Where is I? Autoethnography in Collaborative Research

Autoethnographic research-by its nature-centres the experiences, perspective, interests and voice of its individual (though situated) subject. What does this mean, then, in the context of collaborative research projects involving teams of researchers? How do the contexts, dynamics and interests of research partners shape, complement or undermine the interests and reflections of autoethnographic researchers working towards collective goals? To reflect on these questions, this chapter provides an annotated conversation between two types of researchers on a recent Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded project: members of academic staff at a British university and a participant film-maker who was responsible for producing an original filmic intervention on the theme of British Muslim Values. The chapter's conversational content explores questions of power and interests in collaborative research on a contested and controversial contemporary topic: British values and their relationship to Islam. The chapter's conversational form foregrounds the multiplicity of voices within participatory research of this sort, pulling attention to wider dynamics of intellectual agreement, disagreement, interruption and uncertainty.