Using Co-Design to Conduct Equitable Research

My research aims to provide a person-centred approach to providing insight into the perceptions of identity experienced by NEET individuals as they begin their journey towards employment in the tech industry via an adult learning, technology-enhanced (TEL) blended programme on web development. I will use narrative inquiry through the lens of Structural Symbolic Interactionism and Identity Theory. Following a social constructivist approach, this research aims to put the participant at the forefront of all aspects, including research design, striving to give a voice to the marginalised communities with which it is concerned. My conference poster explores this approach, which is also sympathetic to the intersectionality at play, ensuring the privileged voice, experience and interests are set aside to redistribute power away from the researcher and towards the participants. My aim with this research is to make the process more equitable. While certain aspects of the research are set (such as interviews and focus groups taking place online), what happens within these sessions is not. Co-design allows participants to be involved in the process of this research. Involving the people to whom the research is aimed brings unique but relevant perspectives that the researcher does not possess and helps ensure the approach is suitable for the target audience. This could include how questions are posed, the language used, identifying anything triggering or insensitive and making the questions as accessible as possible, for example. This approach reflects the findings of the YESTEM and Making Spaces Projects run by University College London, which identified value in co-production, including an increase in participant agency and confidence, especially for those from underserved communities.