University of Leicester
Browse

Theorising Support for Interdisciplinary Early-Career Researchers Using Communicative Genre and 'Rules of the Game'

Download (516.85 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2024-03-12, 12:49 authored by Ninna Meier, Trish Greenhalgh, Gemma Hughes, Chrysanthi Papoutsi

Qualitative social scientists working in medical faculties have to meet multiple expectations. On the one hand, they are expected to comply with the philosophical and theoretical expectations of the social sciences. On the other hand, they may also be expected to produce publications which align with biomedical definitions and framings of quality. As interdisciplinary scholars, they must handle (at least) two sets of journal editors, peer reviewers, grant-awarding panels, and conference audiences. In this paper, we extend the current knowledge base on the 'dual expectations' challenge by drawing on Orlikowski and Yates' theoretical concept of communicative genres. A 'genre' in this context is a format of communication (e.g. letter, email, academic paper, and conference presentation) aimed at a particular audience, having a particular material form and socio-linguistic style, and governed by both formal requirements and unwritten social rules. Becoming a member of any community of practice involves becoming familiar with its accepted communicative genres and adept in using them. Academic writing, for example, is a craft that is learned through participation in the social process of communicating one's ideas to one's peers in journal articles and other formats. In this reflective paper, we show how the concept of a communicative genre can sensitise us to the conflicting and often dissonant expectations and rule systems governing different academic fields. We use this key concept to suggest ways in which the faculty can support early-career researchers to progress in careers which straddle qualitative social science and medical science.

History

Author affiliation

College of Social Sci Arts and Humanities/School of Business

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Published in

Qualitative health research

Publisher

SAGE Publications

issn

1049-7323

eissn

1552-7557

Copyright date

2024

Available date

2024-03-12

Spatial coverage

United States

Language

eng

Deposited by

Dr Gemma Hughes

Deposit date

2024-03-11

Rights Retention Statement

  • No

Usage metrics

    University of Leicester Publications

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC