00:00: Theory and theoretical frameworks are an essential part of our research, as they allow us to make sense of the world. But, in using theory, we need to be aware of the fact that our choice of theory and the role that theory plays in our research is filtered by our beliefs about the world and our position in this world. This is what is meant with the idea of positionality.
00:31: Everyone has their own particular identity, which may be shaped by their gender, ethnicity, race, class, religion, or sexuality. These characteristics define who you are and how you are perceived by others. So, this means that when you go out to do your research, you are not a neutral entity. You will be seen in a particular way and in turn the way in which you see the world will also be shaped by your position in it.
01:03: Rather than trying to hide this positionality, it’s important to reflect on it in your research – for instance, by including what is referred to as a positionality statement, in which you outline your understanding of yourself and what that brought to your research. Your positionality also shapes your research from an epistemological perspective. How does your position in the world shape the ways in which you produce knowledge?
01:30: Building on contributions from postcolonial studies, urban scholars, for instance, have done very important work in terms of what it means to see the world from a global south perspective, particularly in a context where much of academic knowledge production continues to be dominated by ideas and institutions from the global north. In their work, they argue that there’s a need to, what they call “provincialise,” existing knowledge and research from a global south perspective and build new geographies of theory that dislocate the center of knowledge production by charting new concepts and itineraries of research and analysis.
02:12: This kind of perspective also involves a focus on experimenting with different kinds of methodologies. In many contexts in the global south, it’s very difficult to use established research methods because they often assume the existence and availability of certain types of data or what you are able to do with them.
02:33: When this is not the case, as it often is, research comes with a lot of challenges that need to be overcome in creative but often time-consuming ways. There’s also an element of what is referred to as epistemic injustice, in that the continued hegemony of the global north in academic knowledge production tends to reinforce certain universally held ideas about the world to the detriment of local voices.
03:05: Trying to do research differently then almost becomes what some scholars have referred to as a political act of knowledge production. This involves, for instance, going beyond the adoption of conventional research views and methods by adopting different kind of modes of doing research. Some of this kind of work may involve pure research involving conventional data design, collection and analysis using established research theories and methods.
03:37: But, if you want to do this kind of more political kind of knowledge production that is different from the conventional approaches, you may also want to combine different research disciplines or work together with other groups in society in doing your research – such as practitioners, professionals or local communities in the co-production of knowledge through the creation of research networks and collaborations.
04:07: You may also want to find different ways to disseminate your research that goes beyond the traditional format of producing academic papers for your peers, but – for instance – writing opinion pieces for the general public, or by using methods of storytelling or visual methods. So, choosing a theoretical framework involves a reflection on all these different kind of things.
04:34: Who are you, and how does this shape the kind of research that you want to do? What are the most appropriate concepts to support your research and your processes of sense-making of the world? What kind of knowledge do you want to produce? And what do you think that this knowledge should do? Who do you want to be in conversation with?
04:58: Do you want to be in conversation with people in your discipline, in your particular geographical location, or do you want to be engaging with a global audience? Who are you writing for, and what is your purpose? All of these questions will drive the kind of research that you will do.