Is Partnership Research Better Research?

There are lots of reasons why we want to do ‘Partnership Research’.

We think ‘Partnership Research’ adds special things to research. ‘Partnership Research’ results in different understandings than research conducted only by ‘professional’ researchers. See What is partnership research key ideas

You can read about what Daniel - a researcher with learning disabilities - says about the benefits of him doing research with other adults with learning disabilities (see Daniel talks about partnership research).

‘Partnership Research’ can:

• Inform the ways in which research is done;
• Help provide a better understanding as researchers learn from their own lives;
• Can make sure that research and ‘life’ are not seen as two separate things;
• Learn more because everyone feels involved in the research process; and
• Give things to research participants (as well as learning from them). For example, meeting others with similar experiences, developing the confidence to carry out research, and providing access to resources.

As with all research, it is not certain that these good things will happen. You will see from some of the examples we use on this website that ‘Partnership Research’ is quite difficult in practice. See Partnerships: Questions and Challenges.

We hope that you find reading about some of our experiences helpful. We also hope that you want to continue trying to work in partnership.