Considering collaborations in writing a research book : implications for sustaining a synergistic research team

This chapter elaborates possible implications of the experiences of writing this research book for the development and sustainability of the authors as a productive and supportive research team. The preceding chapters have explored several different dimensions of research collaborations and in the process have enacted specific elements of collaborative research. In doing so, they have provided a means of sharing understandings and engaging in dialogue about the pressures and possibilities of contemporary education research. At the same time, they have highlighted the difficulties of bringing together seven distinct personalities with varied interests and circumstances and melding a dynamic team where all members feel valued and recognised. The approach taken to writing the chapter is used as a reflective device both for articulating these broader issues and for suggesting a practical strategy that other research teams might find relevant and useful. The authors conclude by proffering their collective prediction about the team’s capacity to sustain synergies and their associated positions on the strengths and limitations of collaborative research and researching collaboration.