ABSTRACT
Influenced by critical disability studies, feminist thought and participatory and emancipatory approaches to research, this paper explores new ways of thinking about the ethics of developing a literature review during doctoral study. It questions what kind of knowledge the literature review values, whose lens is upheld and more importantly whose is ignored. It is argued that reimagining the literature review as a ‘community of knowledge’ and drawing on a variety of sources and voices, not only contributes to the overall transparency and integrity of the thesis, but enables the literature review to become a space in which dominant discourses can be challenged and unequal relations of power disrupted.
Notes on contributor
Francesca Ribenfors is a final year PhD student in the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University, exploring transition to adulthood for you people with learning disabilities in Greater Manchester. Francesca embarked on the PhD having spent over a decade working in various learning disability services both within the charity sector and Local Government.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).