Ethics and Engagement with Stakeholders: Interview with Prof. Lesley Wood
by Janet Salmons, PhD., Research Community Manager for SAGE Methodspace
Research design wass the SAGE Methodspace focus for the first quarter of 2023. In previous posts we raised questions about the value of engagement with stakeholders, drawing on Andrew Van de Ven’s 2007 book Engaged Scholarship: A Guide to Organizational and Social Research. Van de Ven suggested that we need to engage with the people who have direct first-hand knowledge and experience with the issues and contexts associated with the inquiry. He coined the term “engaged scholarship” and defined it as:
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a participative form of research for obtaining the advice and perspectives of key stakeholders (researchers, users, clients, sponsors, and practitioners) to understand a complex social problem. By exploiting differences in the kinds of knowledge that scholars and other stakeholders can bring forth on a problem...engaged scholarship produces knowledge that is more penetrating and insightful than when scholars or practitioners work on the problems alone. (Van de Ven, 2007 p. 9)
An important point: when we think about engaging with participants, we must realize that by the time we have recruited participants most of the critical decisions have already been made.
Professor Lesley Wood is experienced with engaged, participatory research. After reading her articles, “The Ethical Implications of Community-Based Research: A Call to Rethink Current Review Board Requirements” and “‘But how will you ensure the objectivity of the researcher?’ Guidelines to address possible misconceptions about the ethical imperatives of community-based research” I wanted to learn more. Fortunately, she agreed to have a conversation, which you can view below.
In the interview Professor Wood mentioned this site, UNESCO Chair on Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, where you can find additional resources about ethics and engagement with stakeholders and participants.
More Methodspace posts about Participatory and Action Research
Qualitative data analysis varies by methodology. Learn about approaches for action research in these open access articles.