Pengfei Zhao

Pengfei Zhao is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida in the Research and Evaluation Methodology Program. She has an interdisciplinary backgroun in inquiry methodology, sociology, and cultural studies. In her research and teaching, Pengfei draws from a wide spectrum of theories—from critical theories to contemporary pragmatism and feminism—to formulate a praxis- and social justice-oriented research methodology. Primarily using ethnographic, narrative, and participatory methodologies, she is interested in the challenges of and innovative approaches to conducting research in culturally diverse and politically troubled contexts. Such efforts are manifested in her writing on doing research in authoritarian states, the institutionalization of research regulation in East Asian contexts, and translation in qualitative research. Currently, Pengfei is completing a book manuscript based on her critical ethnographic study of rural youth’s coming of age experience during China’s drastic transition from socialism to late-socialism.