Research encounters, reflexivity and supervision

Reflexivity in qualitative and ethnographic social science research can provide a rich source of data, especially regarding the affective, performative and relational aspects of interviews with research subjects. This paper explores by means of three case examples different ways of accessing and using such reflexivity. The examples are drawn from an empirical psycho-social study into the identity transitions of first-time mothers in an inner-city multicultural environment. Fieldnotes and supervision were used to engage with researcher subjectivity, to enhance the productive use of reflexivity and to address the emotional work of research. The methodology of the supervision was psychoanalytic, in its use of a boundaried frame and of psychoanalytic forms of noticing oneself, of staying engaged emotionally as well as creating a reflective distance. The examples illustrate how this can enhance the knowledge gained about the research subjects

Helping Farmers Adjust to Policy Reforms through Demonstration Farms: Lessons from a Project in England

Market pressures and policy changes have heightened interest in knowledge and technology transfer in English agriculture. A government funded project, Forward Farming (2002-2004) established three separate pilots to test different ways of using demonstration to encourage change at farm level: a network of monitor farms covering the arable and livestock sectors; farms demonstrating integration between agriculture and the local community, landscape and markets; and a web-based virtual demonstration farm for the pig sector. This paper reports the results of a government-commissioned evaluation of the project. The methodology for the evaluation is described: quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect information from host farmers, a wide array of stakeholders and farmers who attended and those who did not attend Forward Farming events. Data were then compared with six case studies of monitor and demonstration programmes. The evaluation found that the monitor farms were successful in attracting farm businesses that already access sources of advice and information and in stimulating ideas for change. However, while there is a strong economic argument for public funding of demonstration, this does not necessarily require a permanent network of fixed farms. Funding to support demonstration activities from a wide range of providers, and to stimulate demand for them among farmers, will provide a more flexible option for the future

Helping Farmers Adjust to Policy Reforms through Demonstration Farms: Lessons from a Project in England

Market pressures and policy changes have heightened interest in knowledge and technology transfer in English agriculture. A government funded project, Forward Farming (2002-2004) established three separate pilots to test different ways of using demonstration to encourage change at farm level: a network of monitor farms covering the arable and livestock sectors; farms demonstrating integration between agriculture and the local community, landscape and markets; and a web-based virtual demonstration farm for the pig sector. This paper reports the results of a government-commissioned evaluation of the project. The methodology for the evaluation is described: quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect information from host farmers, a wide array of stakeholders and farmers who attended and those who did not attend Forward Farming events. Data were then compared with six case studies of monitor and demonstration programmes. The evaluation found that the monitor farms were successful in attracting farm businesses that already access sources of advice and information and in stimulating ideas for change. However, while there is a strong economic argument for public funding of demonstration, this does not necessarily require a permanent network of fixed farms. Funding to support demonstration activities from a wide range of providers, and to stimulate demand for them among farmers, will provide a more flexible option for the future.Knowledge transfer, demonstration farms, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Beneficence in psycho-social research and the role of containment

Within the context of research ethics beneficence consistently receives less attention than non-maleficence and research ‘benefits’ are predominantly understood in tangible, intentional terms. Scanter attention has been given to the more subtle aspects of the research process that elicit less tangible, and often unexpected, benefits for research participants. Drawing on a study conducted with social workers in two childcare social work settings, this article outlines how psycho-social approaches to research – and specifically the concept of containment – can provide fruitful theoretical and conceptual frameworks for the development of more complex understandings of beneficence in the research process. The article concludes by proposing that there is scope to enhance the experience and quality of research if, from the outset, attention to containment is embedded within the research process. Realizing ‘containing’ research involves firstly, recognizing the capacity of researchers to retain an observational stance of ‘negative capability’ that attends to research processes and secondly, understanding the importance of social researchers being contained through appropriate support systems that help to manage the anxiety inherent in social work research contexts specifically, and human relations research, more broadly