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Researching in Partnership

Reflecting on a Collaborative Study with Mental Health Service Users into the Impact of Compulsion

University of Birmingham, UK, j.j.c.tew{at}bham.ac.uk

Involving service users as full partners in qualitative research requires a reappraisal of many aspects of methodology and practice. This article reflects on a research project which explored the impact upon mental health service users of having been compulsorily admitted to hospital. All interviews were conducted by service user researchers who also played a key role in devising research questions and evaluating results. Building on theoretical understandings of standpoint knowledge and power relations, the article reflects on how well partnership was achieved, and on the contribution made by service users at each stage of the research. It concludes that, while the process of collaboration was generally positive for both service user and academic researchers, imbalances of power could skew relationships and impact adversely on the potential value of the research. It is hoped that this will contribute to current debates as to how best to take forward service user involvement in social work and mental health research.

Key Words: co-researching • narrative • partnership • power • service users • standpoint knowledge

Qualitative Social Work, Vol. 7, No. 3, 271-287 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1473325008093702


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