Learning to Research Across Cultures

The preference for quantitative methods in Vietnamese higher education is generally well-documented; however, the cultural factors driving this choice remain underexplored. This narrative inquiry examined how eight master’s students at a Vietnamese university might navigate the potentialfriction between Western qualitative research expectations and Confucian relational ethics. Utilizing twenty-four in-depth interviews and artifact elicitation, the study deconstructed the emotional experiences of qualitative data collection through face-negotiation theory. The findings revealed an epistemological burden where the academic mandate to rigorously probe participants usually conflicted with the cultural necessity of preserving mutual face (“thể diện”). When interviewing older or higher-status individuals, the students experienced hierarchical issues due to deep-seated respect for authority (“tôn sư trọng đạo”). This might lead to a phenomenon termed methodological retreat, where the students deliberately asked superficial questions or abandoned qualitative designs for anonymous surveys. The study’s contribution lies in reframing these methodological compromises as sophisticated and culturally mandated coping strategies to prevent potential relational rupture. The research argues that for qualitative inquiry to thrive in Vietnam and other countries with similar cultural and educational contexts, higher education institutions could consider moving beyond importing Western methodologies and instead developing localized training that equips emerging scholars to navigate the complex intersection of empirical depth and social harmony.