reinforce each other and that this type of reflexive writing, although often undertaken separately should be considered in tandem to support alignment, focus, and reflexivity.
Ning’s Research Aim.
Working Title: Negotiating Professional Identities of Part-time Native Chinese Teachers Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in Private Language Institutions in Mainland China.
Research Aim: [What is it that you would like to find out?]: My dissertation aims to reveal how part-time CFL (Chinese as a Foreign Language) teachers construct their professional identities through searching for their ‘teaching-self’ for different aspects of their professional lives. I aim to examine potential structural flaws in the industry of teaching Chinese as a second language, and the professional conflicts faced by CFL teachers. Research into the identity of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) teachers has yet to receive more attention in mainland China. This industry is growing rapidly, and private language institutions do not in my view operate ethically…
Ning’s positionality.
I am a former CSL teacher with three years of teaching experience, but before that I was worked in a commercial bank in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwestern China for fourteen years., I witnessed China’s economy transition from booming to slowing down. However, I was unable to express my opinions as a loan approval officer and wanted to change my job.
I travelled 2,000 km to Beijing, the capital of China, where I became a CSL teacher after passing the CTCSO. What attracted me to teaching was the autonomy to design content and deliver teaching according to the needs of different students. I succeeded, teaching students from Japan, America, the UK and Germany. These students appreciated my classes and continued with them. Until I resigned, when I became depressed because of workload. I recall Beijing life, endless winter and never-ending work- from 8:00 to 22:00 every day. I rarely had proper meals, sufficient sleep, or time to spend with my family, let alone enjoy weekends….
To improve your research proposal ask yourself, how closely aligned is my positionality and my research aim or personal intentions? Edit the description of your research aim by considering the following:
Have I offered some details about the context and personal context of my research?
Have I used ‘I’ and ‘my’?
Have I tried too hard to sound academic- offering too much jargon or technical language, too early on- obscuring my true intentions?
Are my research intentions and feelings clearly conveyed, but not overstated, to the reader?
Should I put more of my positionality into my research aim(s)?
How would these sentences look, if I adapted them, as the first lines in my actual dissertation submission?
If you have difficulty in describing your positionality and research aims, as many students do, consider using AI as a co-author to improve your reflexivity. Use the following prompts to fit your needs- and to keep thinking and writing:
(i) To improve what you have written- ‘help me to improve this writing (upload exert W), focus on clarity and reflexivity.’ Additionally you can use formal assessment feedback from previous assignments- ‘use this feedback X to improve this writing’
(ii) To create a mind map for further critical thinking - ‘from this paper Y help me to draw a mind map of my personal reflections and associated thinking’
(iii) To start a professional conversation- ‘simulate a reflexive discussion between X and Y about this experience Z’.
(iv) To explore different scenarios use the prompt- ‘let’s role play this scenario (insert a role and context)’.