Samara Akpovo
Robyn Brookshire
Mary Jane Moran
How did this book come to be? How long what you been working on this?
The book was conceptualized in October 2014 during a conference we (Samara, Mary Jane, and Robyn) were attending. The entire process of writing the book proposal, having it peer reviewed, obtaining a book contract from a leading publisher, selecting and reviewing chapters, and the final stages of editing and proof reading took 3 years. – Samara Akpovo
Actually, the original idea was Samara’s and when she first proposed a book on cross cultural research I felt reluctant but also excited. I had not worked on a book before and Samara was the lead editor on two in 2014. So, our journey began with a conversation in Denver and grew into a project that reached others from around the world. – Mary Jane Moran
I remember being so honored to meet Samara in Denver and to get to know here at the seminar we attended, which was also attended by other notable thought leaders in early childhood. I was delighted that she approached us to collaborate and was eager to have a chance to work together. – Robyn Brookshire
What was exciting to you about this project?
To see how an idea comes to life. Obtaining a book contract with Routledge Press/Taylor and Francis is not easy. We worked very hard to select a leading publisher and highly-regarded cross-cultural scholars to contribute chapters. – Samara Akpovo
As the chapter drafts began to roll in, the excitement built because the narratives were rich with “on the ground” experiences and windows into researchers’ efforts to enter into diverse settings as visitors. For most researchers, they ended up feeling more like an adopted member of each community. These experiences add much to the research methods descriptions. – Mary Jane Moran
This was my first book project so everything was exciting and new, but the collaboration and relationship building was by far the best aspect of our work. – Robyn Brookshire
What do you hope for this text?
That the content is used not just in theory but also in practice. I hope the frameworks offered in the book push researchers to reconsider how they collaborate with researchers, teachers, families and participants while conducting cross-cultural research. – Samara Akpovo
When you strive to alter the position of “the researched” to a position of “partner in research” the ability to delve into the members’ everyday lives contributes to and enriches the findings. – Mary Jane Moran
I hope the book satisfies other scholars who are seeking to do research with people and for people; that they will find common ground with the ethics and approaches that are shared by the authors of the chapters in the book; that it provides just as much for others to think about how to be researchers as it does how to do research. – Robyn Brookshire