{"id":64621,"date":"2023-09-01T09:23:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T13:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/?p=64621"},"modified":"2026-01-30T14:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:11:15","slug":"prof-alvarez-hernandez-reveals-hidden-potential-creative-writing-qualitative-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ssw\/prof-alvarez-hernandez-reveals-hidden-potential-creative-writing-qualitative-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Alvarez-Hernandez Reveals the Hidden Potential of Creative Writing for Qualitative Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novice and seasoned academics alike can lose sight of writing\u2019s contribution to the research process. Undervaluing writing in this way can lead to stale and oppressive research practices. To counter this trend, Professor Luis Alvarez-Hernandez from BU School of Social Work encourages academics to unlock new possibilities in qualitative research through creative writing. \u201cWriting is understood as just the output, the necessary vehicle for communicating the interesting, provocative, and world-changing research that is the \u2018actual point\u2019 of doctoral work,\u201d says Alvarez-Hernandez. However, \u201cfar from a peripheral task, writing is an integral part of being and becoming an academic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His paper, \u201cEpistemological Weaving: Writing and Sense Making in Qualitative Research with Gloria Anzald\u00faa,\u201d shows his step-by-step creative process for composing a recent research article to more deeply understand his qualitative data. \u201cThe academic writing process can be daunting, especially for those of us who struggle to cement our thoughts in sterile style and composition,\u201d he says. \u201cThis is a paper I would have liked to have read on my own doctoral journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Co-Collaborative Nature of Research & Writing<\/h5>\n

Alvarez-Hernandez specifies that writing doesn\u2019t exist in a vacuum; it is a constant collaboration between the writer and everything and everyone the writer comes into contact with. In particular, his understanding of the writing process draws on the collaborative practices of Latina and Chicana feminists like Gloria Anzald\u00faa, who shifted away from the traditional understanding of writing as an individual pursuit. As a Chicana theorist, Anzald\u00faa\u2019s approach opened doors in Alvarez-Hernandez\u2019s research he would not have otherwise found. \u201cAnzald\u00faa offered an entry point to reimagine, interrogate, decolonize, and queer qualitative research design and data analysis,\u201d says the author. The paper weaves together the many influences of his research, including:<\/span><\/p>\n