An Invitation to Gaze: Palpating the Navel in Qualitative Research

Abstract

This article approaches the practice of navel-gazing as a productive and experimental process, within the process of qualitative inquiry. We fold in various discourses, ideas, conversations, and experiments, encouraging the reader to explore, or gaze at, this article as they would a navel. We avoid stating a utilitarian purpose as the point is to navel-gaze. In this way, we would note to the reader that this article functions as a navel itself: it is a thing that we have, no longer need, and yet it is always there collecting lint, hiding, showing itself off, or distracting us with its folds.