Real life methodologies

Everyday lives combine the ordinary and the extraordinary, the mundane and the exceptional. It is important to devise methods that can appreciate this richness and mixture.

 

Our approach is qualitatively-driven because qualitative research is particularly good at doing this. We combine tried and tested methods such as ethnography, semi-structured interviewing, and surveys. Also, the use of inventive approaches that engage the senses and the imaginations of our research participants.

 

We like to approach our research questions with an interdisciplinary palette that work together to produce insights.

 

We have developed ‘Facet Methodology’ to encapsulate this approach. It is now used and developed by many researchers in the UK and internationally.

 

Between 2005 and 2011, some of our funding came from the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods. It allowed us to put ideas into practice, and run major international conferences and interdisciplinary dialogue events. Also, training events for researchers, to gain inspiration and improve their methodological understanding.

 

We have a range of free toolkits, working papers and audiovisual resources on research methods and approaches.