Knowledge and Power in Collaborative Research: A Reflexive Approach(Routledge Advances in Research Methods)

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.

Table of Contents:
1. Tackling the Tensions of Dialogue and Participation: Reflexive Strategies for Collaborative Research Louise Phillips, Marianne Kristiansen, Marja Vehviläinen and Ewa Gunnarsson Part 1: 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 2: 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 3: 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 4: 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

About the Author :
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.

Review :
“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