Blurred lines of participation
Nexus analytical tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in change-oriented research projects
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21196752 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Riikka Tumelius (0000-0002-6909-8339, University of Oulu), Justyna Legutko (0000-0001-7193-5047, Linnaeus University, corresponding author), Minna Intke-Hernández (0000-0001-9843-7961, University of Helsinki), Polina Vorobeva (0000-0002-8078-7071, University of Jyväskylä) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1637-1657 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-28 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Applied Linguistics Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1868-6303 • E-ISSN: 1868-6311 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/applirev-2023-0097 |
| OpenAlex | W4405542968 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 33 |
This article discusses nexus analysis (NA) as a research strategy that provides specific tools for reflecting on the roles of researchers and participants in participatory research. While many research traditions use participatory methods and problematise what it means to participate in research, thus far the potential of nexus analytical concepts as tools to mediate such a reflection has not been discussed explicitly. In order to illustrate how NA promotes such reflections, we draw on four linguistic projects in multilingual settings that deal with (1) preservice teachers’ learning to design for language learning in hybrid environments on a university course, (2) plurilingual and collaborative teaching approaches to writing in language classrooms in secondary schools, (3) language socialisation of migrant mothers, and (4) family language policy in single-parent families. With this article, we demonstrate how the nexus analytical conceptual tools of ‘zone of identification’, ‘historical body’ and ‘interaction order’ facilitate reflection upon the researcher’s participatory engagement in various stages of the research process. We show that the lines between the roles of researchers and participants are blurry, in particular in research projects that focus on introducing social change. Additionally, we highlight the importance of reflecting on power relations between researchers and participants and how control over project direction and decisions can impact the representation and involvement of community members
Engineering ethics · Political science · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Engineering · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Psychology
Critical theory and critical participatory action research
Organization development
Second Language Socialization and Learner Agency
Discourses in Place
The Sage Handbook of Action Research
Participatory Research
Participatory Research Methods – Choice Points in the Research Process
The Role of Participant Research in Development
Hesitant versus confident family language policy
Families in flux
Toward a Unified Theory of Language Development
Nexus Analysis
The Interaction Order
Stimulated Recall Interviews in Ethnography
Analysis of language policy discourses across the scales of space and time
We did what we thought was best for our children
Are Academics Irrelevant
Nexus analysis
Socialization into single-parent-by-choice family life
What the Camera Sees and from Whose Perspective
Approaches to democratising qualitative research methods
The Application of Participatory Action-Research in Latin America
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |