Collaborative autoethnography: The potential for health professional education research

Collaborative autoethnography (CAE) is a qualitative methodology that enables new knowledge through a process of collective meaning making. Common in higher education, the paucity of CAE in health professional education scholarship indicates that its value remains underexplored in the field. This paper describes the experiences and processes underpinning one example of CAE applied in higher education and how this approach informed the use of CAE as part of a clinical education research project. We offer one means of conducting CAE, highlighting our own experiences as well as the potential for health professional education scholarship. In the context of a centrally sponsored curriculum redesign project that promoted online modes of teaching, we detail how CAE data can be generated through a mix of written reflections and structured collaborative conversations over a defined period of data collection. Data was analysed individually, collectively and iteratively and, ultimately, drew on theory. We experienced shifts in our relationships and selves as the university increased its online and blended modes for teaching and learning, impacting both professional and personal identities. We then describe how the CAE processes have been translated into the health professional education context. In conclusion, the rich collaborative conversations inherent in CAE offer more than just the exploration of research questions: they foster collegiality and professional relationships that resonate well beyond the study period. In this paper, we illustrate how CAE can be a robust method in educational research when it is undertaken systematically and over time, allowing for non-hierarchical conversations and collective analysis to form new knowledge.