Methodological Experiences in Collaborative Ethnography. Communication and Participation as Frameworks for Constructing in Common

Abstract

In this article, we will analyze how we built the research process of a collaborative ethnography with the Stop Evictions Granada 15M Movement (SEG15M). We will begin with a brief contextualization of the housing issues in Spain and the SEG15M movement to explain why we started the co-research experience with the movement. Next, we will clarify the composition, function, and main purposes of the ‘debate groups’ in our research, as well as their particular differences and dynamics concerning other qualitative techniques. Finally, we will focus on two main aspects, participation and communication, which emerged within the debates and later materialized into a transmedia project and the development of a radio soap opera. The latter is a product, and a process, of collaborative work that bridges communication and participation at the intra- and inter-group levels. It is a fictional story that emerges from the common lived experiences of the groups.