Disclaiming knowledge to encourage participation in research group meetings

Abstract

This study investigates instances where experienced researchers make explicit claims of lack of knowledge (e.g., ‘I have to reveal my ignorance completely’) in the context of paper discussions during research group meetings. Drawing on multimodal interaction analysis, the analysis focuses on epistemic disclaimers in their sequential contexts, and the local management of institutional identities and domains of knowledge. The analyzed data draw from video-ethnographic work involving participant observation and video recordings at a research program in Physical Chemistry at a Swedish university. Focusing on epistemic disclaimers occurring in first pair-parts, the analysis explores how senior researchers employ disclaimers to mark the eliciting function of their questions, as they work to encourage participation by opening the floor while positioning co-participants as (more) knowledgeable. The results evidence how the accomplishment of peer collaboration and knowledge distribution in scientific work involves the management of rights and responsibilities with respect to knowledge and scientific expertise.