Doing Work‐Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider‐Researchers

Citation

Treadwell, P. (2011), "Doing Work‐Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider‐Researchers", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 78-80. https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl.2011.1.1.78.1

This book focusing on the emergence of work‐based learning is very timely. In a global knowledge economy, the interface between universities and the public and private sectors has never been more important. In the UK higher education system, there is now a visible shift away from a simple supply side approach to a more integrated system which allows for the provision of high‐level study via blended and work‐based learning. This added educational focus, if it can be effectively co‐funded by the nation state and the private and public sectors, will see a massive growth in demand led, “just in time” and “just for me” high‐level learning. Upskilling our workforce and promoting organisational growth, economic regeneration and personal development are increasingly vital in these times of austerity.

This publication focuses on the nature of work‐based learning and work‐based learning project management. It has a necessary and strong emphasis on the significance of continuous learning of people already at work. It highlights the growing interest in practitioner‐led research and rightly stresses the importance of reflective practice and reflexivity for all of us in our working environments. It is particularly useful in that it is not just a research methods book for individuals and academics linked to work‐based learning – it is much more than that.

Chapter 1 superbly outlines key concepts for the “insider‐researcher” engaged in work‐based learning. It highlights some of the key processes and tensions that an insider‐researcher will be confronted with and headlines the significance of working in official and unofficial “communities of practice” in order to better understand ones own role and how to challenge ones own company to become a learning organisation.

Chapter 2 is a concise and eloquent walk through how an insider‐researcher should build a relevant knowledge bank in preparation for any work‐based project. It cleverly juxtaposes conventional academic literature review approaches with a broader search approach. It highlights the value of the “invisible college” of knowledge and information stored by people with a common interest who may be residing inside ones own organisation or professional community. It also highlights the power and growing accessibility of broadcast and worldwide web material. However, of particular significance in this chapter is the section on critical evaluation of any information that the insider‐researcher locates, and offers particularly helpful guidelines which promote discussion between the researcher and ones tutors or industrial mentors. For example, it asks a number of key questions of the insider‐researcher, including “what is the perspective of the writer you are studying and is there a logical flow of ideas in the text under scrutiny?” It goes on to ask challenging question about how this new knowledge impacts on the ideas and initial writing of insider‐researchers. It concludes with a helpful guide on how to structure a review chapter.

Chapters 3‐5 focus on ethical issues which are at the heart of work‐based learning research. They stress the importance of understanding the power dynamics inside ones own organisation and in particular some of the inevitable difficulties of whether one is able to distance oneself from ones own work‐based learning research. I found this particular group of chapters illuminating and sensitive as they emphasised the human side of work‐based learning research, especially linked to gaining access and approval for research in the first place and the ethics of care and gratitude as one engages in and finally concluded a research project. All of work‐based learning research requires a sensitivity and realisation that maintaining positive human relationships are at the heart of both research effectiveness and organisational change and development.

Chapter 6 was, for me as a work‐based learning academic trying to promote in situ learning with fellow academics and directors of human resources in companies, a most welcome structural guide. This whole aspect of negotiated learning where academic standards and demand led skills development can be married together offers massive opportunities for the learner, the supporting academic and industrial mentor. It is a springboard into Chapters 7‐9 which highlight the importance of the development of a clear research methodology, the benefits of collaborative research and the significance of reflection on professional practice.

Chapter 9 is of great significance in the way it demystifies reflective practice and builds strong connections between reflective practice and action research. It offers a valuable step‐by‐step guide to reflective practice and succinctly highlights some of the strengths and dilemmas in engaging in critical reflection.

The remaining four chapters draw on live work‐based learning projects for the reader to critique and begin to recognise the wide variety of research proposals and methodologies that are available for use. In particular, Chapter 10 on work‐based research in action astutely highlights how the insider‐researcher can generate new knowledge and insights into their own working environment and personal practice. A rich tapestry of over 20 work‐based research in action examples are offered to the reader and are superb “snapshots” of how workers as employees became insider‐researchers. They provide illuminating insights into how researchers aligned themselves to particular research perspectives and expert academic opinion on research methods like ethnography and case study. They also, individually and collectively, highlight the importance of clear research articulation of aims, objectives and potential outputs and offer fascinating cameos into our understanding of “the organisation” and stress the importance of researcher networking and collaborative working. If nothing else, this chapter is a superb catalyst for discussion around work‐based research methodologies.

The remaining chapters then offer a sensible linear progression from research proposal writing through to how to utilise the insider research for meaningful recommendations to academic and professional audiences and organisational leaders.

Overall, this is a superbly readable and enticing text for both first‐time insider‐researchers into work‐based research and to academics and industrial mentors already conversant with this important multi and trans‐disciplinary field of learning.

Each of the chapters has a stand‐alone significance to any reader. However, the collective impact of the book in terms of the knowledge, skills and understanding that it can provide the insider‐researcher cannot be underestimated.

I would recommend this book to any learner, practitioner or manager about to embark on research in their own organisation. It is both an authoritative and highly readable guide to the practice and underpinning theory of work‐based learning research. I have no doubt its reach and impact will be wide ranging.