Reengaging With Our Collaborators: On Reflexivity, Responsiveness, and Surprise in Ethnographic Research

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Reflections on Relational Research

Abstract

This paper is focused on the nature of research collaborations, the partnerships they result in, and the methodological consequences we may have to draw from such constellations. We develop the idea of re-engagement as a concept to think about research collaboration and participation. The idea behind it is considering how educational researchers might be able to reflect when they involve diverse groups in their research, in particular those that are vulnerable. Contextualised through four different projects (Thailand, Israel, Austria and Denmark), we discuss the re-engagement with our collaborators and how it helped us to think about our collaborators’ stories that were to be represented and shared. We identified in the re-engagement with our collaborators elements of reflexivity, responsiveness, and surprise.

Authors

• Kathrin Otrel-Cass, University of Graz

• Alina Jung, Karl-Franzens-Universitaet Graz

• Susanne Kink-Hampersberger, Universität Graz

• Froebus Katarina, Karl-Franzens-University Graz

• Tinnacher Melina, Karl-Franzens - University Graz