1st Edition

Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research A Reflexive Approach

    314 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    326 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Collaborative research embraces a multiplicity of practices in which social actors are invited to participate in the research process as co-producers of knowledge.  But what is actually meant by “co-production” in collaborative research? Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research presents a range of critical, reflexive strategies for understanding and tackling the challenges emanating from the tensions that arise in the meeting between different participants, knowledge forms and knowledge interests. The chapters anchor discussion of ethical, epistemological and methodological questions in sustained empirical analyses of cases of collaborative knowledge production.

    The book covers diverse theoretical approaches such as dialogic communication theory, actor network theory, poststructuralist writing as inquiry, institutional ethnography, dialogic action research, and pragmatic action research. The empirical cases span a broad spectrum of empirical fields of social practice: health services, organisational change, research, science communication, environmental communication in intermediary NGOs, participatory governance in relation to urban planning, and digital communication and virtual worlds.

    1. Tackling the Tensions of Dialogue and Participation: Reflexive Strategies for Collaborative Research  Louise Phillips, Marianne Kristiansen, Marja Vehviläinen and Ewa Gunnarsson  Part I: Reflexively Analysing "Participation" and "Dialogue" in Collaborative Research  2. Learning from Discomfort: Science Communication Experiments Between Diffusion, Dialogue and Emergence  Maja Horst  3. The Performative Practices of Public Participation: Negotiating Interests, Experiences and Normativity  Pauliina Lehtonen  4. Participation and Reflection in Pragmatic Action Research: Harnessing the Potential and Dealing with the Dilemmas  Karen Dons Blædel  5. Environmental Counselling in a Women’s Organisation: An Analysis of Practices in the Tension Between Diffusion and Dialogue  Marja Vehviläinen  Part II: Reflexively Tackling the Ethics of Collaborative Research Relations  6. My Discomfort: Practical Reflexivity as a Methodological Approach  Ulla-Britt Lilleaas  7. Co-Producing Knowledge: Between Othering, Emotionality and Dialogue  Birgitte Ravn Olesen and Christina Hee Pedersen  8. The Ethics of Involvement with the Already Involved: Action Research and Power  Agnete Neidel and Trine Wulf-Andersen  9. Dialogical Ethics and Reflections on Unfinalizability: An Analysis of Dissenting Voices in a Film Contest Study  Lisbeth Frølunde  Part III: Reflexively Tackling Epistemological Issues in Collaborative Research  10. Participatory Knowledge Production and Power: Co-Determination Through Dissensus in Dialogic Organisational Action Research  Marianne Kristiansen and Jørgen Bloch-Poulsen  11. Reflecting on Work Practices: Possibilities for Dialogue and Collaborative Knowledge Production in Institutional Ethnography  Riikka Homanen  12. Building Networks with Vague Intentions: A Vocabulary of Enrolment and Negotiations in Collaborative Research Practice  Ursula Plesner  Part IV: Tying the Ends Very Loosely  13. Characteristics and Challenges of Collaborative Research: Further Perspectives on Reflexive Strategies  Louise Phillips and Marianne Kristiansen  14. In Lieu of a Conclusion  Louise Phillips and Marianne Kristiansen

    Biography

    Louise Phillips is Associate Professor in Research Methods in Communication Studies at the University of Roskilde.

    Ewa Gunnarsson is Professor in the Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences at Luleå University of Technology.

    Marianne Kristiansen is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University.

    Marja Vehviläinen is Academy Research Fellow in the School for Social Sciences and Humanities at University of Tampere.

    “This book is easy to follow and the writing is fluid which makes it enjoyable to read regardless of what level or
    stage one operates at. Given its theoretical, empirical and methodological diversity as a text, it has plenty of value to offer to both the novice and expert researcher. It has been an interesting read that manages to successfully achieve its intended purpose of contributing to the area of collaborative research, given the range and depth of theoretical, empirical and methodological issues covered. A particular application of this book will be to enable researchers to engage with research methodologies that are different or better to what they have attempted before,
    with an informed knowledge of the benefits of collaborating. This makes this book a suitable title for teaching purposes also. Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research does not offer readers solutions or definitive ways of dealing with research challenges. Rather, it provides readers with new ideas and novel strategies so that they can develop reflexivity and be able to articulate their own approaches to deal with the challenges of collaborative research. With a strong narrative and a concrete evidence base, this book is one that will have an impact on those wishing to engage with effective collaborative research.”
    Management Learning