Confronting the methodological challenges of engineering practice research: A three-tiered model of reflexivity

Abstract

Reflexive practices allow researchers to think critically about how their disciplinary background, preconceptions and behaviours impact on the research process. With recent calls for increased rigour in engineering education research, reflexive practices are important because they provide ways to increase the trustworthiness of research findings. Developed in the context of engineering practice research (EPR), this paper presents a three-tiered model of reflexivity with the view to support engineering education researchers embarking on interpretive research approaches. Each tier of the model is introduced with an abstract description, an illustrative example that draws on a current research project, and a discussion of appropriate strategies to incorporate reflexivity into the research process.