Koen P.R. Bartels

This groundbreaking book issues an urgent call to confront the global social and ecological crises that are destabilizing societies everywhere. Business as usual in social science and governance is no longer sustainable. A Call to Action Research urges academic researchers, citizens, third sector workers, public officials, and businesspeople to join forces for global social justice and ecological sustainability. Expert action researchers Davydd J. Greenwood, Johan E. Ravn, and Koen P.R. Bartels demonstrate how action research and solidary social action can lead to a sustainable, just, and democratic future. They shed light on the scope and promise of action research, exposing how and why current higher education and political-economic systems are incapable of providing solutions to our global crises. Chapters provide an overview of how diverse approaches to action research can be used to confront ecological collapse, harmful capitalism, social inequalities and ill-equipped governance. The book uniquely covers a wide range of frameworks and methods necessary for the practice of action research, illuminated by many case studies from across the globe. This book offers a timely appeal and concrete guidance to tackle our collective crises. Scholars and students from across the social sciences will learn how to do action research in collaboration with diverse participants. It is also a valuable resource for policymakers and government, third sector, and business practitioners committed to sustainability, social justice, and democracy.

This groundbreaking book issues an urgent call to confront the global social and ecological crises that are destabilizing societies everywhere. Business as usual in social science and governance is no longer sustainable. A Call to Action Research urges academic researchers, citizens, third sector workers, public officials, and businesspeople to join forces for global social justice and ecological sustainability. Expert action researchers Davydd J. Greenwood, Johan E. Ravn, and Koen P.R. Bartels demonstrate how action research and solidary social action can lead to a sustainable, just, and democratic future. They shed light on the scope and promise of action research, exposing how and why current higher education and political-economic systems are incapable of providing solutions to our global crises. Chapters provide an overview of how diverse approaches to action research can be used to confront ecological collapse, harmful capitalism, social inequalities and ill-equipped governance. The book uniquely covers a wide range of frameworks and methods necessary for the practice of action research, illuminated by many case studies from across the globe. This book offers a timely appeal and concrete guidance to tackle our collective crises. Scholars and students from across the social sciences will learn how to do action research in collaboration with diverse participants. It is also a valuable resource for policymakers and government, third sector, and business practitioners committed to sustainability, social justice, and democracy.

Interpretivism has an intuitive appeal to many social researchers, but they often feel ill-equipped to do it. Other social researchers tend to believe that interpretivism is a specialized niche with little relevance to their research practice. What has been lost is the awareness that interpretation is an explanatory logic and form of inquiry that is at the root of all social science research, including quantitative research. In this volume, the authors guide social researchers and instructors in better understanding and improving the experience of doing interpretive research. They explore the centrality of experience in learning and teaching interpretive research, paying special attention to the role of emotions in the learning process, and the way that negative emotions, such as doubt and anxiety, can impart learning. The authors provide a novel approach to methods teaching by offering a set of heuristics, open-ended strategies of inquiry and discovery for improving the practice of social research. Uniquely, they demonstrate how emotions can be leveraged in the learning process to uncover surprising new insights about social reality and unlock researchers' imagination. They reveal how social researchers, engaged or interested in interpretivism in learning, can turn their research into an enjoyable, productive, and imaginative experience.

Interpretivism has an intuitive appeal to many social researchers, but they often feel ill-equipped to do it. Other social researchers tend to believe that interpretivism is a specialized niche with little relevance to their research practice. What has been lost is the awareness that interpretation is an explanatory logic and form of inquiry that is at the root of all social science research, including quantitative research. In this volume, the authors guide social researchers and instructors in better understanding and improving the experience of doing interpretive research. They explore the centrality of experience in learning and teaching interpretive research, paying special attention to the role of emotions in the learning process, and the way that negative emotions, such as doubt and anxiety, can impart learning. The authors provide a novel approach to methods teaching by offering a set of heuristics, open-ended strategies of inquiry and discovery for improving the practice of social research. Uniquely, they demonstrate how emotions can be leveraged in the learning process to uncover surprising new insights about social reality and unlock researchers' imagination. They reveal how social researchers, engaged or interested in interpretivism in learning, can turn their research into an enjoyable, productive, and imaginative experience.

Participatory democracy has become an unshakable norm and its practice is widespread. Nowadays, public professionals and citizens regularly encounter each other in participatory practice to address shared problems. But while the frequency, pace and diversity of their public encounters has increased, communicating in participatory practice remains a challenging, fragile and demanding undertaking that often runs astray. This unique book explores how citizens and public professionals communicate, why this is so difficult and what could lead to more productive conversations. Using timely, original empirical research to make a thorough comparative analysis of cases in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy it shows policy makers, practitioners, students and academics the value of communicative capacity.