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Research with ‘other’ disciplines and ‘other’ countries. Professor Geri Smyth School of Education University of Strathclyde. Queries and a Case Study. Why? How? Problematising the concept Conceptualising the problems Case Study – Refugee Integration project. Why?. Funder imperatives
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Research with ‘other’ disciplines and ‘other’ countries Professor Geri Smyth School of Education University of Strathclyde
Queries and a Case Study • Why? • How? • Problematising the concept • Conceptualising the problems • Case Study – Refugee Integration project
Why? • Funder imperatives • Sharing of knowledge base and research skills • Creative approach to specific issue • Development of existing collaboration (not research based) • Do these reasons conflict; produce different outcomes? • Are there other reasons?
How? • Internally funded project • Bridging the Gap • Externally funded project • NordForsk • FP7 • Unfunded collaboration • Teachers in TV project • Joint supervision of research students • Formal / informal • And other models?
Problematising the concept • If we are convinced of the need to work with ‘other’ disciplines, what is ‘our’ discipline? • What is your academic identity? • Is a project multidisciplinary if there is a collaboration between a sociologist and an educational sociologist? / between a Department of Linguistics and Linguists in a Department of Education? • What does Education bring to the collaboration? • Are there specific fields of expertise? • Why do ‘other’ disciplines want to work with Education? • Which country are you representing in an international collaboration? • Europe; UK; Scotland --- • What are the languages of the collaboration? • Formally and informally • Where do you position yourself in the collaboration? • UK centric; UK peripheral; Eurocentric
Conceptualising the Problems • What is most important: the outcome; the process; the future engagement? • How is mutual understanding gained? • How are differing perspectives acknowledged as offering added value? • How are conflicting imperatives addressed?
Conceptualising the Problems in 2013 UK • Who owns the research? • Where do you publish? • Joint authorship • Future Impact • Is the UK one country? • Which collaborations count?
Refugee Integration: a case study • Funded by Institute for Advanced Studies • Now Insight Institute • Multidisciplinary • Education; Law; Business; Sociology; Human Geography; • Modern Languages; Creative Arts • Multinational • Scotland, England, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia, Australia, Canada • Multi-sectored • University, EU, UK, Scottish and local government, 3rd sector agencies
Refugee Integration: a case study • Not an empirical research project • Seminar based • Hosted by different partners • Range of outcomes • Performance • Annotated bibliography • Special Issue Journal of Refugee Studies • Continuing collaborations
Best Practice • What are the key issues in effective multi-disciplinary/multi-national/multi-agency research?