Through the eyes of a satin bowerbird: a bricolage metaphor as an oranising principle for a self-reflective process to explore spirituality in home economics contexts

Researchers often “act like” satin bowerbirds as they purposefully, selectively and instinctively select and display the “bluest of trophies” or “the best bits” of their research. The strategies conveyed in this paper were used as an observational technique to explore cross-cultural views and perceptions of spirituality within home economics contexts. This article articulates the methodological journey towards construction of a bricolage research metaphor: through the eyes of a satin bowerbird. The paper uses a narrative approach to communicate the researcher’s story of the development of an organising principle for a self-reflective process to explain research decisions and actions within uncertain research environments. The satin bowerbird bricolage entailed a six-phase navigation method of engaging, selecting, focusing, refining, defining, and weaving theoretical and methodological concepts together with key insights of the research. The methodology explored in this paper offers a transparency technique for a critical self-reflection process exposes a researcher’s choices of theoretical and methodological lenses also exposes the complexity of individualised researcher realities.