Hurtubise, Roch

Analyzing practices of intervention, restitution, and validity - 2001.


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Restitution and validity are at the heart of action research. We present a research training case that combines a pedagogical approach and a research process. Our analysis of the practices of street workers required the establishment of an infinitely variable system of restitution implying continuous and cumulative exchange between researchers and contributors. The contextualized reception, the potential appropriations, and the mechanisms of translation that are inherent to this system are discussed. Moreover, to overcome the impasse between scientific conceptual validity and empirical validation by the research participants, we reflect on three main aspects: knowledge, recognition, and finally reflexive identification. In this context, the ethical dimensions of research raise new issues.