Co-Creating Research Design: How to Achieve Participation in Social Studies Using Traditional Methods?

Abstract

While traditional methods such as focus group interviews (FGIs) and individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) are well-established in social research, their innovative use within participatory research remains underexplored. In this article, we address this gap by introducing a co-creation research design to combine qualitative data triangulation with a participatory approach. The study involved semi-structured IDIs with middle-class Ukrainian female forced migrants, preceded and followed by FGIs with Ukrainian women experts—practitioners with both professional and personal migration experience. The initial FGI supported the participatory development of the research topic and interview guide, ensuring relevance and ethical sensitivity. The final FGI allowed the same group of experts to interpret the IDIs' findings collaboratively and discuss their practical application. This co-creative process enabled mutual learning between researchers and community actors and increased the ethical accountability and analytical depth of the study. We discuss both the potential and limitations of this approach and argue that traditional qualitative methods, when combined with participatory elements, can significantly enhance co-production of knowledge and the impact of social research. We contribute to research methodology development and encourage further adaptation of participatory strategies in qualitative inquiry by offering practical insights into the design and implementation of this method.