Chapter 6: Grappling With Methods and Methodologies: The Tug of War of Following Our Heart and the Research Process

The vignette illustrates one of the many instances that prompted us to write this chapter. It highlights one example of research experiences we have discussed through our platicas (deep conversations) with one another, where we realize how much we struggle with following, designing, and conducting research with members of our community, who we have developed relationships with. As graduate students who share a close bond, we turn to each other often when confronted with research dilemmas or rewards to unravel what we are experiencing in the research process. We struggle with considering our positionalities and identities as graduate students of color, and doing research with communities of color—how could we, should we, separate our identities from our research findings?