I and we : towards an understanding of collaborative educational research contribution

The research outputs within this portfolio demonstrate sustained inquiry over seven years which has added progressively to the understanding of collaborative educational research contribution. This research developed out of my work with the iPED (inquiring pedagogies) research network which I co‐founded in 2005. The portfolio contextualizes and critiques four journal articles and two peer‐reviewed book chapters published between 2007 and 2012. Through these studies of educational research at Coventry University, I make a significant and original contribution to knowledge, firstly by synthesizing evidence of the facilitators, drivers and barriers to contribution within collaborative educational research; and secondly by offering three new models which help to make the contribution of collaborative educational research more transparent. The Influence Wheel provides a visualization of research contributions as an interactive image. The model can also reveal gaps in contribution, and can be adjusted to display the aspects of contribution of interest to an intended audience. Product‐Based Analysis provides a holistic view of the strategic drivers, goals and interim outcomes of research. This model can be used to analyze, develop, track or communicate a research strategy. Finally, the Enhanced Three‐Phase Model articulates the social and cultural transitions through which a collaborative educational research community may evolve. Used alongside an analysis framework I devised using themes from works of fiction, this model exposes the problems and opportunities a collaboration community may encounter. These three tools exemplify my creativity in devising new ways of visualizing information, an approach adapted from the field of management where graphics are commonly used to supplement text. Methodologically, all the portfolio outputs employ insider inquiry strategies which capture different perspectives on the research context. Conceptually, all the outputs offer social representations of collaborative educational research. These studies offer questions and interim findings which provide opportunities for future research.