Do It for the Culture: The Case for Memes in Qualitative Research

Abstract

Memes are a prominent feature of global life in the 21st century. The author asserts that memes are significant to current and future qualitative research. In particular, the text establishes memes as: (a) part of everyday communication, expression, and explanation, thus useful in qualitative research; (b) valuable cultural units and symbols; (c) forms of rapport building and cultivating relational research; (d) approaches that bolster and sustain remote data collection; (e) methods that infuse agency, humor, and creativity into the research process. The author then showcases distinctive ways memes can be effectively incorporated in qualitative research pursuits and publications. The article concludes with the necessity of data collection and representation approaches that advance the meaningfulness and cultural-relevance of qualitative inquiry.

Full text

Regular Article
Do It for the Culture: The Case for Memes
in Qualitative Research
Constance Iloh
1
Abstract
Memes are a prominent feature of global life in the 21st century. The author asserts that memes are significant to current and
future qualitative research. In particular, the text establishes memes as: (a) part of everyday communication, expression, and
explanation, thus useful in qualitative research; (b) valuable cultural units and symbols; (c) forms of rapport building and cultivating
relational research; (d) approaches that bolster and sustain remote data collection; (e) methods that infuse agency, humor, and
creativity into the research process. The author then showcases distinctive ways memes can be effectively incorporated in
qualitative research pursuits and publications. The article concludes with the necessity of data collection and representation
approaches that advance the meaningfulness and cultural-relevance of qualitative inquiry.
Keywords
memes, qualitative research, qualitative inquiry, research methods, social science, anthropology, visual research, visual sociology,
research design, internet memes, memetics, innovation, data collection
On February 24, 2020 Michael Jordan, one of the most famous
athletes of our time, took the stage to eulogize Kobe Bryant at a
public memorial. While weepily reflecting on his relationship to
Bryant, Jordan lamented that his current tears would likely
become another “Crying Jordan meme.”
1
Upon hearing this, an
uproar of laughter filled the arenaand was a resounding indication
of the power and familiarity of the viral meme sensation.
The Crying Jordan meme (see Figure 1 example) is arguably
one of the most visible memes amongst the millions that now
permeate and are transmitted across social life. Jordan’s “tear-
stained countenance [has become one of] the world’s go-to sym-
bols of sadness and defeat (Wagner, 2016).” This example also
reflects how memes continue to proliferate as valuable ways to
communicate life circumstances, ideas, outlooks, and humor.
While the power and visibility of memes is not lost on many,
it arguably should not be lost on qualitative researchers, anthro-
pologists, and social scientists. The premise of this text is to
center the significance and utility of memes as powerful tools
and assets in qualitative research. I specifically argue that
memes are useful as a research method and as a way to repre-
sent research. However, I additionally illuminate how the qua-
litative research approach holistically can be elevated through
memes, including for building rapport and relationships.
I begin this text with an exploration of the origin of memes,
their definitions, common forms, and embeddedness in society.
Next, I present five ways that memes are meaningful and useful
1
University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Constance Iloh, Azusa Pacific University, 901 E. Alosta Ave., Azusa, CA 91702,
USA.
Email: ciloh@apu.edu
Website: www.constanceiloh.com
Figure 1. Example of the Crying Jordan meme (Iloh, 2020b).
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
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to the present and future of qualitative research. I then detail
ways that memes can be effectively utilized in the qualitative
research data collection process and written product. The paper
concludes with the cultural significance of employing memes
in qualitative work as innovative approaches in data collection
and research representation.
What Is a Meme?
While many could identify a meme when they see it, asking
someone to define a meme would likely prove far more diffi-
cult. Even with the immense popularity of memes, less is actu-
ally known about what memes are and where the term comes
from (Aslan, 2018; Tiffany, 2018). What makes defining
memes especially challenging is the growing ambiguity around
the term “meme” compared with its spread. To be sure, the
term “meme” traces back to the 1976 contribution of Richard
Dawkins. Appearing in his “The Selfish Gene” text, Dawkin’s
“meme” was meant to mimic the term gene by rhyming with it
while reflecting the locomotion and spread of a gene (Dawkins,
1976). Dawkins defines a meme as “a unit of cultural transmis-
sion or unit of imitation (2006, p. 192).” What then might be an
example of the type of meme that Dawkins put forth? Accord-
ing to Dawkins, such examples include slang, fashion trends
and style, behaviors, and religious ideas (Johnson, 2007). The
popularity of a meme is what ensures its survival. Memes battle
against one another for attention, with the most prosperous
memes acclimatizing best to different contexts (Shifman,
2013; Taecharungroj & Nueangjamnong, 2015). What makes
them “selfish” is their competitiveness with other memes due
to their struggle to prevail (Wiggins & Bowers, 2015). Thus,
memes consequently live and die by the culture and society that
either adopts them or rejects them.
The “internet meme,” the focus of this text, draws on the
nature of what Dawkins outlined and has amassed a myriad of
definitions. This has added to the lack of clarity on what is and
what is not a meme. The internet meme is frequently considered
a joke that gains attention through its digital dissemination
(Marwick, 2013). Dawkins, taking note of the popularity of the
internet meme later went on to elaborate how the internet meme
extends his conception of meme. “Instead of mutating by ran-
dom change and spreading by a form of Darwinian selection,
they [referring to internet memes] are altered deliberately by
human creativity (Solon, 2013).” More generally, and for the
purposes of this text, I view memes as, “a unit of cultural infor-
mation that is transmitted from one mind to another (Definitio-
n.org, n.d.).” To be sure, what we now associate with memes is a
dynamic extension of a term that is constantly grappling with
expression, culture, and information as well as their spread.
Undoubtedly, memes are as diverse as they are pervasive.
From text combined with one image, illustration, a gif, a video,
multiple images, and more, the look of the everyday meme is
constantly in flux. In advancing the potential of memes in
qualitative research, I want to draw attention to the content
image as an example of a meme (see Figures 2 and 3). The
content image is, “a picture or pictures with text superimposed
on top of it where the text conveys the content and image sets
the tone (Majumder et al., 2017, p. 2).” The content image is an
ideal type of meme form to build my discussion around because
of the relative ease involved in its creation or alteration. Given
the variation that comes with using content images as a meme
vehicle, there is a range of options and considerations one can
harness in creating new memes or modifying existing ones. To
be clear, in the most traditional sense, just joining text with a
picture does not make an image a meme. It is the transmission,
and particularly for internet memes, the widespread and fast
transmission that qualifies it as a meme (Gleik, 2011). Ulti-
mately, in transmitting content images from a participant to
researcher to the public through a research study, the content
image takes on a meme persona as well.
Memes and the Social World
Internet memes are now deeply entwined in the fabric of social
life and discourse. It is even posited that, “Nothing defines our
use of the internet as clearly as the meme (Rintel, 2014).” While
what internet memes symbolize is not new, their presence and
Figure 2. Example of a content image meme (Professor and students
barely keeping it together, 2020).
Figure 3. Another example and type of content image meme
(One does not simply do qualitative research, 2019).
2International Journal of Qualitative Methods

dominance in social spheres is what is most noteworthy. As
Shifman (2013, p. 373) states, even though “memetic behavior
is not novel, its visibility in contemporary environments is
unprecedented.” As such, memes have great potential to amplify
and support social science work and qualitative research.
The Importance of Memes in Qualitative
Research
My principal thesis is that memes are valuable additions to the
qualitative research landscape. To be sure, memes have not
commonly been regarded as useful tools in the qualitative
research approach. In actuality, the popular nature of internet
memes will likely make them all the more disputed and ques-
tioned in the world of academia. Within academia, the more
popular something is in the public sphere, the less likely it is to
be considered legitimate (Sanfilipo, 2016). The popularity and
pervasiveness of memes, however, should elevate rather than
downplay the utility of memes in empirical research.
When considering the power and possibilities of memes in
qualitative work, it is important to revisit the realities and pur-
poses of research. Research, like the creation of social memes, is
a human-initiated process with the ability to both inform and
also reflect the world around us. Moreover, the context of peo-
ple’s lives should matter not only for what we research, but how
we research (Iloh, 2018a, 2018b, 2019). While in this section I
discuss five ways memes are valuable to qualitative research, in
the section immediately following I detail exactly how memes
can be incorporated in qualitative research as well as considera-
tions needed when doing so. Accordingly, in the following sec-
tions I situate memes as: (1) part of everyday communication
and expression; (2) valuable cultural units and symbols in the
research process; (3) forms of rapport building and cultivating
relational research; (4) approaches that support remote data col-
lection; and (5) a method that infuses participant agency, humor,
and creativity into the research process and product.
Memes as Reflective of Everyday Communication and
Expression
Most qualitative research cannot be carried out without some
form of communication during the data collection process.
Thus, a wide array of methods of communication and expres-
sion are the heartbeat of qualitative research. People express
themselves through speech, text, images, body language, and a
host of other mechanisms. As a way to express oneself, memes
can tap into the emotions, experiences, thoughts, and ideas of
people in general, and research participants in particular.
Memes can be used for everything from commentary about
hostile work environments to reflecting on what life is like
during a global pandemic.
Memes are especially important forms of speech (Ejaz,
2016; Grundlingh, 2017; Haynes, 2019). They are particularly
powerful in that they reflect regular every day communication.
How we talk is usually informal in nature and “processed in
chunks (Garcia, 2017).” Accordingly, the same style and form
of speech is reflected in the internet meme. “Memes condense
the richness and nuances of certain sentiments into a single
communicative unit (Brown, 2017).” In this way, memes have
an expressive and explanatory power that does not take away
from the essence of how people might communicate about the
world around them.
The meme is also a form of communication that continues to
write itself, literally. Memes are adapted and reformed by the
millions of people who participate in the writing and reimagining
of memes. “A meme has no one specific author and there is no
finished form (Chedid, 2016).” Consequently, research partici-
pants can create and alter memes in meaningful ways that reflect
answers to specific questions at a particular point in time. In doing
so, they can leverage the expression and speech that is already at
their disposal or shared in extant memes to communicate.
Memes as Valuable Cultural Units and Symbols
Memes are untapped resources as units and indicators of
culture (Chatzidakis, 2017; Wang & Wang, 2015). I particu-
larly position memes as units that reflect specific contexts and
meanings discernable to some and less discernible to others.
For example, Jackson (2019) and Williams (2020) assert that
many facets of popular meme culture and aesthetic cannot be
understood without the contexts of Blackness and Black
experiences they are derived from (see Figure 4). As Geertz
Figure 4. Meme example (Black culture as the rest of the world
copies, 2018).
Iloh 3

(1973) illuminated through the example of what may appear to
be a wink or an eye twitch; a researcher needs more cultural
context for accuracy in identifying the eye movement. Simi-
larly, some know the cultural meaning contained and reflected
in memes, while others may not. The inquiry into the cultural
information contained in memes has the potential to explicate
the very ideas, values, repertoires, practices, and conditions
that comprise of culture.
Specific features allow memes to function as context-laden
cultural units (Dawkins, 1976). These features include fecundity,
fidelity, and longevity (Jan, 1999; Marwick, 2013; Percival,
1994; Shifman, 2013, 2014). Fidelity situates a meme’s recog-
nizability and ability to be accurately copied (Marwick, 2013;
Voelkl & Noe¨, 2010). The Crying Jordan meme, first introduced
in Figure 1, is an example of high memorability because even as
Jordan referenced it during the Kobe Bryant memorial, the audi-
ence knew immediately his meme reference and laughter
ensued. The reproducibility of the Crying Jordan meme is also
aided by it usually taking form as one of the more popular meme
formats, the image macro (Fox Sports, 2016). Fecundity, another
characteristic laid out by Dawkins, describes how quickly a
meme can or is replicated (Jan, 1999). The image in the Crying
Jordan meme was taken at Jordan’s retirement ceremony and
afterward it became a swiftly altered viral sensation. Longevity
illustrates the length of time a meme has persisted and pro-
gressed (Voelkl & Noe¨, 2010). The Crying Jordan meme has
prevailed since Jordan’s retirement ceremony where its image
originated (NBC Sports, 2019). Currently, the Crying Jordan
meme is over 11-years-old, with the NBA even commemorating
its 10th anniversary in 2019 (NBC Sports, 2019). The meme
itself has even been given a recent resurgence, due to Jordan’s
reference to his viral meme at the Kobe Bryant memorial ser-
vice. Thus, through their very identity and format, memes at
their best reflect culture: they are distinguishable, adaptable, and
enduring. As such, memes have the potential to amplify the
realities and representations of our values, contexts, commu-
nities, and environments by embodying those dynamics.
Culture and symbols of it are important to qualitative
research. This becomes all the more evident when considering
the purposes and possibilities within qualitative research.
“Qualitative research enables us to make sense of reality, to
describe and explain the social world, and to develop explana-
tory models and theories (Morse & Field, 1996, p. 1).” Culture
is one of many essential vehicles of such explanation (Ajifer-
uke & Boddewyn, 1970; Tremblay et al., 2020; Watkins,
2013). Thus culture, and the pursuit of understanding culture,
is central to many of the goals and aims of qualitative research,
making memes a valuable asset in the process.
Memes as Forms of Rapport Building and Cultivating
Relational Research
Qualitative research is greatly dependent upon successful and
harmonious interactions between researchers and involved par-
ticipants. Participants might become withdrawn from the
research process if they are uncomfortable or if they sense they
cannot trust the researcher (Guillemin et al., 2018; Iloh &
Connor, 2021; Kerasidou, 2017; Kingsley et al., 2010).
Accordingly, memes can serve as a way to break the ice
between researcher and participants, fostering a more positive
and sincere rapport. For example, memes might expedite the
potentially awkward “getting to know you” phase that may
come with certain kinds of data collection. Moreover, the
laughter that might be shared through a meme might be a way
to take the focus off of newness and ground the moment in
something humorous that still centers and serves the research
project. If a researcher is seeking a memorable and engaging
way to ask a participant how they are doing, they may ask
them to choose an image or images using a meme like
Figure 5.
Memes can also develop familiarity and responsiveness
between participants and researchers. Through memes, a
researcher can learn more about a participant’s personality and
how they think. This also allows the participant to better get to
know the researcher, particularly through their discussion of
the meme and their reaction. In this way memes can do more
than just be a way to express thoughts, but a mechanism for the
researcher and informants to get to know each other using the
meme as a tangible conduit.
Memes may also serve as a means to ease into discussing
heavier topics without potentially coming across as insensitive
or invasive. Specifically, memes can be a bridge functioning as
a less intense approach to learn things that may otherwise be
deemed too harmful with a more direct approach. For example,
a participant might find it difficult to just begin discussing their
pain and regret in attending a college where they paid a high
Figure 5. “How are you?” option meme (Mayvenn, 2019).
4International Journal of Qualitative Methods

price for a poor-quality education (Iloh, 2020a). Allowing that
participant to in part reflect on and represent their thoughts
through a meme may be a less intrusive way to begin unpack-
ing a heavy experience. Hence, coupling memes with tough
topics could be a way for the researcher to not encroach upon
something personal or hurtful either too quickly or uncomfor-
tably for the participant.
Memes as Approaches That Support Remote Data
Collection
Remote data collection is a growing reality for those wishing to
utilize a qualitative research approach. Remote qualitative data
collection is important to the feasibility and sustainability of
qualitative work with some qualitative work only possible if
done remotely. This might be for a myriad of reasons: time,
availability of participants, it may be a more inexpensive
option, or a crisis taking place in society that calls for remote
operations (Archibald et al., 2019). Finding useful remote
approaches thus becomes paramount when attempting to make
the most of it in research.
Memes extend the rationale and utility of remote
approaches. They can allow for efficiency and lowered costs
due to their remote exchange. Memes also enable researchers
to work with participants with limited availability, privacy,
and stable internet as well as those that have hesitation/dis-
comfort with extensive web conferencing and phone conver-
sations(seeFigure6).Leveraging memes, participants can
respond to research-related inquiries by emailing or texting
interview question responses with memes in their own time.
While these memes can be disseminated through text and
email correspondence, researchers can also talk via phone
or video conferencing to also further discuss the meme.
Therefore, memes can allow for efficient sharing between
individuals and researchers while not compromising the goals
and purposes of specific remote qualitative research projects
and endeavors.
Memes as Methods That Infuse Agency, Creativity, and
Humor Into the Research Process
Memes provide agency for participants to craft and shape the
narratives in the data collection process. Specifically, the intro-
duction of memes moves participants from a passive role to
more of an active role by narrating their thoughts and experi-
ences through memes. The agency that participants have in
providing memes could enhance the confidence participants
have that their thoughts, ideas, and experiences are more likely
to be represented accurately within data collection. Ideally,
when participants submit or select a meme, it becomes some-
thing embedded in the research that is directly connected to
them and their thoughts/experience. I elaborate on precise
methods of meme incorporation in qualitative data collection
in the next section.
Memes also provide an avenue for participants to be creative
in the research process. Participants have the opportunity to
alter existing memes or even develop new ones in response
to questions and prompts. “While [a person] might once have
spent free time watching television, a person today may get
creative, using their laptop to overlay witty text on a photo of a
cat (Marwick, 2013, p. 13).” As such, incorporation of memes
also is a way to tap into creativity that otherwise would not be
given space or time in the research endeavor.
Additionally, memes are important because they allow for
research to be two things not usually associated with research:
fun and funny. To be sure, humor can provide advantages to
qualitative research. For example, research by Hewer et al.
(2018) found that the inclusion of humor in a qualitative study
lessened power asymmetries between the researcher and parti-
cipants and was a reason why participants reflected on the
experience as positive. Another study by Olver and Eliott
(2014), found that humor “humanized” and augmented discus-
sions between participants and the researchers. As it relates to
stressful topics, “humor can create a safe psychological dis-
tance from stressors (Reece, 2014, p. 34).” As such, humor
provides a plethora of benefits for qualitative inquiry.
Accordingly, memes can provide humor and fun to qualita-
tive research endeavors in different ways. The process of pick-
ing/creating a meme can be enjoyable for the participant.
Furthermore, the explanation behind the choice of meme can
produce the same result. In fact, memes might have more trac-
tion with participants because the inclusion of memes in the
research process is interesting to them.
To be sure, the amusing nature of most memes can also
prove useful in discussing serious elements of a participant’s
experience. Although I later discuss how memes can be spe-
cifically incorporated, I provide an illustration of what this may
look like here. For example, if a participant is asked to respond
with a meme that reflects their sentiments about doing job-
related work, they may choose to convey their intense anxiety
and procrastination in a meme like the one in Figure 7.
As such, although memes seem to be only created and dis-
seminated in the spirit of humor, they actually can be utilized
for commentary for sobering and thought-provoking issues
Figure 6. Meme example (Me in profile picture versus Zoom, 2020).
Iloh 5

(Heusner, 2020). Through memes, a participant may be better
able to channel deep-rooted convictions and concerns. The
meme in this case can be dialogued further in a follow-up
interview and/or focus group in order to unpack the partici-
pants’ thoughts.
Reflecting on the Potential of Memes
Memes can accomplish much in service to a qualitative
research project and its study aims. Memes tap into people’s
everyday expressions and mimic their speech while also func-
tioning as and reflecting culture. Memes can help qualitative
research relationships by building rapport between the
researcher and participant(s). Memes can also be a useful tool
to amplify and support remote qualitative data collection.
Additionally, memes can provide a more approachable, crea-
tive, and fun experience for those involved. Utilizing memes
directly challenges the often trite, controlled, and sterile look
and feel of academia and its research enterprise. In the next
section, I discuss ways memes can be utilized in qualitative
research.
Ways to Incorporate Memes in Qualitative
Work
In the previous section, I put forward reasons why memes are
important in qualitative research. In doing so, it is also essential
I showcase how memes can be utilized in qualitative and
anthropological research. Accordingly, the following details
three specific ways memes can be integrated in qualitative
research endeavors.
Two of these three ways deal with memes being involved
directly in the data collection process. While there can be addi-
tional ways to do this, I provide two now. One way is to have
participants select a meme or meme image option provided by
the researcher. The researcher would provide an explanation of
memes to participants and then show participants several dif-
ferent memes or a meme that contains multiple image options
(see Figure 5). Afterward, they would pick what best aligns to
their response to the inquiry. Then the researcher would ask the
participant why that selection was their choice for the question
at hand. Another way memes can be used in data collection is to
have participants provide a meme as their response to a ques-
tion. Specifically, the researcher would give participants an
explanation and examples of memes and have participants cre-
ate their own (or alter an existing meme). When using this
second approach, it is important to provide participants with
directions for creating a meme and consider giving them links
to one or more online meme generators. This is to ensure their
process of creating or altering a meme is not difficult and that
assumptions are not made about their familiarity with memes.
Within this option, the researcher can also allow participants to
submit existing memes that they have not made or modified as
their response.
In both of these scenarios (whether having participants
select the most appropriate meme/meme image from options
provided or creating/altering their own meme as a response) it
is important to be thoughtful about research aims. For example,
qualitative studies that work from interpretivist or social con-
structivist paradigms would be better suited for these
approaches. In considering whether to incorporate memes, the
researcher must also consider heavily how germane and useful
memes are as a vehicle for answers to the research inquiry.
Figure 7. Example of a potential meme response (Something I have been putting off, 2019).
6International Journal of Qualitative Methods

One way to explore the appropriateness, benefits, and chal-
lenges of memes for a particular qualitative research study is to
conduct a pilot study incorporating how the researcher plans to
utilize the memes. This will let the researcher examine how
memes serve the research process. They may find, for example,
that only some of the participant demographics in the sample
are responding effectively and the researcher needs to adjust or
eliminate their usage of memes to address this problem. They
may find that in some cases participants selecting a meme is
more useful than having participants create them, or vice versa.
A pilot study will also allow the researcher to revise aspects of
the meme portion of study such as their directives for the
memes, their explanation of the memes to participants, and/
or even narrowing or expanding meme options if they are hav-
ing participants select a meme from options. Overall, this pilot
study can be an opportunity to get valuable feedback from
participants and colleagues.
Using Memes as Primers in the Data Collection Process
The first of three ways I discuss memes and how they can be
incorporated is as primers for qualitative investigations. While
executing a qualitative study that involves an interview com-
ponent especially, it is sometimes useful to begin with an exer-
cise or approach that primes and orients participants to the
nature of the inquiry. Moreover, a priming approach allows the
researcher to gather preliminary research insights and even
potentially build rapport. Accordingly, memes can be incorpo-
rated to allow the participant to provide information that the
researcher can then use to ask follow-up questions. One exam-
ple of priming with memes might include asking, “If there was
a meme or a two that summarizes or reflects a typical day in
this space what might that be?” Another example might be the
researcher asking, “What memes come to mind when you think
of this?”
From this point, the meme selected or produced can serve as
not only a conversation starter but one or more different direc-
tions of inquiry that can guide the conversation and future
conversations. This approach of utilizing memes to prime espe-
cially lends itself to studies that are more open and exploratory
in nature. In this way the memes create movement for the
research process and progress.
Using Memes to Explore Central Research Question(s)
Memes can also be used to support the main purpose of data
collection. As with the prior way to incorporate, memes can be
used to define or situate experiences, feelings, and ideas ger-
mane to the central research focus. Such an example can be the
following, “If there was one meme or more that symbolizes
what it is like to be a faculty member in this department, what
might that be?”
Now let’s just say with the aforementioned question, a par-
ticipant submits Figure 8 as their response. You might then ask,
“I noticed toxic is a word used in this meme. What aspects
makes this space or working here toxic? Who contributes to
this toxic culture?” In essence the meme itself is an answer but
also a way to gather more answers to that central question.
Figure 8. Example of a potential meme response (Noor, 2020).
Iloh 7

I used Figure 8 (Noor, 2020) as an example of how a meme
could be used to understand a main question. In general, after
the participant submits a meme or selects a meme/image within
a meme, the researcher can then ask a series of questions. This
could include prepared questions to follow-up as well. Such
examples might be, “What made you create or select this
meme? What significance does this have? Has this been a
constant reality in your experience or is this a more recent
development?” Through this approach the meme becomes the
center of the research inquiry process and further questions and
approaches can branch off of the more substantial areas that are
illustrated in the memes.
Using Memes to Represent Qualitative Data, Themes, or
Discussion
While memes have notable utility in the data collection pro-
cess, they can also be useful to represent and/or magnify
themes developed in the research process or data collected in
the process (Handayani et al., 2016; McGin, 2015; Reime,
2012). Accordingly, memes can also be used as ways to repre-
sent themes or data in qualitative research. For example, if a
study generated three main themes, all three can be presented
with memes to introduce or symbolize them. These meme
representations can then be followed with a discussion in the
text that elaborates on them. Memes provided or selected by
participants can also be used as examples of data and evidence
within the text.
There is a growing awareness among scholarly outlets for
academic research of the necessity to be able to display
visuals and multimedia in the publication. At present, some
journals even specialize in the inclusion of such. This incor-
poration into the actual product of a study, whether it be a
journal article or book, also pushes academic outlets to be
more thoughtful about qualitative research and its represen-
tation in the publishing ecosystem. Memes create urgency for
research outlets to be places where data representation reflects
some of the content one might see on their social media time-
line, laptop, or phone; as memes are valid and common forms
of expression.
Conclusion
If our concern is the present and future of research, memes
should be of great consideration for their potential in qualita-
tive work. Memes are themselves a model of what all research
approaches must do: advance our fields, be germane to the
social world around us, and be empirically appropriate. The
most innovative approaches in qualitative research are exam-
ples of what happens if we think more expansively about the
research experience. Incorporating memes in qualitative
research illuminates the power and realities possible of work
that is meaningful, relevant, and reflective of who we are as
people.
Author’s Note
Dr. Constance Iloh is now an associate professor at Azusa Pacific
University.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank God for everything. The author also
wants to thank her family and friends for their constant love and
encouragement. Additionally, the author is appreciative of the anon-
ymous reviewers for their time and feedback.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Constance Iloh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9540-0055
Note
1. A well-known meme that includes text juxtaposed with a picture of
Michael Jordan shedding tears
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