Psycho-social Perspectives in Policy and Professional Practice Research

Abstract

In this chapter we explore the use of a psycho-social perspective in a two-year research project¹ on how public service urban regeneration professionals negotiate ethical dilemmas and the coping strategies and resources they draw upon in doing so. We examine some of the dilemmas and challenges to emerge from the adopted research methodology. We suggest that a psycho-social perspective adds a valuable dimension to the field of qualitative research when using in-depth narrative interviewing. Further, it heightens awareness of the researcher-researched dynamic and its relationship to both data production and analysis. In contrast to other psycho-social researchers, we argue for more of a dialogical relationship between researcher and research participants. This provided additional insights and enabled us to share our understandings with the research participants throughout the process. The research outcomes were intended to have an impact on professional training, practice and development, and the method gave due recognition to the participants’ value-base and provided a reflective space for participants to develop new insights and change behaviour. We begin by outlining the development of a psychosocial perspective to research. We identify its core components developed to date and explain how we modified a number of them before exploring some of the dilemmas in using a psycho-social approach.