Examining the management of stake and interest in a participatory design Facebook group

Meredith, J; Galpin, AJ; Robinson, L

Abstract

This paper analyses the micro-dynamics of a participatory design (PD) Facebook group for breast screening. We argue that using online PD methods enables participants to be fully involved throughout the research process and can lead to meaningful outcomes and impact for the research. It is important to ensure that all stakeholders are equally involved in the research. As such, understanding how a user’s stake or interest is managed can help to uncover how professionals and lay people participate together in such groups. A case study approach is adopted, with an example presented from a PD Facebook group established to develop a web resource around breast screening. 70 threads from the Facebook group were analysed in a naturalistic way using discursive psychology. The analysis shows how participants aimed to manage the dilemma of being seen as interested due to their professional identities through referring to joint membership of the design group. However, there were still challenges in ensuring that lay members’ contributions were not diminished by more professional members. The analysis suggests that in an online PD group, moderators may be needed to ensure that potential conflicts of interest are managed appropriately and all members’ views are heard.

Citation

Meredith, J., Galpin, A., & Robinson, L. (2020). Examining the management of stake and interest in a participatory design Facebook group. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 19(3), 658-677. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780354

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 15, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jun 17, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 17, 2020
• Deposit Date: May 18, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2021
• Journal: Qualitative Research in Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1478-0887
• Electronic ISSN: 1478-0895
• Publisher: Routledge
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 658-677
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780354
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780354
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14780887.asp
• Additional Information: Access Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Qualitative Research in Psychology on 17th June 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14780887.2020.1780354