Researchers' Construction of Knowledge from Studying Professional Conversation Groups

Abstract

Data from written correspondence and conversations gathered from the authors'study on knowledge construction was used to examine the process of interpretation, or how researchers construct ‘knowledge about knowledge construction.’ The notion of ‘working in the interpretive zone’ was used to conceptualize interpretation among researchers as a collaborative act. Specifically, the authors discuss how intellectual, social, interpersonal, and dispositional aspects of their collaboration shaped their understandings about the process and outcomes of the study, the research methodology, and the theoretical insights that emerged from the study.