Realities of comparative research

Marilyn TaylorChris Miller

University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

Research aims

• How global trends translate into different cultural contexts

• How non-governmental actors ‘navigate the tensions’ experienced in governance arrangements, e.g. autonomy, legitimacy

• Drawing on governance, governmentality and social movement theory

The research team

• Led from the UK

in collaboration with • the New Bulgarian University, Sofia and • the University of Central America, Managua

• Informed by an Advisory Group made up of academics and NGOs

Primarily qualitative research methods

National overviews – Semi-structured interviews– Documentary evidence

• City-based, organisational case studies– Semi-structured interviews– Inquiry groups

• Involving participants– Web-based knowledge exchange– Inter-site video conference

Communication via

• Email (with later attempts at Skype)

• 3 UK-based full team meetings

• UK contact visits to non-UK sites

• Additional sub-team visits to UK (Bulgaria only)

Emerging dilemmas

• Whose research? Power and discourse

• Building international understanding

• Developing a common approach

• Revisiting definitions and assumptions

• A participatory approach

Whose research?

• Unequal starting points– Research design and application process

• Funding flows

• Western discourse– English as the dominant language– Western concepts

• Programme and Advisory Group based in England

Building international understanding

• Relevance of Western concepts• NGO• governance

• Different disciplines• Applying the global to the local and the

local to the global– Country selection based on pragmatism– Finding comparative frames– The significance of similarities and differences

Developing a common approach

• Different local imperatives and styles of work• Different expectations of cross-national research• Approaches to research within and between

sub-teams • Case study selection: locations and

organisations– Pragmatism and access– Reflecting local context

• Software and analysis

Revisiting definitions

• The unit of analysis

• Blurring boundaries

A participatory approach?

• Engaging participants in the research

• Engaging participants with each other

• Practical difficulties– Language– Technology– Time– The Advisory Group