Systemic Inquiry: Innovations in Reflexive Practice Research

This collection has been written by eminent members of the systemic communities to inspire reflexive practitioners and offer leading edge systemic research methodology with innovative approaches to systemic practice research. These practices of inquiry arise out of a comfortable systemic weaving of social constructionist, collaborative dialogical and narrative practices in the fields of therapy, consultation, teaching, supervision, leadership, organisational development, community work and activism.

Reflexivity runs through this collection like a rainbow thread connecting the reader to different forms of practitioner research. The book connects theoretical, ethical and technical challenges for the practitioner-researcher offering a theorethical grounding in systemic inquiry alongside innovative examples of approaches to systemic inquiry. These writings encourage practitioners to find approaches to practice research rather than feel they must adopt existing methods from modernist academic discourse. This book is written for anyone interested in inquiring into reflexive and relational practice and has particular appeal to doctoral and masters research students. It is of practical and theoretical help in forging connections between systemic practice, systemic inquiry and the wider field of post-positivist qualitative inquiry.

Contents

Mary Gergen - Foreword

Preface

Part 1 – Systemic Methodology

Gail Simon - Systemic Inquiry as a form of Qualitative Inquiry

Alex Chard - Orientations: Systemic Approaches to Researching Practice

Harlene Anderson - Collaborative-Dialogue Based Research as Everyday Practice: Questioning our Myths

Sheila McNamee - Research as Relational Practice. Exploring Modes of Inquiry

John Shotter - Methods for Practitioners in Inquiring into “the Stuff” of Everyday Life and its Continuous Co-Emergent Development

Part 2 – Innovations in Systemic Inquiry

Vikki Reynolds - A Solidarity Approach: The Rhizome & Messy Inquiry

Saliha Bava - Performative Practices, Performative Relationships - in and as Emergent Research

Jacob Storch & Karina Solsø - Reporting from inside the emerging process of becoming research consultants

Lisen Kebbe – Writing Essays as Dialogical Inquiry

Kevin Barge, Carsten Hornstrup & Rebecca Gill - Conversational Reflexivity and Researching Practice

Ann-Margreth Olsson - The Impact of Dialogical Participatory Action Research (DPAR). Riding in the peloton of dialogical collaboration

Andreas Juhl - Pragmatic inquiry as a research method for knowledge creation in organisations

Christine Oliver - Using CMM to Define Systemic Reflexivity as a Research Position

Sally St George & Dan Wulff - Research as Daily Practice