Who am I, and who are you? Identity, engagement and colloboration in the era of online nursing research

Cox, Nigel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4159-9449, Miller, Eula, Wright, Karen and Haigh, Carol ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5399-6003 (2017) Who am I, and who are you? Identity, engagement and colloboration in the era of online nursing research. In: RCN International Nursing Research Conference 2017, 05 April 2017 - 07 April 2017, University of Oxford.

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Abstract

This symposium addresses the theory and practice of digital, online nursing research. Collectively, the papers acknowledge the emergence of service user or patient voice as a service delivery philosophy and modality, a standpoint which is also reflected in the movement towards collaborative and co-creative research methodologies. Individually, each paper problematizes the nature of personal identity in online research and, in different ways, asks the question: ‘Who am I, and who are you?’. Each paper frames this question differently in order to create a discussion about the different ways it might be answered. The opening paper by Cox, a nurse/healthcare researcher and anthropologist, considers three theoretical standpoints: how the ‘online self’ is governed (by people or researchers), how people are classified (or classify themselves), and the ritualistic nature of ethical risk assessment processes. The second paper by Miller and Wright, nurse researchers and mental health practitioners, aims to provoke critical interrogation and reflection upon potential issues that may occur when engaging and collaborating in online research with individuals who are coping/living with mental ill-health. The closing paper by Haigh, a nurse researcher and leader in healthcare ethics, gathers together and integrates Cox’s consideration of identity and ritual and Miller’s exposition of fractured reality in order to progress discussion about the the online self, personality disguise, and matters of governance. These emerging theoretical standpoints and practical contexts for nursing research present challenges for service users/patients, researchers, ethicists, and their sponsors. This symposium will be of interest to researchers and practitioners interested in advancing online methodologies, people working with vulnerable or hard-to-reach populations, and people working in the field of research governance.