Conducting collaborative research across global North-South contexts: benefits, challenges and implications of working with visual and digital participatory research approaches

ABSTRACT

There are a variety of important methodological considerations for collaborations between global North researchers and local community-based researchers undertaking empirical investigation in the field of sport for development and peace (SDP) in the global South. To explore these, we outline the participatory action research methodology adopted in this study and the use of visual and digital methods to explore the use of bicycles to achieve international development goals – as part of what we call the ‘bicycles for development’ (BFD) movement – in Uganda. We describe (1) the preparation involved in such an approach; (2) the collaborative processes of visual and digital methods utilised for the research; and (3) key elements of our participatory approach, including mutual learning, understanding expectations of the international partnership, and interpreting the nuances involved in conducting cross-cultural research. We conclude the paper by discussing the methodological implications these three elements have for future SDP and BFD research and the importance of critically considering team-based, participatory action research.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaborative research
• community-based
• participatory action research
• visual and digital methods
• cross-cultural

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. It is important to note that while our methodology and the larger research project the paper is based on is guided by postcolonial feminist theory, this is not the focus of the current paper. Instead, we are more so focused on the use of participatory visual and digital methods and the actual engagement of team-based PAR research in the global South by North/South researchers and what this involves.

2. Pseudonyms are used for participants and for both villages in which the research was conducted.

3. The Langi (Langi is the plural of Lango). Lango refers to an individual Langi. The Lango are one of the ethnic groups in the present-day northern Uganda. They occupy the districts of Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Lira, and Oyam. It is believed that they belong to the ateker, a paranilotic people such as the Karamajong, Toposa, Iteso, Turkana and Jie group, yet they speak Luo language. They share a lot of material cultures with the Luo stalk in east Africa.

4. In Indigenous research frameworks, it is often that sharing circles are utilised for the purposes of respecting Indigenous storymaking and sharing of stories, which adopt a healing method to ensure all participants are equal, through spiritual and emotional information sharing. A sharing group follows a similar ethos, however, are not named sharing circles specifically as not to appropriate the method of sharing circles. In addition, sharing groups follow many techniques that visual and digital research employ to promote narratives, storytelling, and participant interpretations (infer., Mitchell 2008).

5. Permission was given to the research team to take photos of participants, and participants have given permission to use these photos in publications.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under Grant Number 435-2016-0090.