Breaking the cycle: A methods reflection on the transformative potential of challenges in participatory anti-discrimination research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17169/ogj.2026.414Keywords:
Diversity, Participation, Anti-Discrimination, Epistemology, MethodologyAbstract
In recent years, there is increasing institutional interest in collecting quantitative anti-discrimination and diversity data (ADDD) as evidence for structural barriers to inclusion. We reflect on the challenges that emerged during the participatory development of a quantitative instrument to collect ADDD in German academia. Theoretically, we ground our reflection in an integration of feminist and intersectional perspectives drawing on internal documentation materials. The results imply that routine ADDD collection stabilizes existent knowledge on marginalization when institutionalized categories are reified as well as when the addressed community members drop out or refuse to participate. To break this self-reinforcing cycle, reflexivity, participation, and care should be embedded into institutional practices as a part of the institutionalization of gender and diversity.
References
Ahmed, Sara (2012): On being included. Racism and diversity in institutional life. Durham: Duke University Press.
Ahyoud, Nasiha/Aikins, Joshua Kwesi/Bartsch, Samera/Bechert, Naomi/Gyamerah, Daniel/Wagner, Lucienne (Ed.) (2018): Wer nicht gezählt wird, zählt nicht. Antidiskriminierungs- und Gleichstellungsdaten in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft. Eine anwendungsorientierte Einführung. Berlin. Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes (2020): Bausteine für einen systematischen Diskriminierungsschutz an Hochschulen. Berlin. https://www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/publikationen/Expertisen/bausteine_f_e_systematischen_diskrimschutz_an_hochschulen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 (09/10/2026).
Archer, Margaret S. (2024): Coincidence. A word with two meanings for explaining and predicting the future. In: Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 54 (3), 354–365. doi: 10.1111/jtsb.12405
Bayirti, Nilay/Oloff, Aline (2026): Gruppendiskussionen als Element eines diskriminierungskritischen Diversitätsmonitoring. Open Gender Journal, Special Issue 4. doi: 10.17169/ogj.2026.428
Blackburn, Heidi (2017): The status of women in STEM in higher education. A review of the literature 2007–2017. In: Science & Technology Libraries 36 (3), 235–273. doi: 10.1080/0194262X.2017.1371658
Boni, Alejandra/Walker, Melanie (2020): Potential of participatory action research processes to overcome epistemic injustice in non-ideal university settings. In: Walker, Melanie/Boni, Alejandra (Ed.): Participatory research, capabilities and epistemic justice. A transformative agenda for higher education. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 243–259. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-56197-0_10
Brady, Shane R. (2015): Utilizing and adapting the Delphi method for use in qualitative research. In: International Journal of Qualitative Methods 14 (5), 1–6. doi: 10.1177/1609406915621381
Çağlar, Gülay/García Peter, Sabina/Gerlach, Jana/Pantelmann, Heike (2025): Editorial zum Schwerpunktthema Diversity und Rassismus im Hochschulkontext. Glänzende Fassaden und gebrochene Versprechen. In: ZDfm. Zeitschrift für Diversitätsforschung und -management 10 (1), 3–8. doi: 10.3224/zdfm.v10i1.01
Call-Cummings, Meagan/Ní Sheanáin, Úna/Buttimer, Chris (2022): School-based YPAR. Negotiating productive tensions of participation and possibility. In: Educational Action Research 30 (1), 76–91. doi: 10.1080/09650792.2020.1776136
Capoccia, Giovanni/Kelemen, R. Daniel (2007): The study of critical junctures. Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism. In: World Politics 59 (3), 341–369. doi: 10.1017/S0043887100020852
Christopher, Suzanne/Watts, Vanessa/McCormick, Alma Knows His Gun/Young, Sara (2008): Building and maintaining trust in a community-based participatory research partnership. In: American Journal of Public Health 98 (8), 1398–1406. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.125757
Cleveland, Roger/Sailes, JaDora/Gilliam, Erin/Watts, Jillian (2018): A theoretical focus on cultural taxation. Who pays for it in higher education. In: Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal 5 (10), 95–98. doi: 10.14738/assrj.510.5293
Cooper, Luke (2013): Can contingency be ‘internalized’ into the bounds of theory? Critical realism, the philosophy of internal relations and the solution of ‘uneven and combined development’. In: Cambridge Review of International Affairs 26 (3), 573–597. doi: 10.1080/09557571.2013.814045
Crenshaw, Kimberlé (2016, 14th March): Kimberlé Crenshaw. Intersectionality and gender equality [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DW4HLgYPlA (09/10/2026).
Davies, Adam W. J./Neustifter, Ruth (2023): Heteroprofessionalism in the academy. The surveillance and regulation of queer faculty in higher education. In: Journal of Homosexuality 70 (6), 1030–1054. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2021.2013036
Donaldson, Lex (2002): The contingency theory of organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Else-Quest, Nicole M./Hyde, Janet Shibley (2016a): Intersectionality in quantitative psychological research. I. Theoretical and epistemological issues. In: Psychology of Women Quarterly 40 (2), 155–170. doi: 10.1177/0361684316629797
Else-Quest, Nicole M./Hyde, Janet Shibley (2016b): Intersectionality in quantitative psychological research. II. Methods and techniques. In: Psychology of Women Quarterly 40 (3), 319–336. doi: 10.1177/0361684316647953
Ermakoff, Ivan (2015): The structure of contingency. In: American Journal of Sociology 121 (1), 64–125. doi: 10.1086/682026
Fine, Michelle/Torre, María Elena (2004): Re-membering exclusions. Participatory action research in public institutions. In: Qualitative Research in Psychology 1 (1), 15–37. doi: 10.1191/1478088704qp003oa
Fine, Michelle/Torre, María Elena/Oswald, Austin Gerhard/Avory, Shéár (2021): Critical participatory action research. Methods and praxis for intersectional knowledge production. In: Journal of Counseling Psychology 68 (3), 344–356. doi: 10.1037/cou0000445
Fletcher, Andrew (2024): …And (epistemic) justice for all. A cautionary tale of knowledge inequality in participatory research. In: Quality in Ageing and Older Adults 25 (1), 68–79. doi: 10.1108/QAOA-03-2023-0021
Fricker, Miranda (2007): Epistemic injustice. Power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198237907.001.0001
Godrie, Baptiste/Boucher, Maxime/Bissonnette, Sylvia/Chaput, Pierre/Flores, Javier/Dupéré, Sophie/Gélineau, Lucie/Piron, Florence/Bandini, Aude (2020): Epistemic injustices and participatory research. A research agenda at the crossroads of university and community. In: Gateways. International Journal of Community Research and Engagement 13 (1), 1–15. doi: 10.5130/ijcre.v13i1.6703
Griffin, Kimberly A. (2020): Institutional barriers, strategies, and benefits to increasing the representation of women and men of Color in the professoriate. Looking beyond the pipeline. In: Higher education. Handbook of theory and research, vol. 35. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 277–349. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-31365-4_4
Hacker, P. M. S. (2013): The linguistic turn in analytic philosophy. In: Beaney, Michael (Ed.): The Oxford handbook of the history of analytic philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 926–947. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199238842.013.0030
Haraway, Donna (2004): The Haraway reader. New York: Routledge.
Haraway, Donna (1988): Situated knowledges. The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. In: Feminist Studies 14 (3), 575–599. doi: 10.2307/3178066
Harding, Sandra G. (Ed.) (2004): The feminist standpoint theory reader. Intellectual and political controversies. New York, London: Routledge.
Helfferich, Cornelia (2011): Die Qualität qualitativer Daten. Manual für die Durchführung qualitativer Interviews. 4th edition. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. doi: 10.1007/978-3-531-92076-4
Hill Collins, Patricia (2000): Black feminist thought. Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Huddleston, Thomas (2017): Equality data indicators. Methodological approach. Overview per EU member state (Technical annex). Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/just/redirection/document/45793 (09/10/2026).
Isopahkala-Bouret, Ulpukka (2023): Higher education equity and justice. In: Hytten, Kathy (Ed.): Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.133
Janes, Julia E. (2016): Democratic encounters? Epistemic privilege, power, and community-based participatory action research. In: Action Research 14 (1), 72–87. doi: 10.1177/1476750315579129
Jost, John T./Kay, Aaron C. (2010): Social justice. History, theory, and research. In: Fiske, Susan T./Gilbert, Daniel T./Lindzey, Gardner (Ed.): Handbook of social psychology. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 1122–1165. doi: 10.1002/9780470561119.socpsy002030
Kaiser, Robert (2021): Qualitative Experteninterviews. Konzeptionelle Grundlagen und praktische Durchführung. (2nd, updated edition). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-30255-9
Knöbl, Wolfgang (2019): Contingency. In: Paul, Heike (Ed.): Critical terms in futures studies. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 53–59. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-28987-4_9
Luhmann, Niklas (2005): Social systems. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Makkonen, Timo (2016): European handbook on equality data. 2016 revision. Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission. doi: 10.2838/397074
Mooney, Roisin/Dempsey, Clair/Brown, Brian J./Keating, Frank/Joseph, Doreen/Bhui, Kamaldeep (2023): Using participatory action research methods to address epistemic injustice within mental health research and the mental health system. In: Frontiers in Public Health 11. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075363
Petermann, Fanny/Bührmann, Andrea D./Marx, Daniela (2020): Antidiskriminierungsdaten an Hochschulen. Die Erhebung von Diversität und Diskriminierung zwischen zivilgesellschaftlichen Standards und organisationalen Rahmenbedingungen. In: ZDfm. Zeitschrift für Diversitätsforschung und -management 5 (2), 240–244. doi: 10.3224/zdfm.v5i2.18
Rorty, Richard (2012): Contingency, irony, and solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511804397
Rosenstreich, Gabriele/DeWit, Kurt/Bekers, Tom/Botoko, Catherine/Hagelin, Aki/Kuuppelomäki, Päivi/Strzemecka, Stella/Wallace, Caroline (2022): Diversity data collection. Exploratory mapping & reflection. Una Europa. https://unaeuropa.imgix.net/documents/Una-Europa-Diversity-Council-Action-Group-Data-Collection-Final-Report.pdf (09/10/2026)
Ross, Lori E./Pilling, Merrick/Voronka, Jijian/Pitt, Kendra-Ann/McLean, Elizabeth/King, Carole/Shakya, Yogendra/MacKinnon, Kinnon R./Williams, Charmaine C./Strike, Carol/Guta, Adrian (2023): I will play this tokenistic game, I just want something useful for my community. Experiences of and resistance to harms of peer research. In: Critical Public Health 33 (5), 735–746. doi: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2268822
Spierings, Niels (2023): Quantitative intersectional research. Approaches, practices, and needs. In: In: Davis, Kathy/Lutz, Helma (Ed.): The Routledge international handbook of intersectionality studies. Routledge, 235–248. doi: 10.4324/9781003089520-22
Teo, Thomas (2010): What is epistemological violence in the empirical social sciences? In: Social and Personality Psychology Compass 4 (5), 295–303. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00265.x
The Roestone Collective (2014): Safe space. Towards a reconceptualization. In: Antipode 46 (5), 1346–1365. doi: 10.1111/anti.12089
Tiefenthaler, Sabine/Schmidt, Kristina/von Köppen, Marilena (2023): Participatory research in institutional contexts. Achieving ethical symmetry in research practice. In: Educational Action Research 31 (4), 709–727. doi: 10.1080/09650792.2022.2062408
Trento, Fran/Pyyry, Noora/Aiava, Raine/Jäntti, Lauri (2025): Creating safer spaces in higher education. Failure and discomfort in spacing for difference. In: Emotion, Space and Society 55 (101095). doi: 10.1016/j.emospa.2025.101095
Wallerstein, Nina/Muhammad, Michael/Sanchez-Youngman, Shannon/Rodriguez Espinosa, Patricia/Avila, Magdalena/Baker, Elizabeth A./Barnett, Steven/Belone, Lorenda/Golub, Maxine/Lucero, Julie/Mahdi, Ihsan/Noyes, Emma/Nguyen, Tung/Roubideaux, Yvette/Sigo, Robin/Duran, Bonnie (2019): Power dynamics in community-based participatory research. A multiple-case study analysis of partnering contexts, histories, and practices. In: Health Education & Behavior 46, 19–32. doi: 10.1177/1090198119852998
Yamaguchi, João Akio Ribeiro (2025): Voice to validation. An epistemic-legitimation cycle for pluriversal mathematics education. In: Policy Futures in Education 23 (8), 1468–1489. doi: 10.1177/14782103251367219
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Lea Luttenberger, Selin Akgöz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All contributions in Open Gender Journal are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. You may freely make use of the corresponding texts in accordance to the conditions of the license (License contract, generally understandable version). There is no exclusive transfer of usage rights ("copyright transfer"). Open Gender Journal does not charge authors any costs for publication (so-called Article Processing Charges, APC) or submission (so-called Submission Charges). Authors are encouraged to share their contributions in other places, such as repositories.
