"Tensions That I'm Having to Navigate": Reflections on Qualitative Approaches From Behavior Analyst Researchers

Researching qualitatively can act as a catalyst to critically evaluate assumptions of objectivity and reflexivity. This article provides reflections of researchers, trained (and practicing) in behavior analysis, who are navigating diverse qualitative research in quantitative spaces. Influenced by critical collaborative autoethnography, this article provides our individual reflections processed collectively during group conversations. Through these discussions we reflect on the tensions we have experienced as behavior analysts engaging in qualitative research. We explore and unpack what qualitative approaches have prompted us to question: what is science, where is truth located, who has knowledge, and how is it accessed? This article may look different to the research behavior analysts typically read; we hope this stimulates an imagination for all that qualitative research can offer, while simultaneously avoiding an uncritical idealization of these approaches. We aim to model discomfort within the article, as a powerful tool to think reflexively about how these tensions align with our own values as researchers, and those of the field at large.