Basic attitude
The CAYR methodology requires a specific basic attitude from everyone involved:
- Project leaders
For project leaders, it is important to take control in the process in addition to a focus on content. This means paying close attention to ensuring that all participants feel involved and informing them of progress and decisions taken. At the same time, project leaders should have the courage to take decisions and, where necessary, take the lead in developing the content of the research proposal. This requires a certain ‘process sensitivity’ and seniority. It requires the ability to see what is needed to move the process forward and adapt accordingly. The CAYR methodology should therefore not be used as a rigid set of instructions to be followed.
- Process managers
Process managers take over the control of the project leaders during meetings in which all participants work together to design and work on elements of the research proposal. This enables the project leader to contribute substantively to the discussion at those times. Process managers are open, curious, engaged and defer their own judgement. They are flexible, listen to participants and meet their needs. They take on a neutral stance in terms of the content and do not let their guidance be influenced by any opinion on the content of the study.
- Participants
Participants are engaged with the content of the study and find the topic important. They can deal with it when choices on the exact focus and direction of the research project have not been made for a while early on in the process of developing the research proposal. Participants explore underlying values and motives in themselves and each other for contributing to the research and are open about and curious about these and respect these in each other.
Besides being involved with the content, participants are also involved with each other. They pay attention not only to content but also to process and mutual relationships. Connections are formed when participants meet not only professionally as part of their job and on content, but also as people. This contributes to the long-term success of the partnership.
Participants find it important to look at the research proposal from different angles. The literature on research methods often focuses only on the research question and how the research design follows from this question. The CAYR methodology also considers other perspectives such as characteristics of the practice issue to which the research project should contribute, the knowledge gap, preconditions, the four types of research objectives and the sub-products to be delivered. When thinking about the research project, each of these steps can be used as a starting point. There is no need for a fixed order. The process often involves jumping from one element to another, as detailing or adjusting one element has implications for the other elements. This requires updating previously completed elements. It is therefore important to keep looking at all the elements, ‘circling’ around the research design until a complete, fitting and consistent whole emerges. This is inspired by the idea of ‘circling around a question’ by Oost & Markenhof (2002), an excellent booklet that can help in developing a good research question.
‘Circling’ as a term
The term ‘circling’ is often used by participants while applying the CAYR methodology to indicate that they do not want to take a decision yet, but want to look at the research idea from different angles. This gives them freedom to defer their decision for a while. This promotes the free exchange of ideas especially in the first four steps of ‘CAYR as a complete process’. However, after step four of the complete process, it is important to provide focus and make your decisions, and not ‘circle’ for too long. At the same time, decisions made later on sub-questions or the research approach, for example, may well lead to changes in earlier choices. That too is a form of ‘circling’.