Retrospective reflexivity and researcher emotions in applied linguistics research: Toward a fuller understanding of reflexivity

Although there has been much discussion on reflexivity, it has been skewed toward one type of reflexivity, i.e., prospective reflexivity or a researcher’s impact on a study, and not enough attention has been paid to a different but equally important type of reflexivity, i.e., retrospective reflexivity, or the impact that a study can have on the researcher. I explore this underexamined dimension of retrospective reflexivity and offer a conceptual and analytical model for engaging in retrospective reflexivity by empirically tracing it in a longitudinal study with two Japanese learners. Specifically, I analyzed the original publication and the researcher diary I kept to see which aspects of retrospective reflexivity were evident and how emotions were related to it. Data analysis was facilitated by an analytical framework I developed, drawing from Fereday and Muir-Cochrane’s (2006) hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding/theme development, as well as Dean’s (2017) categorization of methodological, theoretical, disciplinary, practical, and personal reflexivity. I uncover the existence of all types of retrospective reflexivity in the data and demonstrate that it can be a tool for researchers to see themselves from a third-person perspective, follow their train of thought, reexamine their studies, and engage in a deeper analysis and reinterpretation of the data, for which emotion can play a central role. This process then facilitates researcher well-being and the development of subsequent research. As a proof of concept that makes retrospective reflexivity amenable to empirical investigation, it invites both qualitative and quantitative scholars to engage more fully with reflexivity.