Description:
Studies on factors that motivate researchers conclude that financial rewards, recognition, curiosity and a desire to contribute; the so-called, Gold, Ribbons, Puzzle and Morals motivating factors, combine to explain why individuals start and continue to be researchers. Lived experience with significant, often life-changing events as a patient, carer, victim, or bystander has motivated many, directly or indirectly, including me, to become researchers. In this chapter, I draw on introspection to examine my journey through 25 years of research experience in university settings. I use concepts from dual systems theories that identify intuition and cognition as two processes that come together to explain how key events and situations in life have influenced my decisions. This illustrates how critical events have mediated the Gold, Ribbon, Puzzle and Morals factors that were motivating my research efforts.
Description:
Living with a life-long medical condition or a serious disease requires a lot of research skills on how to access the best quality information to inform better decision-making of healthcare consumers. Relatives, friends, and carers are often sharing the stress and responsibility of looking after the healthcare of consumers. They feel personally responsible for meeting not only physical, but also information needs of people they care for. With the internet being almost a default source of a wide variety of information, and health information in particular, this interview-based chapter reflects on what are the opportunities and challenges for information and communication technology (ICT) researchers who aim to address the personalized needs for quality healthcare information provision. Professor Frada Burstein is a leading information technology researcher specializing in smart information portals in health care. Her research has contributed to the transformations in web-based information systems architecture to empower patients. She was named the ICT Educator of the Year for her pioneering work in knowledge management and ICT education. In this interview with Grant Meredith, she reveals how her intense experiences caring for her father led her to focus her intelligent systems research toward health care.
Description:
Lived experience can add an important dimension to research. Whilst acceptance of lived experience in research has not exactly taken hold yet, there is a movement towards valuing the contribution lived experience can provide, especially in some research areas. This book chapter explains how lived experience drew me, as a researcher in one discipline, to move into another research area—family violence. It is not living with family violence per se that resulted in the discipline change, but more so the systems that keep victims bound to perpetrators of family violence. I realised through my experiences that living with family violence can feel like a one-way ticket where there is no return journey; no escape route. I use my lived experience with navigating systems (namely legal systems) to contribute to family violence research. This chapter explains my three court journeys and how those outcomes and experiences led me to turn my research attention to family violence. This chapter also explains how the research gaps I uncovered could best be found through lived experience. This chapter, therefore, provides an important perspective on both the value of lived experiences with research, as well as the field of family violence (focusing on legal systems).
Description:
Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, causing pelvic pain and fertility issues. This surprisingly common condition started for Rachel with her first period, in primary school, but was not diagnosed for many years. Her journey into research into this debilitating condition has just begun.
Description:
In this chapter Grant Meredith, the discipline leader of Information Technology for the Global Professional School at Federation University (Australia) outlines his journey as a person who stutters from his rural Australian upbringing through to being an Information Technology academic. This passage to academia is a reflection on an unconventional odyssey that has meandered from blue collar careers to a university education and beyond. The author discusses what it means to him to have vocal difference and how it may have influenced his research path. Along the way he questions his identity as a person who stutters and find his own “community” to engage within.
Description:
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent, deadly killer. CKD causes your kidneys to become damaged and can no longer clean your blood. As a result, your body becomes overloaded with fluid, and you suffer from headaches, migraines, nausea, vomiting, and most days, it feels like someone punched you in the back, amongst other symptoms. Like many other Australians, it was too late when I was diagnosed with CKD. My kidney function had reduced to 18%. Despite following a strict diet and medication schedule, within 2 years of diagnosis, my kidney function reduced to less than 5%, and I became a haemodialysis patient. I have survived this time by using a positive mindset and regular meditation. This chapter is my story of CKD from a young child to the current day and how becoming a haemodialysis patient inspired me to become a CKD researcher with lived experience.