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PDW 04 – Analyzing and Theorizing Raw Qualitative Data as a Collective

Convenors:
David Hollis
The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Monica Nadegger
LMU – University of Munich, Germany
Ellen Nathues
University of Twente, The Netherlands

Call for Applications

Purpose

This PDW is held as part of the EGOS Standing Working Group (SWG) 06 on “Communication, Performativity, and Organization”. Of course, participation is also open to scholars not (yet) involved with this SWG; we envision the proposed event as a welcoming and stimulating space for all interested EGOSians. Specifically, this PDW focuses on analyzing and theorizing raw qualitative data from a variety of interpretive perspectives that encompass, but are not limited to, communication- constitutes-organization (CCO) (e.g., Ashcraft et al., 2009; Cooren et al., 2011; Schoeneborn et al., 2019), performative theory (e.g., Cabantous et al., 2018; Gond et al., 2016), and affect theory (e.g., Gherardi, 2017; Reckwitz, 2017). The workshop offers a space for interested scholars to share and discuss their raw empirical material as a collective.
 
Much of what we do, as interpretive researchers when making sense of our data, continues to remain in a figurative black box, especially those first moments of exploring the material for intriguing hooks, surprising puzzles, potential theoretical connections, and so on. Common questions abound, particularly so for early career researchers, such as: Is what I am seeing in the data interesting and relevant? Do others share my observations and interpretations? What other angles could be useful for my work, and which theoretical notions could I maybe contribute to?
 
In our experience, such and similar questions are best answered when coming together as a collective. That is precisely why, with this PDW, we seek to create a space where scholars can jointly discuss data and generate ideas. We have in mind an event that facilitates knowledge exchange and learning and that fosters new connections and collaborations; a hands-on workshop where a select number of presenters share their data to analyze it with the other participants in the room. In doing so, participants will be able to discuss raw data around the same time as discussing more ‘polished’ data at the main Colloquium. This will provide currently-lacking insight into the data journey many of us individually encounter, but too infrequently explore together as a collective. We successfully convened a PDW following the same format at EGOS in 2023, but please see the next section for more details on the PDW and the back of our idea.
 
The background: ‘The Communicative Constitution of Organization (CCO) Data Collective’
Since 2020, The CCO Data Collective has provided a space for CCO, performativity, and (more recently) discursive scholars to come together virtually to share, analyze, and theorize data. The Collective currently stands at over 65 members from North America, Europe, and Asia across a spectrum of career stages, from doctoral to full professorial. So far, twelve online events have been successfully run with data from diverse research projects as well as two in-person workshops. A website and a mailing list keep members informed about forthcoming events and provide brief synopses of those already run, please visit: https://www.ccodatacollective.com/
 

Format

This PDW 04 consists of three main parts:

  • Part 1: Welcome and introductions

  • Part 2: Presentation and collective discussion of raw qualitative data (the convenors will make a selection beforehand regarding which empirical material will be shared and discussed)

  • Part 3: Collective reflection

 

Application

We invite applications from scholars with an interest in how to analyze raw data from a variety of interpretive perspectives that encompass, but are not limited to, communication-constitutes- organization (CCO), performative theory, and affect theory.
 
There are two ways of participating: (A) with sharing own data or (B) without sharing own data (discussing others’ data).
 
(A) If you would like to participate and share your own data, please submit – via the EGOS website – by April 30, 2024 a single document (.docx or .pdf file) that includes the following information:

  • Your name, affiliation, contact details, and career stage;
  • A short introduction to your empirical data (including what intrigues or puzzles you about the data)
  • An extract/description of or a link to your raw data (if the data is not anonymized or publicly available, please make sure to acquire the needed consent)


We welcome various data types, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • Textual (e.g., archives, emails, reports, blogs, social media, etc.)

  • Audio (e.g., audio recordings + transcriptions of interviews, conversations, etc.)

  • Visual (e.g., video recordings + transcriptions of meetings, interventions, as well as Youtube videos, images, drawings, etc.)

Please make sure that transcripts are translated to English.

(B) If you would like to participate without sharing your own data, please submit – via the EGOS website – by April 30, 2024 a single document (.docx or .pdf file) that includes the following information:

  • Your name, affiliation, contact details, and career stage;

  • A short text about your interest in attending the workshop and what sort of data you typically or presently work with, including the perspective(s) you apply.
     

References

  • Ashcraft, K.L., Kuhn, T.R., & Cooren , F. (2009): “Constitutional amendments: ‘Materializing’ organizational communication.” The Academy of Management Annals, 3, 1–64.
  • Cabantous, L., Gond, J.-P. ,& Wright, A. (2018): “The performativity of strategy: Taking stock and moving ahead.” Long Range Planning, 51, 407–416.
  • Cooren, F., Kuhn, T., Cornelissen, J.P., & Clark, T. (2011): “Communication, organizing and organization: An overview and introduction to the Special Issue.” Organization Studies, 32, 1149–1170.
  • Gherardi, S. (2017): “One turn … and now another one: Do the turn to practice and the turn to affect have something in common?” Management Learning, 48, 345–358.
  • Gond, J.-P., Cabantous, L., Harding, N., & Learmonth, M. (2016): “What do we mean by performativity in organizational and management theory? The uses and abuses of performativity.” International Journal of Management Reviews, 18, 440–463.
  • Reckwitz, A. (2017): “Practices and their affects.” In: Hui, S., Shove, E., & Schatzki, T. (eds): The Nexus of Practices: Connections, Constellations, and Practitioners. New York, NY: Routledge, 114–125.
  • Schoeneborn, D., Kuhn, T.R., & Kärreman, D. (2019): “The communicative constitution of organization, organizing, and organizationality.” Organization Studies, 40, 475–496.
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David Hollis is a Lecturer in Organization Studies at Sheffield University Management School, United Kingdom. His research interests broadly revolve around rethinking classic notions of organization and management theorizing (OMT), like power, authority, and leadership, from communication as constitutive of organization (CCO) and/or performativity perspectives. David’s research is largely ethnographic in nature and involves studying organizational groups that are often under researched in OMT, such as make-up artists.
Monica Nadegger is is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Innsbruck (Department for Organization and Learning) and the MCI – The Entrepreneurial School (Department for Tourism & Leisure Business) in Austria. Monica’s research is guided by CCO (communicative constitution of organization) and feminist new materialist perspectives and focuses on materiality, resistance and alternative organizing. In her most recent work, she explores the constitution of resistance through netnographic approaches on digital platforms and more-than-human relations in the winter tourism industry.
Ellen Nathues is an Assistant Professor of Organization, Collaboration & Communication at University of Twente, The Netherlands. Her research broadly focuses on processes of organization and communication, particularly in pluralistic, open, and/or temporary contexts such as interorganizational collaborations or learning communities. More specifically, she is interested in questions of multivoicedness, agency, materiality, and multimodality. Ellen’s research is mainly of an ethnographic, qualitative nature, and she also has a strong interest in methodological work.