One of the aims of Side by Side is to improve the understanding of inter-country and transracial adoption by presenting adoptee voices to scholars, researchers, and adoption professionals. Our films and materials are being using in clinical settings, as well as in scholarly research and classrooms.

As students are working to define topics for their research and identify source material, we want to give you an example of how Side by Side has been used in academic research.

Who am I and where do I belong? How South Korean American adoptees understand their racialised identity and their sense of self — This master’s dissertation was written by Soraya Zahid, MSc, Birbeck University of London. Zahid takes and interpretive approach through the lens of social constructivism to examine the Side by Side accounts. The dissertation provides a particularly close look into:

• Growing up white but not quite—an ordinary American childhood?
• Enduring power of the birth family
• Significance of place and belonging

From the abstract: “This study focuses on 51 in-depth qualitative life narrative accounts from adult South Korean American adoptees, captured through an independent documentary project called ‘Side by Side’, released in 2018. Using thematic analysis and theories of subjectivity, this project highlights the importance of relationships with family and others in determining and influencing sense of self and the significance of place in relation to belonging.”

This paper is only one example of how Side by Side has been used in peer-reviewed, scholarly writing. For you and your students, all 100 interviews are accessible in full-length (lightly edited for accuracy and clarity), and are searchable by key criteria.