ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the ways that international students may be stereotyped by research. It begins with examples of stereotypes associated with international students and how research can be complicit in producing these stereotypes through conceptual framings used or the absence of reflexivity around one’s positionality. Leveraging a literature review of Chinese international students’ experiences as the basis for deeper analysis, the chapter reveals how different kinds of frames can influence research methods, focus, and findings. The authors argue that the research community needs to be careful about the affordances and limitations of various framings and their plausible contributions to stereotypes, should one dominate. The chapter concludes by urging researchers to engage in research with international students with greater reflexivity and epistemological diversity. Questions and suggestions included at the end – around stereotypes, assumptions, researcher positionalities, framing, and methodologies – guide researchers seeking to reduce incidents of stereotyping international students in their research.
