Intersubjectivity, Collaboration, and the Possibilities of Dialogic Analysis

Authors

• Karen Ross, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USAFollow
• Meagan Call-Cummings, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USAFollow

Abstract

This article stems from a desire to counter monologic, or single-voiced, approaches to data analysis and to consider opportunities for a dialogic approach that offers opportunities to engage and discover nuance and complexity in the research process. Drawing on our own research experiences, we offer a discussion of three methods of dialogic analysis: Reconstructive Horizon Analysis (RHA), participatory analysis, and Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR). Locating each of these within a kind of spectrum of dialogism, we illustrate how different forms of dialogic analysis can create space for complexity, nuance, perspective-taking, and in the best case, collaborative, intersubjective meaning making. We suggest that dialogic analysis offers opportunities to challenge or counter our own reading of a given research context, and that this opportunity can occur to different degrees.

Keywords

dialogue, Benjamin, Buber, Bakhtin, data analysis, intersubjectivity, collaboration

Author Bio(s)

Karen Ross is a practitioner, teacher, and researcher of dialogue and relational understanding. Her work sits at the nexus of dialogue, (nonformal and informal) education, and social activism and includes empirical and methodological work exploring these areas. A commitment to relationally-based knowledge generation grounds Karen’s teaching, her empirical research, and her community-focused practitioner work. Please direct correspondence to [email protected]

Meagan Call-Cummings is a practitioner and teacher of critical, participatory, and dialogic methodologies in the context of schooling and racial justice. She is currently most fulfilled in her work with the Youth Research Council, founded in 2021 to bring diverse high school students together to conduct youth participatory action research studies on issues that are important to them. Please direct correspondence to [email protected]

Publication Date

10-31-2026

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Recommended APA Citation

Ross, K., & Call-Cummings, M. (2026). Intersubjectivity, collaboration, and the possibilities of dialogic analysis. The Qualitative Report, 31(10), 6841-6858.

ORCID ID

Karen Ross: 0000-0003-3952-5149; Meagan Call-Cummings: 0000-0002-9952-0449