Towards a tinkering participatory research method in mental health

Figures & data

Table 1. The relation between ideology, methodology and research design.

Ideology	Liberal	Emancipatory	Caring
Ontology	Medical model: The disorder is located in the body	Social model: The disorder is caused by social conditions	Interactional model: The disorder is compounded by a blend of impairments and social conditions
Participant research because	Knowing the preferences of an influential customer leads to a better product	The survivor is oppressed and demands justice	The patient knows his/her situation best
Participant research as	Consultative and temporary	Commanding, management of all parts of the project	Ambiguous, imprecise and negotiable
Research design	Consultative	User-led	Collaborative
Purpose of research	Increased diversity and efficiency of the mental health system by means of choice and commodification of health services	Creation of a new health-care system by means of strong and independent special interest groups	Maintenance and improvement of care and education by means of tinkering activity and consensus making
Project owner	Health service groups	Survivor groups	Health service groups
Preferred research methodology	Empirically based surveys and interviews	Empirically based action research	Phenomenological-based lifeworld-led descriptions
Research method viewed as	Superior and imperative. Loyalty to well established methodological rules	Minor and subordinate. Loyalty to the political goals of the oppressed	Contextual, but important. Loyalty to the tinkering activity of improving care