ABSTRACT
Reflexivity is a practice of identifying and interrogating the ways in which characteristics of the researcher's self influence their research. The researcher considers how and in what ways their standpoint in the world has an impact on the relationships and processes of research. Throughout the research process, researchers consider their standpoints relative to the work that they are doing. Practitioners of reflexivity operate under the assumption that "the activities and results of social research are constructed from and reflect both the broader sociohistorical context of researchers and the disciplinary culture to which they belong". Reflexivity is presented as an ethical act, and people understand that in some types of writing, one should include it. Conversely, researchers who write too much about their reflexive practice are often criticized as self-absorbed and navel-gazing. Autoethnography is a critical practice with different sets of goals and outcomes than reflexivity.
