Chapter One
4
sense of pseudo-autonomy. In both cases, the passage from passive
acceptance of knowledge to its active discovery is weighed down.
Engaging in research design could be described as an initiation ritual
that eases and adds a sense of safety to this passage, a safety that stems not
only from the individual’s experiences but also from the recognition he
receives from the academic community and, of course, his supervisor.
What a number of today’s early-stage researchers seem to fear is the
assumption of responsibility, what we refer to as coming of age. This
substantial number of novice researchers looks back at their pre-research
age with nostalgia and finds growing up a difficult experience. They may
comply and react, but they do not know how to agree or disagree. This
stance stems from an incomplete perception of reality. Research adulthood
does, in fact, imply responsibilities, but not just any responsibilities. Not
the responsibilities assigned by someone else (e.g. the supervisor), but
those that individuals assume themselves because it is their wish to do so.
A researcher should be able to bask in the joy of research and discovery,
and not feel like a recruit following a schedule whose every step has been
determined by someone else.
The metaphor “recruit” alludes to someone who executes orders given
by a superior. Orders that are not his own, that he does not want, has not
envisioned and ultimately has not decided for himself. If he fails to carry
out the order, he will be punished since it is his duty to do the job assigned
to him. Yet if a researcher is to become truly independent, he must first
discover his own wants. What he himself wishes, and not whatever others
might prescribe. The want we are referring to has nothing to do with the
want of a trainee who thinks only of immediate satisfaction, who is
demanding and does not take any rules into consideration. We are
referring to want as will, a mature want that stems from and is defined by
the researcher’s identity. It is through this will that he will be able to
determine the future of his own research path. This path is to a large extent
governed by the characteristics of adult education.
Each time a researcher embarks on a new project, he will find himself
in uncharted waters and will look for ways to deal with this new situation.
However, many of the things the researcher experiences may possibly be
related to the research topic and may therefore enhance the early design
process. At this stage, the researcher develops a tendency towards mostly
“self-directed learning” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1991), where he is
primarily responsible for designing and assessing his own research.
The researcher will enter a process where he creates knowledge by
reflecting on his experiences (e.g. his studies in a particular discipline, any
relevant work experience), the aim being to generate new ideas that will