A methodological framework for constructing generic knowledge with intended value both for academia and practice

Résumé En

This chapter presents a methodological framework for collaborative research projects with practitioners aimed at developing knowledge from practitioners' experience, intended to be valuable both for scholars and practitioners. It begins with an overview of the epistemological paradigm in which this framework has been developed, namely the radical constructivist paradigm. It introduces the notion of epistemic work which plays a core role in the process of knowledge legitimization in this paradigm. It also introduces the notion of generic knowledge which offers ways of overcoming the issue of generalization in this paradigm. The second part provides an overview of the main processes involved in this framework and of the various facets of epistemic work in these processes. The discussion section offers insights on the context in which this framework was progressively conceptualized over the course of doing collaborative research. It then highlights the differing roles of practitioners and researchers in the various processes involved in the framework. Finally, it identifies where this framework stands in the action research perspective.