Rethinking approaches to research: the importance of considering contextually mitigating factors in promoting equitable practices in science education research

Abstract

In this paper, we explore themes that emerged while reading “How does one recognize contextual mitigating factors (CMFs) as a basis to understand and arrive at better approaches to research designs” (Gallard Martinez et al. this issue). Specifically, we consider the potential for the CMF analysis method to help researchers be more critical about how their ontological–epistemological–axiological (OEA) stance informs their tactical understandings about CMFs and how these understandings shape research questions and design. We discuss the value of autobiographical reflection for becoming aware of contextual constructs and situated phenomena and consider the importance of engaging in the practice of radical doubt to question unexamined assumptions in the research we produce and consume. In presenting this discussion of Gallard Martinez et al. (this issue), we raise questions about methodological affordances and limitations of the CMF approach and draw implications for individual and collective responsibility for both disseminating scholarship in channels that support scholars to attend to CMFs in their work and for rethinking what kinds of research we choose to consume and be informed by.