Crafting research from the liminal space

Abstract

Tony Watson developed an approach of ‘intellectual craftsmanship’ within management research and writing, and appealed for the hand behind the text to be made visible. This paper considers the tensions apparent between the utility of writing and the positionality of the researcher. I explore the tensions, limitations and formational development evident within this relationship through a reflection upon an Action Research Project co-constructed within a third sector faith-based organisation. The ‘hand behind the text’ is not static, and the positionalities of researcher and organisational role are in constant conversation. Such conversation is frequently internal and at a liminal level, with the researcher between two thresholds of understanding. The level of critical reflexivity afforded within this space is to forces that are both liberating and constraining. The liminal space inhabited by the researcher is the location for the crafting of the research project, the formation of the writing and critical reflection. In this paper, I consider the opportunities and consequences of the researchers’ liminal location, and raise the possibility of ‘Attentiveness’ as a means of revealing issues of power, place and emotion within both researcher and the organisation.

Keywords:

• Action Research
• critical Action Research
• positionality
• liminality
• liminal space
• critical reflection
• critical Action Learning
• graphics
• graphical interpretation
• hermeneutics