The CAYR model
The CAYR methodology consists of several components that people making a research proposal will encounter. These components are visually represented in the CAYR model:
To print the model, click here.
Model components with associated supporting questions
Each of the eight components of the CAYR model can be linked to supporting questions that participants can ask themselves and each other while working on a research proposal:
- Stakeholders
Who are involved in the practice issue and in what way do we want to collaborate with them in the research project?
- Practice issue
What is the situation to be remedied? What opportunity is there to improve practices in the field?
- Knowledge gap
Which knowledge is already available and which is not yet available on the (approach to) the practice issue?
- Objectives
What objectives do we aim to achieve through research in the areas of knowledge development (research), personal development (professionalisation), systemic development (change) and product development (design)?
- Questions & sub-products
What is the research question associated with the knowledge objective what sub-questions can it be divided into?
What are the (sub-)products/intermediate results we want to deliver that fall under the professionalisation, change and/or design objectives?
- Approach
How do we shape the research approach so that we can achieve our different types of objectives?
- Preconditions
What preconditions do we need to take into account when conducting our research?
- Consistency check
How do we ensure that the research proposal as a whole is a consistent unit?
The above supporting questions can provide guidance for thinking systematically about the design of the intended research project during the CAYR process. The CAYR worksheet has been developed for recording (preliminary) answers to these questions.
The manual for CAYR as a complete process provides suggestions on how a partnership can start working with CAYR, for each component of the model.
The research design along with the basic principles on which the method is based lie at the heart of the model. All components are set up around this, as the CAYR process can be started from any component. This means that you can start by thinking about the preconditions for the research project, or the preferred methods to be used in the research approach. Perhaps a draft research question has already been given and the partnership wants to distil the underpinning practice issue from it? Any starting point is good, provided the end result is a research proposal that has focus and forms a consistent whole.
It is important to note here that research is not the right tool for every single practice issue. If in retrospect a practice issue turns out not to be problematic, then research is unnecessary. The same applies if the knowledge needed to tackle the problem is already available. Alternatively, a research project may be desired but not feasible or realistic, or the question may be so complex that it cannot be answered. It also may be the case that a particular design is desired (such as a randomised experiment) but is not feasible in the situation at hand. This means that while talking or thinking about each element of the Circling Model, reasons may arise to decide not to do a research project at all but to do something else (e.g. initiate a change process or adapt policy in the practice context).
Elements
The research design at the heart of the CAYR model is surrounded by six elements. The elements ‘objectives’ and ‘questions & sub-products’ are very closely linked, so we could also view these as five elements. This is reflected in the design of the CAYR model. These elements are part of CAYR as a complete process, but can also be embedded as separate elements in a custom process of arriving at a research proposal.