Abstract
Collective Memory-Work (CMW) is a qualitative research method involving the collective analysis of a set of focused memories. It enables an in-depth understanding of why people act in the way they do from their own lived experience, within a given social/political context. It is unique in providing participants with control over the entire research process and is capable of developing insights that challenge existing taken for granted knowledge. CMW draws on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of complexity theory. It is well positioned to explore new research questions within third sector research that have hitherto remained unanswered.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Billis, D. (2010). Hybrid organisations and the third sector: Challenges for practice, theory and policy. Hampshire, U.K: Palgrave Macmillan.
Brunt, C., & McCourt, W. (2012). Do international non-government organisations walk the talk? Reconciling the “two participants” in international development. Journal of International Development, 24, 585–601.
Chia, R. (1999). A rhizomic model of organizational change and transformation: Perspective from a metaphysics of change. British Journal of Management, 10, 209–227.
Chiles, T. H., Meyer, A. D., & Hench, T. J. (2004). Organizational emergence: The origin and transformation of Branson, Missouri’s musical theaters. Organization Science, 15(5), 499–519.
Crawford, J., Kippax, S., Onyx, J., Gault, U., & Benton, P. (1992). Emotion and gender: Constructing meaning from memory. Sage.
Dooley, K. (2014). Complexity science models of organizational change and innovation. In M. Poole & A. Van de Ven (Eds.), Handbook of organizational change and innovation. Oxford University Press.
Dunlop, R., & Johnson, C. (2018). How does media consumption contribute to understandings of manhood according to race and sexual identity? In C. Johnson (Ed.), A methodology for learning with and from lived experience. Taylor and Francis.
Frost, N., Eatough, V., Shaw, R., Weille, K., Tzemou, E., & Baraitser, L. (2012). Pleasure, pain, and procrastination: Reflections on the experience of doing memory-work research. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 9(3), 231–324.
Goldstein, J. A., & Hazy, J. K. (2006). Editorial introduction to the special issue: From complexity to leadership and back to complexity. Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 8(4), v–vi.
Goldstein, J., Hazy, J., & Silberstang, J. (2008). Complexity and social entrepreneurship: A fortuitous meeting. Emergence: Complexity and Organization, 10(3), 9–24.
Goldstein, J. (2011). Emergence in Complex Systems. In P. Allen, S. Maguire, & B. McKelvey (Eds.), The sage handbook of complexity and management. SAGE.
Halpern, D. (2005). Social capital. Polity Press.
Hansson, K. (2020). Remembering (art) work: Collective memory-work in higher arts education and research. Other Education: The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 9, 112–135.
Haug, F., et al. (1987). Female sexualization: A collective work of memory. Tr Erica Carter.
Johnson, C., Kivel, D., & Cousineau, L. (2018). The history and methodological tradition(s) of collective memory work. In C. Johnson (Ed.), A methodology for learning with and from lived experience. Taylor and Francis.
Kast, F., & Rosenzweig, J. (1972). General systems theory: Applications for organisation and management. Academy of Management Journal, 15, 447–465.
Kenny, S., Taylor, M., Onyx, J., & Mayo, M. (2016). Challenging the third sector: Global prospects for active citizenship. Policy Press.
Lewis, D. (2005). Globalisation and international service: A development perspective. Voluntary Action, 7, 13–25.
Lough, B., & Carter-Black, J. (2015). Confronting the white elephant: International volunteering and racial (dis)advantage. Progress in Development Studies, 15(3), 207–220.
Lowe, T. (2017). ‘Performance management in the voluntary sector-responding to complexity. Voluntary Sector Review, 8(3), 319–331.
Markula, P., & Friend, L. (2005). Remember when memory work as an interpretive methodology for sport management. Journal of sport Management, 19(4), 442–463.
Morcol, G. (2020) Issues in reconceptualizing public policy from the perspective of complexity theory. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.
Onyx, J., Wexler, C., McCormick, T., Nicholson, D., & Supit, T. (2020). Agents of their own well-being: Older women and memory-work. Other Education: The Journal of Educational Alternatives, 9(1), 136–157.
Onyx, J., & Leonard, R. (2011). Complex systems leadership in emergent community projects. Community Development Journal, 46(4), 493–510.
Onyx, J., & Small, J. (2001). Memory-work: The Method. Qualitative Inquiry, 7(6), 773–786.
Plowman, D., Solansky, S., Beck, T., Baker, L., Kulkarni, M., & Travis, D. (2007). The role of leadership in emergent, self-organization. The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 341–356.
Ritchie, J., & Lewis, J. (2003). In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage Publications.
Rochester, C., Ellis Paine, A., & Howlett, S. (2010). Volunteering and Society in the 21st century. Palgrave Macmillan.
Rogers. D., Lilley, D. and Butler, P. (2013). The research-policy-praxis nexus: A dangerous liaison involving a housing practitioner, and academic and a tenant advocate. In 7th Australasian Housing Researchers conference, Fremantle.
Skelcher, C., & Rathgeb Smith, S. (2014). Theorizing hybridity: Institutional logics, complex organizations and actor identities: The case of nonprofits. Public Administration, 93, 2.
Small, J. (1999). Memory-work: A method for researching women’s tourist experiences. Tourism Management, 20(1), 25–35.
Small, J. (2021). The sustainability of gender norms: Women over 30 and their physical appearance on holiday. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1874396
Small, J., Cadman, K., Friend, L., Gannon, S., Ingleton, C., Koutroulis, G., McCormack, C., Mitchell, P., Onyx, J., O’Reagan, K., & Rocco, S. (2007). Unresolved power for feminist researchers employing memory-work. In I. Ateljevic, N. Morgan, & A. Pritchard (Eds.), The critical turn in tourism studies: Innovative research methodologies (pp. 261–278). Elsevier.
Turner, J., & Baker, R. (2019). Complexity theory: An overview with potential applications for the social sciences. Systems, 7, 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems7010004.
Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2007). Complexity leadership theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era. The Leadership Quarterly, 18, 298–318.
Funding
No funds, grants, or other support was received for preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author has no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Onyx, J. Methods in the Third Sector: Collective Memory-Work in a Complexity Framework. Voluntas 33, 1132–1139 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00405-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00405-y