This interview is a slightly modified transcript from the fifth Psyche Talk, hosted at the Department of Communication and Psychology at Aalborg University, October 22, 2025. Psyche Talks are hosted as biannual events, where prominent psychological researchers are invited to discuss fundamental questions about the nature and subject matter of psychology through an interview-based format. The focus of this interview is on Child as Method and how it has emerged from the work of critically engaging with developmental psychology through a feminist lens. In this interview, Erica Burman (Professor of Education at Manchester University) is interviewed by Noomi Matthiesen (Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Aalborg University).
This article explores analysis in action research as a philosophical question. Action research has a strong normative standpoint in the form of an ethos of social justice, empowerment, and democracy. It not only produces critical analyses but also contributes productively to the formulation of alternatives. Based on our position within Critical Utopian Action Research (CUAR), this article explores how the methodological, ontological, epistemological, and normative characteristics of action research might be brought into research analyses, and we formulate four propositions that we argue should shape the analytical work. These propositions are: Humans are knowledgeable and capable of analysis; Humans are capable of formulating structural critiques; Practices are unfinished experiments; and Practices contain potentialities. The article aims to engage in dialogue with colleagues from across qualitative research traditions in order to create increased transparency about the different philosophical underpinnings that guide research analyses in different fields.
This paper contributes both to the field of organizational learning and action research by exploring how organizational learning can be developed “from within” process and “from within” the organization itself through “situated dialogic action research” (Shotter, 2006, 2010a), as opposed to instrumental and linear approaches to organizational learning. The paper argues for a relational-responsive process-oriented approach to co-creating learning in organizations, and the central research question of this paper is: How can we co-create organizational learning while moving forward together “from within” dialogical process? This is illustrated through an example from a five-year action research project in a public institution specialized in supporting citizens with significant visual and hearing impairments. In this project, leaders and employees from the institution participated in dialogues in minor groups and collaborated on specific actions for learning and knowledge development defined by themselves through situated dialogic action research. Data from the dialogical process were generated through audio recordings, photos, field notes, and visual posters with drawings and notes from the process. The findings from the project have shown that the process has led to learning and development at personal, departmental, and organizational levels. This included: 1) an increased reflexivity in the dialogues; 2) a greater sense of agency and empowerment among the participants; 3) strengthened collaboration within and across organizational units (teams and departments); 4) enhanced competences (among all of us) in participating in, and facilitating, dialogical processes; 5) a strengthened collaboration in the relationship between leaders and employees; and 6) enhanced learning and professional development across disciplines and locations. The overall conclusion of our study is that action research can be used for much more than just developing competence in organizations, while the project has shown that situated dialogic action research can also enhance organizational learning and strengthen relational collaboration and coordination across structures, units and locations.
This article explores the potential and challenges of using obser-view as a data-generating method in action research within educational contexts. Drawing on empirical data from an action research project conducted across five Danish social and healthcare schools, the study identifies the distinctive qualities of obser-view data as micro-situated, processual, and authentic. These characteristics make the data meaningful and practice-oriented, offering valuable insights into educational practices and fostering collaborative reflection among participants. However, the study also highlights challenges related to the contextual specificity of the data, which can limit its applicability for broader organizational decisions and generalizations. Additionally, the use of obser-view data in local workshops raises ethical and methodological considerations, including participant vulnerability and the selective framing of data. The findings suggest that obser-view data can support multiple phases of the action research cycle by enhancing problem exploration, pausing immediate problem-solving, and informing the selection and monitoring of interventions. Moreover, obser-view creates a shared foundation for collegial reflection, contributing to professional learning and practice development.
Denne artikel bidrager med et metodologisk bud på en dynamisk analysestrategi til anvendelse i aktionsforskning og lignende former for participatorisk forskning. Analysestrategien er udviklet i forbindelse med et aktionsforskningsprojekt i et procesteoretisk perspektiv. I artiklen redegøres for projektets forskningsdesign og analysestrategi samt den teoretiske argumentation for de metodiske valg, der er truffet i forbindelse med udvikling af netop denne analysestrategi. Endvidere leverer artiklen et empirisk eksempel, der illustrerer analysestrategiens anvendelse i praksis. Det overordnede aktionsforskningsprojekt havde til formål at undersøge, hvordan facilitering i et processuelt tilrettelagt udviklingsforløb, med afsæt i den narrative tradition, kunne bidrage til at skabe refleksion, udvikling, læring og samhørighed i en ledelsesgruppe. Projektet fandt sted i en større, offentlig behandlingsinstitution, hvor ti mellemledere indgik som medforskere. Projektet var baseret på en socialkonstruktionistisk forståelse af aktionsforskning (Hersted, Ness, & Frimann, 2019; Shotter, 2006, 2007). Det er mit håb, at analysestrategien kan inspirere andre i deres arbejde med aktionsforskning og lignende participatoriske tilgange.
