9 NOT ONE, BUT MANY A CRT Research Team Approach to Investigate Student Experiences in Racially Diverse Settings Thandeka K. Chapman, Nicholas D. Hartlep, May Vang, Talonda Lipsey-Brown, and Tatiana Joseph Critical Race Theory (CRT) is not an overlay of traditional paradigms of research by researchers of color in which one simply “bends the rules” by ques- tioning established understandings of epistemology, such as the roles of objectiv- ity and “truth.” Critical Race Theory offers researchers of color the opportunity to challenge the origin of the “rules” of scientific research and seek new forms of research that speak to the experiences, relationships, and perspectives of oppressed communities (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). As researchers of color engage in CRT methodologies, the conversations concerning representation, relationships, and scholarly recognition become more intense and complicated (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004). Unfortunately, higher education provides minimal intellectual space to fully examine what it means for researchers of color to document the lives of their brothers and sisters who are often living truly painful realities (Delgado Bernal & Villalpando, 2002). To provide greater avenues for muted voices to be amplified, the intellectual space must be expanded so that the power and complexities of a CRT methodology, as a tool to prevent static, deficit representations of cultures, communities, and people, will be cultivated in education research (Fernández, 2002; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Using critical race theory, we conceptualize what it means for researchers of color to conduct research with a racially diverse body of students in learning spaces where these students are academically and socially marginalized. This chap- ter contributes to the CRT in education literature by describing how researchers serve as methodological instruments in their work in the field and how research- ers from different racial and educational backgrounds work as a team to excavate the complexities of race and racism in racially diverse learning spaces. The merits of conducting race-based research as a multi-racial team of scholars, who validate and challenge each other’s assumptions and perceptions, should be embraced and Understanding Critical Race Research Methods and Methodologies : Lessons from the Field, edited by Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby, et al., Routledge, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/metrostate/detail.action?docID=5611521. Created from metrostate on 2019-01-07 07:46:41. Copyright © 2018. Routledge. All rights reserved.