Contextualising and Mobilising Research

Abstract

Most of the chapters in this collection are either predicated on, or make reference to, the value of mobile methods in researching in place or ‘being there’. This is a critical element of mobile methodologies that presuppose the centrality of mobility in everyday life and societal structures (Urry, 2000, 2007; Cresswell, 2006). This methodological approach, along with methods that best capture mobilities, are considered crucial in enhancing our knowledge of the world. An exploration of the notion of researching in place, in spatial context, can tell us about both these elements of mobile research. Firstly, being in place is always relative to another place. A specific spatial context can only be given meaning in relation to another, or to a space it is not. These spatial contexts are then linked by mobility, be it corporeal, visual, audial, imagined or virtual. Secondly, researching in situ requires consideration of the research methods that make this possible. It can both demonstrate the need for mobile methods as well as their application. This chapter is based on my research, which explored the mobilities of the school journey and involved consideration of the same research questions with a group of young people in different spatial contexts. In doing so this chapter describes the process, outcome and implications of research that is mobile, and involves a number of different spatial contexts.