Research friend/facilitator. A research friend or mentor is someone with experience in research in practice who can provide support with the research aspects of the project. Some projects have built in research support. In British Columbia, Marina Niks, an academically trained researcher, has provided support for a number of researchers in practice. More recently, one of the practitioners that Marina supported has been able to draw on her research experience to support another researcher (Marina Niks, personal communication, January 2008).
Is there someone in your area who might provide such support, or is there someone you could work with by e-mail? If you are applying for funding to do your research project, you might budget to pay for research support.
Research network. A research network links researchers in practice. They usually work on their own projects and meet with others in the network for discussion, feedback and support. The evaluator for the RiPAL Network project in Alberta found that:
The opportunity to come together as a group to share experiences, ideas and struggles emerged as the most meaningful aspect of the project. The meetings were experienced as a chance to exchange ideas, to offer and receive input, and to resolve problems with individual research projects. Participants described these gatherings as inspiring and motivating and as providing a means of refocusing their thoughts. They particularly appreciated the connections with colleagues who understood and shared their struggles and were able to offer meaningful support. (Sykes, 2005, p. 7)
Collaborative research. In collaborative research, two or more researchers study the same topic. In Canada, collaborative research projects have been supported by the Festival of Literacies (http://www.literaciesoise.ca/) and RiPAL BC (http://ripal.literacy.bc.ca/).
The following research reports contain discussions about the collaborative