TakingYourselfSeriouslyOverview

=I. 1 Introduction= Why another book on research and writing? In short, because the approach presented here is not well covered by other texts. Whatever your level of confidence and comfort in research and writing, this book provides ways for you to become more "engaged." There may be a specific question or a general issue that you think is worth investigating, but how important is that inquiry to you personally? Does it reflect your aspirations, or is the inquiry more directed to meet the expectations of others? Will it help you take action to change your work, life, or wider social arrangements? Will it help you build relationships with others in such action, in pursuing the inquiry effectively and communicating the outcomes? For a car to run its gears need to be engaged with each other; for your research and writing to progress well you need to bring into alignment your questions and ideas, your aspirations, your ability to take or influence action, and your relationships with other people. If we shorten these items to head, heart, hands, and human connections, bringing the 4Hs into alignment is what we mean we invite you to //take yourself seriously//.

The approach presented in this book originated in a workshop-style research course of Peter's in which the undergraduate students investigated issues that concerned them about the social impact of science. It has been developed further through Peter's subsequent work in a mid-career personal and professional development graduate program where he has advised over one hundred Master's "synthesis" projects and taught two research and writing courses that prepare students for their final projects. These courses have accommodated the very diverse interests of students—from the routinisation of prenatal ultrasound screening to preparation for working as an editorial cartoonist; from adult education for low-income women to improving communication in the operating room. The range of projects means that the courses cannot focus on specialized knowledge in any one discipline and students have to develop their projects without the instructor being an expert in each individual's area of interest. Four features of the courses have been key in addressing the challenges of this situation; they inform this book:

1. A framework of ten //phases of research and engagement// that the researchers move through, then revisit in light of: a) other people's responses to the writing and oral reports you share with others; and b) what you learn using tools from the other phases. This sequence and iteration allows researchers to define projects in which you take your personal and professional aspirations seriously, even if that means letting go of preconceptions of what you “ought” to be doing. These phases and tools are presented in section I.2 below and in detail in Part II. Part III includes illustrations of their use in the development of a project by Jeremy.

2. A framework for Action Research that emphasizes //reflection and dialogue// through which researchers revisit and revise the ideas you have about what action is needed and about how to build a constituency to implement the change. This reflection and dialogue adds “epicycles” to the traditional cycle of action research. This framework is presented in overview in section I.3. A description of tools useful for the reflection and dialogue, constituency building, evaluation and inquiry, and planning that contribute to action research are given in Part II. Part III includes excerpts from a second, related project of Jeremy's that illustrates the framework as it was experienced by someone learning to use it.

3. //Dialogue around written work//—written and spoken comments on each installment of a project and successive revision in response—which allows the advisor (instructor) to accumulate a portfolio for you as advisee (student) that facilitates generative interactions even when your advisor is not an expert in your project's topic. By “generative” we mean that researchers bring to the surface, form, and articulate your ideas. This process is evident in the illustrations in Parts III and discussed further in the section I. 4 on Teaching/Learning for Reflective Practice.

4. //Making space for taking initiative in and through relationships//: Don't expect to learn or change or to teach without jostling among six aspects of teaching/learning relationships: building horizontal peer relationships; negotiating power and standards; exploring difference; acknowledging that affect is involved in what you're doing and not doing (and in how others respond to that); developing autonomy (so that you are neither bowled over or impervious to feedback); and clearing away distractions from other sources (present and past) so you can "be here now." This perspective is also woven into section I.4's discussion of Teaching/Learning for Reflective Practice.

The book's approach to students' development as researchers and agents of change arose in interdisciplinary and non-traditional programs of study, but it should be helpful for students in regular fields or disciplines of study—as well as for researchers who are no longer enrolled formally as students. The kind of help the approach provides depends, however, where in the spectrum of students you lie. Just as some children learn to read with little instruction, there are some students who have little trouble learning to define a hypothesis that can be studied with the methods provided by their field or discipline, and to report on their research within the standard writing conventions and publication format. If you operate at that end of the spectrum, the integration of the 4Hs that emerges through the four features above should help you branch out in new directions rather than simply continuing along previous lines. At the other end of the spectrum lie students who seem alienated from the expectations of any one discipline and struggle to complete their research and writing. If this has been your experience, the prize you should keep your eye on is not the endpoint of the completed project, but the possibility of a project that engages you. To find this you need to push the expectations of others aside for long enough to explore connect your head with your heart, to give voice to your aspirations to build connections with others to change your work, lives, and wider social arrangements. In between these two poles there are many diligent students who eventually meet disciplinary standards, but ask for more input in generating research questions and editing written work than their advisors like and take longer than everyone hoped. These students are often susceptible to doubt and procrastination—am I really doing something worthwhile for society and for myself? If this picture fits you, paying more attention to the 4H's can also help you become more confident and comfortable about the directions of research and engagement that you choose. In summary, the variety of tools for research and writing presented here constitute an invitation to all kinds of student and researcher to take yourself seriously.

Of course, there are many more tools and processes of research than are included in this book. The annotated set of resources in Part IV provides some entry points for readers to explore the insights, experiences, and information from a wider world of research, writing, and engagement in change.