Before reading this article, I assumed that reflection and reflexivity were similar to another due to the mere fact that their spelling and pronunciations are similar. However, as I read through, I became aware that reflective and reflexive are pretty much opposites when it comes to meaning. Reflection occurs within your own head. It uses the knowledge and beliefs that you have already consumed. Reflection is a unidirectional thought process, but your thoughts are limited to the ideas that you have already formed previously. Reflection occurs when you comprehend what you have learned, and this comprehension is limited, as I said, to the knowledge that has already been placed in your head. As a human, we will only comprehend what we already know and won’t want to learn any more than that.
Reflexivity is not limited to the knowledge that you have already gained. Reflexive thinking does not happen solely within your head; it happens when you engage with other people and other information. You still can use the previous knowledge that you have attained, but reflexive thinking allow you to become open to new ideas and new perspectives. Reflexivity does not limit you thinking. It allows you to become open. However, in order to become reflexive, we must first realize that we are not reflexive. We have to “unlearn” the knowledge that we’ve gained in order to be completely open to new ideas and perspectives. Reflexivity is bidirectional. Reflexivity involves a commitment to both attending to what we believe and examining how we came to bold those beliefs while we are engaged in trying to make sense of another (Qualley 5).
In order to be a successful researcher, I truly believe that you need to be reflexive. I believe this because if you are not, you will be limiting your research. If you are a reflective thinker, your research will only go in one direction, and your research could, in some way, be fixed. If you are a reflexive researcher, you will let your research take you in different directions and I think that this would have a more successful result. The result would be more accurate, I believe. When my group and I conduct our research I want to be reflexive. I truly believe that a reflexive researcher is a true researcher, and I don’t want to limit my results.
Reflexivity is not limited to the knowledge that you have already gained. Reflexive thinking does not happen solely within your head; it happens when you engage with other people and other information. You still can use the previous knowledge that you have attained, but reflexive thinking allow you to become open to new ideas and new perspectives. Reflexivity does not limit you thinking. It allows you to become open. However, in order to become reflexive, we must first realize that we are not reflexive. We have to “unlearn” the knowledge that we’ve gained in order to be completely open to new ideas and perspectives. Reflexivity is bidirectional. Reflexivity involves a commitment to both attending to what we believe and examining how we came to bold those beliefs while we are engaged in trying to make sense of another (Qualley 5).
In order to be a successful researcher, I truly believe that you need to be reflexive. I believe this because if you are not, you will be limiting your research. If you are a reflective thinker, your research will only go in one direction, and your research could, in some way, be fixed. If you are a reflexive researcher, you will let your research take you in different directions and I think that this would have a more successful result. The result would be more accurate, I believe. When my group and I conduct our research I want to be reflexive. I truly believe that a reflexive researcher is a true researcher, and I don’t want to limit my results.
