Working psycho-socially and dialogically in research

Authors: Hoggett, Paul¹; Beedell, Phoebe¹; Jimenez, Luis²; Mayo, Marj³; Miller, Chris⁴

Source: Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, Volume 15, Number 2, July 2010 , pp. 173-188(16)

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Abstract:

The role of development worker is a highly political one, and the research on which this article is based explored how such workers negotiated some of the ethical challenges of the job. The research adopted a methodology that, whilst psychoanalytically inspired, was also congruent with the democratic values and experiences of those who were being researched. The authors argue that the validity of the psycho-social method to some extent hangs on the capacity of the researcher to share his or her thinking with the interviewees and involve them in a joint process of sense-making. This is an important methodological innovation given that psycho-social approaches are sometimes criticised for being top-down.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/pcs.2009.36

Affiliations: 1: Centre for Psycho-Social Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK 2: Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CFIO JWT, UK 3: Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK 4: Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia

Publication date: 2010-07-01