1. Conceptualise your Research Landscape
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Engaged Excellence in Research and Teaching Practices
Conceptualise your Research Landscape
Research 1, Session 10, Day Two

2. Learning Outcomes By the end of this session, you will:
Conceptualise and map the research landscape
Identify who benefits from the research within this landscape
Identify how others could help with your research

3. Understanding research benefits & context
Flickr.com/iita-media-library

4. Activity: Network Mapping Exercise
The purpose of the Network Mapping exercise is to:
Enable you to draft your research question using a strategic and participatory approach
Help you reflect on the knowledge landscape
Group activity: 30 minutes

5. Step 1: Network Mapping
List key stakeholders including those expected to change in some way (behaviour, policy, attitudes) and those that can influence the issue. They may include:
Partners
Funders
Individuals
Groups of individuals
Civil society organisations
Academics
Policy actors
Media
Source:

6. Step 2: Network Mapping
Categorise your stakeholders and consider what level of access you have to them:
Type of stakeholder
Access
Partners and funders
Researchers
Civil society
Policy maker
Others including private sector, media etc.
Core partner
Good relationship
Some relationship
Distant relationship
No relationship

7. Image of Network Map

8. Activity: Network Mapping Exercise
Create a network map whilst considering and reflecting on the following:
What people or organisations share an interest in or are knowledgeable about the topic and could become collaborators?
Whose agenda does the research meet?
Are there people in related fields that could collaborate?
Is the nature of the stakeholders different depending on whether the research question is ‘researcher-led or citizen-led’?
(30 mins)

9. The content is authored by:
Professor Mark Hepworth,
Professor in People’s Information Behaviour, Centre for Information Management, Loughborough University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.