11: Concluding Thoughts: What Does It Mean to Do ‘Just’ Research?

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This chapter reflects on the volume’s contributions, recognizing the varied and contested ways we enact justice in our work and lives. Critically, this book does not represent a singular view of justice, but instead uses a plurality of perspectives to argue for a broad view of justice as praxis. What emerged from these diverse accounts were a common questioning of the purpose of the university, the role that a contemporary academic ought to play, the importance of context in determining our capability to do just research and the little-discussed emotional labour all research entails. The chapter develops a set of core elements for ‘best practice’ alongside a series of reflective questions that researchers can use to support engagement with just research as a messy and constant work-in-progress. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the importance of being responsive to the dynamic, multidimensional and intersectional contextuality of research to make space for the reflexive and dialogical nature of justice.

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