Overview

Two themes run through this research: one more practical, the other more theoretical. The first argues that collaboration in research should be regarded as a methodological choice and as such should be evaluated to decide if that is the best approach for a particular study. This evaluation should involve an assessment of the goals of the project and of the conditions under which the project will be carried out. The second theme explores the idea of the potential of collaborative research between researchers based in different locations, arguing that it can become a meeting space for different standpoints. When researchers based in different locations and "cultures" collaborate in a project, they can create a space where their perspectives can be made explicit and shared. I am not contending that collaboration necessarily implies a combination of the different perspectives. I am suggesting that it is in respectful sharing that a more complex understanding of the research endeavour can be developed. For the different perspectives to be articulated, a more inclusive understanding of research, one that is not bound by academic criteria, needs to be used. As a starting point I propose a strategy for talking about research that presents research as any systematic and rigorous endeavor that has the intent of generating new -or uncovering subjugated- knowledge and is shared.

This dissertation has six chapters. In chapter two I present two main arguments based on the literatures I review. First I explore the literature on collaboration and contend that there is an underlying notion in most of the literature that presents collaboration as an ideal state when conducting research. Researchers have to collaborate with subjects and researchers have to collaborate with other researchers. The idea of why it is "good" or "better" to do research collaboratively is not specifically questioned. The second argument is grounded in standpoint feminism and it contends that collaboration can become a space where different standpoints can be developed.

In three I describe how I collected and analysed the data. I explore the notion that this is a non-collaborative project done on collaborative research and point at challenges I faced as I did the study.