How do we build an evidence base? Outcomes from small group discussions

One way to facilitate the implementation of research into practice is to encourage the co-creation of knowledge between researchers and practitioners. Rather than being transferred from researcher to practitioner, knowledge should emerge from collaboration. Thus the second day’s discussion was about how to build such collaborations and produce co-created evidence for autism practice.

Groups identified the following ways to build links and also discussed challenges to this process.

Sample ways to promote collaboration:

Researcher in residence for schools/charities. This can help to build relationships between researchers and practitioners and aid understanding of practitioner research priorities.

School collaborations. Researchers can engage with schools in order to make use of assessments conducted and data routinely collected.

Advisory groups. Practitioners can form advisory groups who inform each stage of research e.g. grant applications, data collection, dissemination of findings.

Social media. This can be used to communicate research findings and to gather feedback on potential research questions/methods before research even begins.

Collaboration should be long-term. Involvement of community members should be continued rather than tokenistic.  Long-term, positive and mutually respectful relationships between researchers, practitioners and those with autism and their families lead to the best outcome, but cannot be rushed. 

The heterogeneity of ASD means that researchers must be sensitive to a diverse range of priorities among community members. Some may prioritise interventions while other prioritise research into the strengths of those with ASD. Researchers should be sensitive to the views of often overlooked members of the community e.g. females, those who are non-verbal etc.

Linguistic and cultural barriers. Researchers need to be aware that the terminology they use may not be used by members of the community. Respectful language should be employed, acknowledging differences within communities.

Research outcomes. Researchers need to communicate the intended outcomes of research to members of the community, and to ensure that the outcomes are useful, valuable and practically relevant to the community.

Ethics. Collaboration must be respectful; members of the community should not feel exploited.This can be hard to achieve since the researcher usually starts out with all the power and control.

Practicalities. Researchers should ensure collaborative gatherings are autism-friendly e.g. noise levels, lighting etc.

This analysis of the small group discussion content was carried out by Sarah Hampton with support from Sue Fletcher-Watson.