A thinking (and writing) partnership in the digital space about creative, impactful ways to frame qualitative data insights

This chapter focuses on a writing partnership between two academics (the authors) who share an interest in higher education learning experiences and write out of different national and institutional contexts. The chapter is written as a series of emails exchanged between the two authors (similar to an epistolary novel). It draws on an actual email exchange, edited and enriched with notes from synchronous conversations via Microsoft Teams (the authors have only met virtually).
One of the authors carried out eight interviews with academics at one university about their experience of working collaboratively with students to design curricular learning experiences or deliver projects outside the curriculum. The co-author is acting as a sounding board in the data analysis process, providing guidance on ways to analyse the data and frame the written account of insights from the qualitative interviews.
The email exchange follows the usual structure of an account of research: an introduction and rationale for the writing partnership, the focus of the conversation (how to frame qualitative data insights in a creative, impactful way, see Mitchel and Clark, 2018), the writing methodology adopted by the co-authors, a discussion about the connection between data analysis and writing in qualitative research. An overview of insights from the actual interview data which underpin the conversation is also included.
The chapter closes with reflection by both authors on their experience of co-writing, critically comparing this to accounts of co-writing experiences such as Dwyer and Black (2021), Hartung et al. (2017) or Manathunga et al. (2022). If provides guidance to anyone who might want to engage in a similar co-authoring experience or write academic prose in the form of an email exchange. Practical suggestions and recommendations permeate the exchange.