As we mentioned just before we described these six initiatives, the order is not pre-determined. As letters on a keyboard, they can be ‘typed’ in many different configurations to create different ‘words.’ Here are some examples. We could begin with a curiosity that we have been having and then move directly to find some partners to engage with discussions. Those discussions could reform our curiosity which could lead to some efforts to try out some practices and pay attention to how they impact our clients and ourselves. This could lead to some information gathering and then trying to put some new conceptualizations or ‘spins’ on what we are attempting. As you can see, these initiatives all engage our work in different ways, leading us to new pathways. There is no need to follow the initiatives in a linear way.
Another example could start with the ‘reflection-in-action’ activity. We could pay attention to how our work is going, notice some things that then spawn into a desire to ‘make sense’ differently about what we are doing or what is happening. This could then move back into more ‘reflection-in-action’ that could lead to new efforts at sense-making. In this example, only two of the initiatives predominate.
From these two examples, it seems clear to us that these initiatives could seem very familiar to most of us. They are ways of describing everyday activities of living and acting in our worlds. They are human actions that help us make distinctions in our world, provide some pathways we could take, and give us confidence and hope that our worlds could be different. They operationalize living in the world with a certain level of intentionality. They do not produce ultimate answers; they provide direction and optimism that we can make a difference.
What Comes from ‘Research as Daily Practice'?
There are numerous outcomes that we have experienced by utilizing the processes of Research As Daily Practice. Completed project descriptions can be found elsewhere (St George et al., 2015b; Wulff et al., 2015a; Wulff et al., 2015b). In addition to new knowledge and practices, the following items highlight what we believe are key qualities.
1 Conducting inquiry in a manner that is respectful of practitioners’ time and contexts. Pragmatic considerations (time, effort, money, material adjustments) of traditional research are too often downplayed. The more that the ‘research’ ideas can be embedded in our practice, the better for the practitioner and the more likely that those initiatives will be taken up.
2 Using research methodologies and processes that are compatible with the practices being examined (for example in our situation we use reflecting team processes or conversations for both our clinical work and our information collection/recording). The process of organizing data could be done in a myriad of ways, from the most technical to the most simple and hands-on. Ideally, we would organize our data/information in ways that mirrored what we did with the organized information (the researching resembles the actions that evolve).
3 Immediate uses of still-evolving knowledge in the practice context. There is no need to wait until the ‘results are in’ using this approach. The development of the information gathering and sense-making that evolve serves as a springboard to try out the ideas along the way. Once begun, Research As Daily Practice continues to regenerate itself – inquiries stimulate new inquiries. Agencies who use this process are effectively understood as ‘learning communities’. Service delivery is melded with learning and growing on the part of the practitioners. In everyday life examples, we engage in trial-and-error processes that continue to refine what we know and what we do as we go along. Similar to the action research processes, we learn by doing and observing the effects.
4 A willingness to adjust inquiry along the way to better understand the issue of interest. The fluidity and responsiveness of methods of inquiry to what we are studying allows for better attention to the complexities of the issues we are trying to study. Just as practices need to be flexible to serve others more directly and effectively, so, too, researching and inquiry must have a plasticity. The curiosities that fueled the initial initiative keep those questions in the forefront – if our chosen methods get in the way of the questions of interest, then our processes are transformed (as opposed to the reverse which often happens). Similar to Point 3 above, we benefit by an ongoing testing of what we know or expect in order to make adjustments. There is no need to get it ‘right’ the first time – we develop strategies through iterations of approximations. This is a process of continuous learning that is well-suited to the changed circumstances of life – a useful outcome or choice at one point will likely not stay that way.
5 This approach to research does not need extra money and the entanglements that come with it.
You Try
We invite you to take a scenario in your life now, whether professional or personal, and give this process a try.
What issue or concern in your life could use some further examination? (Choose something that is important to you and defies a simple solution.) [Attending to Curiosities]
What are the elements or parameters of that issue or concern that you consider to be most important? What needs to be considered? What preferences do you bring into this issue? What are the drawbacks or limitations of this issue in your life? [Speculating]
Who else could help or is involved with this decision? What value could others bring to you in this deliberation? Where should you begin? How can this issue be of mutual benefit to both you and others? [Enlisting Partners and Gathering Information]
What particular and specific information do you need (even information you might not like)? How can you locate information that you do not already possess? [Gathering Information]
Given all of the information collected, how do you make the greatest sense of it? How did you weigh the contributions of each piece of information? Did you leave some information out or minimize it? [Making Sense]
What is your first action step? How do you put your decision into action? How will you handle roadblocks or doubts with your initiative? [Reflecting-in-Action]
CODA
We wanted to emphasize the importance of all of us being active researchers in our daily lives in order to figure out the best ways forward. We have been concerned about the exclusive ‘professionalization’ of certain behaviors/practices that, in fact, we all share in living our lives. Our concerns expressed in this paper are part of larger forces in our world today that lead toward greater and greater specialization of human activities. The challenge we see is to embrace what specialized skills can do for our world without simultaneously denigrating the performance of the skills of those considered ‘less proficient’ (within an expert-based set of criteria). How can we celebrate the most renowned dancers of our world without de-valuing the dance performances of those who are less proficient in dance? How can we enjoy world-class athletes while at the same time relishing persons who engage in sports with limited athleticism?
We want to valorize each of us for the work we do to achieve the best we can for our lives and for the lives of those around us. We all use research skills in highly proficient ways within our everyday lives in an effort to make our lives and relationships better.
References
Anderson, H. (2014). Collaborative-dialogue based research as everyday practice: Questioning our myths. In G. Simon and A. Chard (Eds.), Systemic inquiry: Innovations in reflexive practice research (pp. 60–73). Farnhill, UK: Everything is Connected Press.
Bohm, D. (1996). On dialogue. New York, NY: Routledge.
