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Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State
(AH/L009636/1)
http://researching-multilingually-at-borders.com/
Researching Multilingually: Possibilities and Complexities
Mariam Attia (Durham University) Jane Andrews (University of the West of England)Prue Holmes (Durham University)Richard Fay (The University of Manchester)
AHRC Workshop, London, 12 February 2016
Introduction: What is “Researching Multilingually”?
Part I: What are the possibilities for and complexities of researching multilingually?
Part II: What are the ethical and other considerations which researching multilingually raises?
Part III: How can we develop our confidence and competence in researching multilingually?
Outline
Introduction:
What is “researching multilingually”?
www.researching-multilingually-at-borders.com(AHRC large grant under the “Translating cultures” theme, 2014-17)
http://researchingmultilingually.com/(AHRC network grant, 2011-12)
To investigate and clarify the epistemological and methodological processes of researching in more than one language—whether dialogic, observational, textual, or mediated—and their implications for research design, instruments, data collection and generation, translation and interpretation, and reporting.
Possibilities, opportunities, challenges, complexities• network project (1)
Aim of the AHRC network project
Concepts of borders and security/insecurity raise important practical and ethical questions as to how research might be conducted.
Focus on Methods: comparing across discipline-specific methods, interrogating arts and humanities methods where the body
and body politic are under threat, developing theoretical and methodological insights as a
result. There are some pockets of work in disciplines but no overarching
framework across multiple disciplines.”
Context of the AHRC large-grant project:Languages under pressure and pain
(at borders)
How do researchers generate, translate, interpret and write up data (dialogic, mediated, textual, performance) from one language to another?
What ethical issues emerge in the planning and execution of data collection and representation (textual, visual, performance) where multiple languages are present?
What methods and techniques improve processes of researching multilingually?
How does multimodality (e.g. visual methods, ‘storying’, performance) complement and facilitate multilingual research praxis?
How can researchers develop clear multilingual research practices and yet also be open to emergent research design?
(These questions emerged out of the earlier AHRC Network grant - AH/J005037/1)
RMTC Hub research questions
In supervisory practice, there is the assumption that English is the norm
Whether a research student uses other languages (lit review, data collection/transcription/analysis) in the research process is usually undiscussed.
Theses are expected to be written and presented in English. There are no policies on inclusion of other languages.
The preferred language of publication is often English (for status, promotion)
Oral examinations take place in English. There is no agreement on what constitutes “correct” English in
academic writing. Yet, many postgraduate students in universities in the
English- speaking world do not have English as their first language.
The “monolingual” university
How researchers draw on their own, and others’ multilingual resources in the researching, reporting, and representation of people where multiple languages are at play
“The process and practice of using, or accounting for the use of, more than one language in the research process, e.g. from the initial design of the project, to engaging with different literatures, to developing the methodology and considering all possible ethical issues, to generating and analysing the data, to issues of representation and reflexivity when writing up and publishing” (Holmes, Fay, Andrews, Attia, 2016, in press).
“Researching multilingually” – a definition
… from the inception of a research project, to designing the project, the lit review, research questions, research framework, choice of methods, ethics, reflexivity, analysis, modes of (re)presentation
The researching multilingually process
Researchers Trajectories in engaging in multilingual research Researcher/participant(s) relationships; power; ethical practices Data collection methods Interviews; focus groups (intersubjectivity) Consent forms (multimodality); recording; observing Questionnaires (in market research - “quick & dirty”; the limits of
“back translation”) Language choices Possibilities and complexities of not knowing a language How to include local, regional, tribal, and colonial languages Languages as opportunities and affordances
Aspects of researching multilingually (1)
Literature reviews:
As a researcher do you consult literatures in a range of languages? Why? Why not?
Should we acknowledge it when we reference academic works which are translations, e.g., the works of Lev Vygotsky, writing in Russian?
Should research students feel obliged to read and reference academic literature in English, even when they share the language of the original writing?
Does it feel potentially beneficial to reference only works in English? If so why?
Aspects of researching multilingually (2)
Interpretation/translation:
Interpreter = participant’s advocate, cultural mediator for “monolingual” researcher
Working with translators—need to share purposes & approaches of research
Translator = co-researcher Mediators—how do they influence interpretation of findings?
What about children speaking for parents/men speaking for their wives?
Transcription (coding implications?)
Aspects of researching multilingually (3)
Ethical issues:
Do ethical approval processes support researching multilingually practices?
Are researchers ensuring their research processes allow research participants to respond in a range of languages (of their choice)?
When we gain informed consent from research participants do we provide information in a range of languages, if appropriate?
Do ethical approval processes encourage researchers to engage with participants who may not have their preferred language as English?
Aspects of researching multilingually (4)
Representation: Who is involved? When? At what level? Preparing translated data for the supervisor/examiner – when is enough enough? Faithfulness? The correct way? Interlingual (pragmatic/contextual) glossing? Publication? Policy: Which languages & where? Expertise of supervisors/examiners? Institutional policies? Editorial/publishing practices?
Aspects of researching multilingually (5)
Researchers, supervisors, examiners, editors, publishers, interpreters/translators/transcribers
Geopolitics of English/ELF? Ethical procedures and practices Internationalisation/globalisation have brought new
insights into these processes We need to avoid being “essentialist” about language
and languages
Implications for the higher education context
The overarching construct for our thinking about the possibilities for and complexities of researching multilingually
Researcher purposefulness
The informed and intentional research(er) thinking and decision-making which results from an awareness and thorough consideration of the possibilities for and complexities of all aspects of the research process (including RM-ly).
(Holmes, P., Fay, R., Andrews, J., & Attia, M. (2016, in press). How to research multilingually: Possibilities and complexities. In H. Zhu (Ed.) Research methods in intercultural communication. London: Wiley.
Implications for the researcher
Being purposeful, creative, and resourceful
An emergent RMly conceptualisation Purposefulness
• Making informed and intentional researcher decisions• Researcher reflexivity & sensitivity, identity
Relationships• Researcher, supervisor, participants,
mediators/translators/interpreters/transcribers• Trust, ethics, power
Researching multilingually spaces (including context) • Research (topic); researched; researcher; re/presentation• Interdisciplinary insights• Institutional culture
Theoretical implications
University policies – what guidelines exist for influencing practices of supervisors? experienced researchers? doctoral researchers? examiners? ethics committees? language choices in theses?
Research Council policies – are practices sympathetic to “researching multilingually”? Are evaluators alert to opportunities and possibilities for researching multilingually? Are practices more “local” to disciplines or individuals?
Academic & professional association guidelines – how attuned are they to researching multilingually issues?
(see http://researchingmultilingually.com/?page_id=503 Fay & Holmes presentation, IALIC, University of Durham, 2012)
Policy implications
Issues we are exploring …
Research methods textbooks need to give attention to researching multilingually – taking issues beyond language-related disciplines
Research training courses for all students Supervisor training/guidelines Community researcher training/guidelines
Pedagogical implications
To ensure the trustworthiness of the research, RMly researchers might consider the following:
build and nurture relationships among all stakeholders- Interrogate positions of power and positioning
recognise the values and motivations of those initiating, undertaking and evaluating the research- project funders, supervisors, ethics committees, other researchers,
policy implementers
negotiate the institutional parameters of the research site or context - e.g., the institutions involved
investigate the in-between, and often unexplored, spaces—the silences, interruptions, apprehensions, unexplored and unarticulated tensions and decision making—invoked in the minds of researchers, supervisors, and research participants (and other stakeholders)
Conclusion
For the researcher, “researching multilingually” involves …
Multiple languages and linguistic resources Purposefulness (Critical) approaches (theory/methodology) Interculturality Relationships Research context & spaces
In summary …
Part I
What are the possibilities for and complexities of researching multilingually?
Part II:
What are the ethical and other considerations which researching
multilingually raises?
Task 1Input 1,2,3
Task 2
Task 1:Look through the headings under which the British Educational Research Association (BERA) provides guidance on ethics.Work with a partner or small group to think together about these two areas:
a) The possible “researching multilingually” issues connected to each heading.
b) The ways in which these, or other, ethical issues tend to be explored within your discipline, context for research, paradigm, institution.
Disciplinary perspectives on ethics ….
Perry (2011) ethics from the perspective of research governance Review of practices of Institutional Review Boards Diversity of practices between institutions regarding research
with refugees ‘imposition’ of ethical assumptions and practices – anonymity as
a desirable feature of research practice Assumption that lack of English language skills puts a research
participant in a category of being “vulnerable” Question – are governance practices framing multilingual
participants in inappropriate ways?
Perry, K.H. (2011) Ethics, Vulnerability, and Speakers of Other Languages: How University IRBs (Do Not) Speak to Research Involving Refugee Participants in Qualitative Inquiry 17/10, 899-912
Institutional positions towards ethical research practice in multilingual contexts?
When I go into a horrendous camp situation as a white researcher, the people are so desperate for any form of assistance they would agree to anything just on the off chance that I might be able to assist. It makes asking for permission to interview them or take photographs a farce… What does ‘informed consent’ mean in an isolated refugee camp with security problems and no proper interpreters? [Personal communication, Linda Bartolomei, 2004] p.234 Question – do we contextualise our consideration of ethical
research practice sufficiently?
Pittaway, E., Bartolomei, L., Hugman, R. (2010) ‘Stop stealing our stories’: The ethics of research with vulnerable groups in Journal of Human Rights Practice 2/2, 229-251
The influence of contexts for research and ethical practices
educational sociologists - studies of Asian young people’s experiences of education in England and Black parents’ experiences of their children’s education
Concerns with power imbalances between researchers and participants and research relationships
Abbas – a “same-ethnicity” researcher Crozier – background sharing to develop rapport Both researchers – participants had a choice of language with
which to engage in research encounters
Abbas, T. (2006) A question of reflexivity in a qualitative study of South Asians in education: power, knowledge and shared ethnicity in Ethnography and Education 1/3, 319-332Crozier, G. (2009) South Asian parents’ aspirations versus teachers’ expectations in the United Kingdom in Theory into Practice 48: 290-296
Power relations and ethics in relation to RMly
5.1c Are any participants likely to require special consideration in the preparation of the Participant Information Sheet/Plain Language Statement to ensure informed consent (e.g. the use of child friendly language, English as a second language)
“plain language” rather than “plain English” allows space for consideration of linguistic diversity
Researcher agency – by engaging with institutional processes researchers can feed into their development
Engaging with and shaping institutional processes for
ethical approval
How might we evaluate or put to the test the quality of our researcher processes?
What resources are available within our disciplines or professional associations / groups?
Task 2 – Share possible sources of support and discuss one example – Squires (2009)
RMly, ethics and research quality
Summary of points Ethical research practice may be defined in narrow, mono-cultural
ways which may not serve our research purposes or our participants
The contexts for our research may demand that we re-interpret or develop new approaches to implementing ethical research practice
Ethical practice and researching multilingually can cover broader issues of concern to researchers e.g. power, rapport, representation
We can engage with and shape institutional practices relating to good research practice, ethics and researching multilingually
Part III:
How can we develop our confidence and competence in researching multilingually?
Building a wider RMly researcher knowledge base and network:
www.researchingmultilingually.com
www.researching-multilingually-at-borders.com
1) What is your experience of doing research in more than one language?
2) What is your experience of becoming aware of the complexities in this area?
Send 300 – 500 words (same text can be offered in different languages) and photo (JPEG) to [email protected]
Mailing list: [email protected]
An invitation to participate
Thank youTak
شكراMerciGrazie
Danke schönXie xie 谢谢
[email protected]@[email protected]
Holmes, P., Fay, R., Andrews, J., Attia, M. (2013). Researching multilingually: New theoretical and methodological directions. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(3), 285–299.
Holmes, P. Fay, R., Andrews, J., Attia, M. (2016, in press). The possibility of researching multilingually. In H. Zhu (Ed.), Research methods in intercultural communication: A practical guide. London: Wiley.
