Voicing researched activists with responsive action research

Abstract

Purpose What it is like to experience being the subject of the research process when you are an actor within a new social movement organization? And what lessons can be learned for researchers engaging with members of New Social Movements? Debates on engagement and the relationship between the researcher and the researched so far have taken the perspective solely of the researcher. Based on insights gained by full participation in a horizontal worker cooperative, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the facilitation of more fruitful, mutually engaging research relations between organizational theory scholars and members of New Social Movement organizations by voicing the researched in this debate. Design/methodology/approach After providing some accounts from the researched point of view, the paper focuses on crafting an appropriate research process based on participatory action research (PAR) ethos and experience. Findings Since the research findings suggest that PAR combines elements that both trouble and inspire research participants, namely, workload/availability and relevancy/contribution in practice, the authors introduce and provide a case study of responsive action research that emphasizes adaptation and responsiveness in the research process instead of shared governance. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in voicing the research participants with the aim to aid both scholars and social movements adopt appropriate research designs for the mutual benefit of both theory/action and researchers/researched (even when researchers are already active in the field).

The democratic rejection of democracy: Performative failure and the limits of critical performativity in an organizational change project

“…To address this lack of practical suggestions, we have turned to Participatory Action Research (PAR). PAR offers an approach that resonates with Critical Performativity but with a more developed focus on the research relationship (Chevalier and Buckles, 2013;Huzzard and Johansson, 2014;Kindon et al, 2007;Varkarolis & King, 2017). PAR is a wide-ranging tradition influenced by Lewin's Action Research (1946) Whilst it has had a rather limited uptake in organization studies (Gorli et al, 2015), it does provide three main features that are relevant for a democratically orientated Critical Performativity: 1) participant led research topics; 2) democratic and collaborative knowledge production, challenging power differentials within the research relationship; 3) a concern with treating social processes as an end in themselves.…”

“…To address this lack of practical suggestions, we have turned to PAR, which offers an approach that resonates with critical performativity but with a more developed focus on the research relationship (Chevalier and Buckles, 2013; Huzzard and Johansson, 2014; Kindon et al, 2007; Varkarolis and King, 2017). PAR is a wide-ranging tradition influenced by Lewin (1946)’s action research, Freire (1970)’s conscientização and Tandon’s (1988) community-based research, feminism and Marxism (McTaggart, 1997).…”

Critical Performativity in the Field: Methodological Principles for Activist Ethnographers

“…For our future forays into academic activism we would like to experiment with the co-construction of vignettes with our participants as a way of achieving the aim of texts more useful and relevant to activists. Rather than waiting until a full paper is written up for a journal (which can be many years after the study is completed), vignettes may be used as a form of quick and timely feedback more likely to aid the activist group (Varkarolis & King, 2017).…”

“…For example, draft accounts can be sent to research participants during the writing process to discuss how they feel about their data being used in this way or their view of the analysis offered. This can be not only a way of validating the research, but also, particularly for those involved in activist groups, a way of giving back to the communities involved in the research (for a discussion, see Varkarolis & King, 2017).…”

Social Resistances and the Creation of Another Way of Thinking in the Peripheral “Self-Constructed Popular Neighborhoods”: Examples from Mexico, Argentina, and Bolivia

“…Where this was not possible, the research remained at the level of participatory responsive observation [60] with the agreement of the respondents. The key questions raised in open interviews, and which emerged in the narrations of research participants are summarized below:…”