Methods selection
- Methods are productive and creative. Methods choices are not neutral or purely technical decisions but will shape the assessment process and resulting knowledge.
- Methods selection requires careful consideration not only in terms of what the methods can do, but also what they might not reveal or who might be excluded.
- A multi-methods approach is recommended to reveal diverse stories and multiple values, including indications of silences and absences within the material.
Assessment process
- Effective implementation remains flexible – responsive to and working with the evolving context and opportunities that arise.
- Case specific factors will need to be negotiated in real time during the assessment. Practical judgement, developed through experience, is essential in responding to the dynamic interplay between the research process, the evolving context, and emerging depth of understanding regarding the communities and values.
- What happens during an assessment is often more critical to your understanding than the resulting outputs. It is as important to document and reflect on these interactions as the final values stated/materials produced/decisions reached.
- Aim for the highest degree of collaboration and be prepared to invest time in identifying and building relationships with communities in order to achieve this.
Research practice
- Developing and maintaining relationships of trust is an active process that requires time, ‘emotional work’, and sensitivity to the situations in which interactions are taking place.
- Reflect on how your own profile and collaboration or association with specific organisations and formal or informal gatekeepers might impact on the research process.
- Be open to the unexpected and prepared to change or adapt your intended approach or methods. There is a lot that can be learned from ‘unsuccessful’ activities.
These and other top tips are collated in the following downloadable one-pager: