O'Leary, Z. (2004) The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: Sage Chapter Ten1 Facilitating...

O'Leary, Z. (2004) The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: Sage Chapter Ten

1

Facilitating Change through Research

I don’t just want to research something- I want to make a

difference


2

Facilitating Change Facilitating change through research

can involve:

the production of knowledge that may lead to change

applied research conducted for the express purpose of enabling effective change

research that attempts to embed action and change into the actual research process


3

Research generates knowledge in order to:

action change within a

system

pave the way for change

build broader

understanding

Basic or pure research

Action research Critical / radical

ethnography

Applied / evaluativeresearch participatory/

emancipatorytechnical/ practical

emancipate through action

expose and change the dominate system


4

Politics of Change Oriented Research Research that facilitates change can be

considered highly ‘political’ and as such, credibility will involve careful consideration of issues of:

power objectivity subjectivity and bias


5

Working Towards Credibility In addition to both positivist and

post-positivist indicators of credibility, change oriented research can also look to ‘usefulness’ as an indicator of success


6

Applied Research Applied research paves the way for

change

It is often linked to policy/programme development and can include studies that: investigate a problem situation assess potential interventions or evaluate change initiatives


7

Evaluation Research Since change intervention strategies

often require formal review, evaluation research has become increasingly common

This can involve both: Formative evaluation - conducted to provide

developmental feedback and Summative evaluation - conducted to

assess effectiveness.


8

Evaluation Research Evaluative research is often conducted in

the form of a case study

In formative studies, methods tend to be eclectic and diverse and driven by research objectives

Summative designs often involve comparative analysis of groups and/or time series analysis


9

Issues in Evaluation Research Issues in evaluative research

include both:

unrealistic client/stakeholder expectations

and the potential pressure of vested interests


10

Action Research Action research covers a broad array of

research strategies that are dedicated to the integrated production of knowledge and the implementation of change

Action research: addresses practical problems generates knowledge enacts change is participatory relies on a cyclical self reflective process


11

Cycles of Action Research


12

Issues in Action Research While, the participatory and collaborative

nature of action research can be highly rewarding and productive, it can also result in sticky management issues including:

a lack of control over the project’s direction and pace

the potential for stakeholder conflict the sole burden of ethical responsibility


13

Striving for Critical Emancipation Striving for critical emancipation relates to

goals that require more than just change within a ‘system’; it requires radical change to the system itself

Two strategies for achieving such goals through research are:

Participatory Action Research Critical Ethnography


14

Participatory Action Research Participatory action research attempts to

expose dominant and repressive systems, and has an express goal of emancipation through action

It encourages the oppressed to control their own knowledge production and emancipatory change interventions through an action research process


15

Critical Ethnography Critical ethnography also attempts to

expose dominant systems in the interest of the ‘marginalised’

Change comes from the voice offered to the oppressed, as well as the starting point it offers for action at individual, legislative, and policy levels


16

Issues in Emancipatory Research A common issue in emancipatory

research is the intertwining of research and political agendas

In addition to managing subjectivities, researchers need to guard against imposing their own political agendas on the researched

O'Leary, Z. (2004) The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: Sage Chapter Ten1 Facilitating...

Documents

Transcript of O'Leary, Z. (2004) The Essential Guide to Doing Research. London: Sage Chapter Ten1 Facilitating...