Equality studies, the academy and the role of research in emancipatory social change

If people are structurally excluded from democratic engagement with researc h practice, they are precluded from assessing its validity in an informed m anner. They are effectively disenfranchised from controlling the generation and dissemination of knowledge about themselves and/or the institutions wi thin which they live and work. This issue is especially acute for marginalised groups and communities who are the subjects of so much social scientific research. Such research is fr equently undertaken without the involvement of the groups or communities in question. The ownership of data gives researchers and policymakers power o ver the groups which may add to their marginalisation; there are now people who can claim to know you better than you know yourself. Without democrati c engagement therefore, there is a real danger that research knowledge can be used for manipulation and control rather than challenging the injustices experienced. This paper analyses the role of research in relation to social change. It e xplores, in particular, the implications of utilising an emancipatory resea rch methodology in the study of issues of equality and social justice. Whil e recognising the difficulties involved in developing an emancipatory appro ach to research, it is argued that such an approach is analytically, politi cally and ethically essential if research with marginalised and socially ex cluded groups is to have a transformative impact.