Ett oskrivet samarbetsavtal

Forskningsdeltagarnas upplevelser av ett avhandlingsprojekt

Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe what happens to people who make themselves available for research. Based on discussions with five young men who were presented to a general public in my Ph.D. thesis, I have examined their varying reactions to this public exposure. It is obvious that the publicity caused embarrassment, but what is most striking is that they seem to have gained a great deal from their eight-year involvement in a common project. Our continuous discussions have helped them in their identity process and in becoming adults; they have become interested in new issues and come to apprehend the research project as a joint venture where they cannot withdraw their contribution (i.e. their spoken and tape-recorded thoughts) without hurting the project. Between them and the researcher a mutual but unwritten contract seems to have come into being.