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Innovative Qualitative Methodologies in Multilingual Literacy Development Research: Amplifying voices from immigrant, transnational, and refugee communities
Edited by Amanda K. Kibler and Fares J. Karam
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 11] 2025
► pp. 232–252

Chapter 12
Critical collaborative autoethnography

 | The University of Texas at San Antonio
 | Rutgers University — Newark
This chapter explores the transformative potential that applying critical collaborative autoethnography can have in the path towards decolonizing academic writing, a particular type of literacy practice. Traditional research methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, are critiqued for marginalizing non-Western perspectives. We propose a paradigm shift towards decolonizing methodologies, foregrounding our own positionality as multilingual researchers navigating the complexities of academic publishing. We re-introduce the concept of critical friend as a unique method for conducting autoethnographies. Thus, we advocate the use of critical collaborative autoethnography to foster collective exploration of research subjectivity and power-sharing among researcher-participants. This approach moves us beyond simply acknowledging positionality to embracing of relationality in research, advocating for more collaborative inclusive research and multilingual literacy practices in academia.
Keywords: collaborative autoethnography, critical friend, decolonizing methodology, academic writing, positionality
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Overview of the study and its findings
    • Literature review
    • Methodology
    • Findings and discussion
  • Methodological discussion: Positionality for more equitable research
    • Methodological innovations
    • Focusing on equity
  • Implications for qualitative research on multilingual literacy development
  • References
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