Issues of Power and Method in Interpreting Research

Rebalancing power: Participatory research methods in interpreting studies

“…Despite exceptions that begin to explore these issues (e.g. Boéri &de Manuel Jerez, 2011, andnotably Turner &Harrington, 2000, which will be discussed further below), methodological considerations typically concentrate on the practical set-up of the research or justification of the methodological paradigm, concentrating on the debate over quantitative versus qualitative methods. Whether reflection and positioning of the researcher are disregarded or just left implied, perhaps in order to make space for discussion of other important elements of research in publications, the absence of such discussion, particularly when compared with other disciplines within the social sciences, implies that there does not currently seem to be a necessity for extensive critical engagement with the subjectivity of the researcher on the one hand, and the careful consideration of the social impact of one's research on the other.…”

“…Working with deaf people was also the starting point for Turner and Harrington (2000) to reflect on ethical research approaches in interpreting and translation studies. Drawing on work within a Feminist paradigm by Cameron et al (1992), the authors argue that "researchers have real responsibilities" when working with research participants and should create relationships that allow for research "on, for and with" people.…”

“…This paper sets out to contribute to putting the reflection of research practices at the forefront. Building on existing work (particularly Turner & Harrington, 2000), it presents a discussion of participatory research methods, a methodological design already commonly used within other disciplines, which centres on an attempt to redress the status of research participants and which consciously and critically blurs the boundaries between the roles of 'researcher' and 'researched'. After highlighting issues of power in relation to knowledge creation and introducing participatory methods as used within other disciplines, the paper critically reviews two studies that examined sign language interpreting using participatory methods: (i) a study of deaf people's views on access to health care information in Australia (Napier & Kidd, 2013;Napier, et al, 2014); and (ii) a study of deaf people's perceptions of being known through translation .…”

“…Participatory research is an approach that enables positive user involvement and empowerment, and enables marginalised 'hidden' voices to be heard. Through purposeful sampling (Patton, 2002), 'information rich' stakeholder groups who have a depth of experience to share can contribute to the research process, thus ensuring that the research is conducted not just on, for and with people (Turner & Harrington, 2000), but also by people from stakeholder groups.We reflect on two previous research studies to consider an innovative, interactive approach to interpreting research methodology. The studies adopted interactive principles of collaboration between researchers and key stakeholders and thus embedded a participatory approach within the research design.…”

“…Participatory research is an approach that enables positive user involvement and empowerment, and enables marginalised 'hidden' voices to be heard. Through purposeful sampling (Patton, 2002), 'information rich' stakeholder groups who have a depth of experience to share can contribute to the research process, thus ensuring that the research is conducted not just on, for and with people (Turner & Harrington, 2000), but also by people from stakeholder groups.…”