Socially Inclusive Research

Using The Wheel of Power to Navigate Power, Privilege and Intersectionality within Communities

Collaborating ❘ Inclusive Mindset and Intercultural Competence

In applied research across various community settings, successful outreach, communication with participants and an understanding of power dynamics and privilege are essential for researchers.

Truly inclusive social design is only feasible when respondents are closely and respectfully integrated at every stage of the research process. This necessitates a sharp awareness of power relations, for example in neighbourhoods where gentrification occurs.

This tool equips students to recognise both the subtle and overt manifestations of power that contribute to varying levels of marginalisation and privilege, thereby fostering their development into more inclusive and socially attuned researchers.

Learning outcome

The student is able to apply their understanding of power, privilege and positionality to develop and implement practical research guidelines that ensure inclusivity in research design

Students are guided through phases of self-awareness, sharing insights, and gaining an understanding of their research demographic, their individual position on ‘the Wheel of Power’ and the implications for them as a researcher. To ensure full engagement, it is recommended that students minimise distractions by setting aside electronic devices such as phones and laptops.

1.Power & Me

30 mins

Introduce the concepts of social identity, intersectionality and Duckworth’s ‘Wheel of Power’. The Wheel provides a way to recognise that individuals have many social identities, such as gender, social class and ethnicity. These identities may or may not be visibly apparent to others, yet they can significantly influence experiences and interactions.

Distribute the Wheel of Power handout and ask the students to individually reflect on the elements of the Wheel and think of their identities using the reflective questions.

Tip: note that the Wheel is rooted in North American societal norms, which might not fully represent everyone’s experiences. Engage the students in a conversation about any additions they would make to make the Wheel more inclusive of their contexts. Emphasise that the session won’t redesign the Wheel but that you’ll note their suggestions for future consideration.

Please note, as part of the assessment as learning, students answer reflective questions. Distribute the envelopes and sticky notes with the reflective questions, and give the students time to answer these questions individually. Allow students as much privacy as they need and point out that, throughout the whole activity, what they share is entirely in their hands.

2.Story Circles

50 mins

Allow students some quiet time to think of a life-story they would like to share in a small group. This story should illustrate their position on the Wheel of Power.

Demonstrate the generative power of vulnerability by sharing aspects of your own identity in relation to the Wheel of Power. Reflect on your own levels of privilege or marginalisation in response to the three reflection questions from Step 1. Then, share a personal story that illustrates your position on the Wheel of Power.

Divide the class into groups of four to form story circles, fostering a safe space for sharing and active listening, enhancing the depth of understanding amongst participants. It’s crucial that students listen attentively, without interruptions or direct questions, as the goal is to absorb and learn from each other’s experiences, not to offer solutions. In each story cycle, individual students have 3 minutes to speak, followed by 15-second ‘flashbacks’ from each participant.

Tip: instructions and storytelling guidelines can be found in the Instructions for Story Circles handout.

3.Research Populations

50 mins

Students join their research group and assign a time keeper and a facilitator among them. Ask students to take turns and talk for 3 minutes about how their position on the Wheel of Power affects their confidence or insecurity in carrying out research in the community. For the flashbacks, ask the other students to reflect on insights that are useful for the whole class to bear in mind for inclusive research.

Proceed with a plenary discussion where you explore the characteristics of the specific research community students are working with. What do they know about the community already? Which aspects on the Wheel of Power are the most relevant? Which insights emerged from the flashback session? Introduce the concept of a constructive mindset & values for inclusive social design.

Finally, students work in their own research groups to study their research population. Instruct students to draw their own version of the Wheel of Power with the most important variables for their specific population. Ask them to plot individuals and/or groups as well as themselves on the wheel.

Invite the students to discuss the following topics and let them take notes:

How does their relative position of privilege or marginalisation affect them as researchers?
How can they best gain access to their respondents?
How will they communicate respectfully throughout the whole research project?

4.Writing Research Manifestos

1 hour

Have the different research groups write a one-page manifesto based on their insights from Steps 1, 2 and 3 about what they have learned from conducting socially inclusive research.

Which shared core values and practices are important to keep in mind? What do they want to stand for? What will inspire them to be inclusive researchers? What do they need to remind each other about during the research project?

They can refer to the reflection questions, the notes they made during flashbacks, the class discussion on the characteristics of their research population and their insights as a project group.

If time allows, each group can present their manifesto to the class and ask for feedback.

Tip: see an example of a collaborative research manifesto by Barker et al. (2023)

5.Writing Communication Plans

30 mins

Each research group writes a practical communication plan based on their core values and the following guiding questions:

How will you approach your research population?
Which channels will you use to communicate?
How will you build and maintain trust?
How will you ensure that your respondents consent to your research?
How will you ensure that you know their needs?
How will you make their time investment worthwhile for them?
How will you ensure ownership?
How will you thank them for their time?

Please note, as part of assessment as learning, students answer reflective questions.

Students first work collaboratively in project groups on creating a values manifesto and converting it into a practical communication strategy, followed by answering two individual reflective questions.

Purpose

Assessment as learning aims to strengthen the learning process and the development of metacognitive skills. It empowers students to direct their own learning and to become independent, critical self-assessors.

Roles

Self-assessment

Characteristics

Self-regulated learning

Materials

Reflective questions

Download Reflective questions (Step 1)

Download Reflective questions (Step 5)

An explanation of important concepts such as social identity and intersectionality and Duckworth’s ‘Wheel of Power’ (Step 1), instructions for Story Circles and an optional variation (Step 2) and an example Collaborative Research Manifesto (Step 4) can be downloaded below.

Download Important Concepts Explained

Download Wheel of Power

Download Instructions for Story Circles

Download Example Collaborative Research Manifesto

Barker, N., Pervez, A., Wahome, M., McKinlay, A. R.,Al Haj Sleiman, N., Harniess, Ph., Puskás, N., Mac, D., Almazrouei, M. A., Ezenwajiaku, C., Isiwele, A., Tan, N., D’aprix, M., Petsou, A. & Love Soper, J. (2023). A collaborative research manifesto! An early career response to uncertainties, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 26:5, 581-597.

Center for Intersectional Justice (visited in April 2024). What is Intersectionality.

Collin, P., & Gerritsma, R. (2018). Inclusive Design Toolbox. Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab, Inholland University of Applied Sciences.

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti‐Discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Anti‐Racist Politics. In The University of Chicago Legal Forum (Vol. 140, p. 139).

Deardorff, D. K. (2020). Manual for developing intercultural competencies: Story circles. Taylor & Francis.

Riitaoja, A. L., Virtanen, A., Reiman, N., Lehtonen, T., Yli-Jokipii, M., Udd, T., & Peniche-Ferreira, L. (2022). Migrants at the university doorstep: How we unfairly deny access and what we could (should) do now. Apples: Journal of Applied Language Studies, 16(2).

Tajfel, H., Turner, J. C., Austin, W. G. & Worchel, S. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. Organizational identity: A reader, 56(65),

Teachwriting.org (2021). Writing a Manifesto: A Guide for Students.

Unesco (visited in April 2024), Enabling Intercultural Dialogue.

With thanks to Guido de Wilde, Lucho Rubio & Fenneke Wekker for inspiration. The tool is based on the tool that is used for the living labs in the Creative Business domain at Inholland, where students work on ‘wicked problems’ following design thinking principles in interdisciplinary groups.