From Fairytales to Spherecards: Towards a New Research Methodology for Improving Knowledge Productivity

With this article we hope to encourage researchers and practitioners in the field of Per­for­mative Social Science (PSS) to design research in which researchers and practitioners co-produce knowl­­edge that can advance theory and practice in a given domain. In doing so, their work will con­trib­ute to the process of knowledge productivity and learning. We believe that identifying, gather­ing and interpreting relevant information, and us­ing this information to develop new capabilities is cru­cial for success in our knowledge society. Co-producing knowledge asks for personal engage­ment; it will be a personal experience you won't forget. The kind of research that contributes to co-pro­duc­tion of knowledge is emergent, elastic, and non­linear (TYLER, 2006) and provides the oppor­tu­nity for researchers and practitioners to collab­orate, move along with the research as it unfolds, take changes in the environment and in people as an integral element of the research, and look for ways to improve the performance of the partici­pants and their practice. This article contributes in two ways to the field of PSS. Firstly, it presents a model that connects re­searchers and practitioners in a collaborative learn­­ing experience as they wander through the stages of co-production. Secondly, it presents eight dif­ferent methods that support the learning process of both researchers and practitioners through the different stages. These eight different methods show how art is used for the sake of aesthetics or beauty itself, and as a way of con­duct­ing research that enhances learning processes.