Examining the management of stake and interest in a participatory design Facebook group

This paper analyses the micro-dynamics of a participatory design (PD) Facebook group for breast screening. We argue that using online PD methods enables participants to be fully involved throughout the research process and can lead to meaningful outcomes and impact for the research. However, it is important to ensure that all stakeholders are able to be equally involved in the research. As such, understanding how a user’s stake or interest is managed can help to uncover how professionals and lay people can participate together in such groups. A case study approach is adopted, with an example presented from a PD Facebook group established to develop a web resource around breast screening. 70 threads from the Facebook group were analysed in a naturalistic way using discursive psychology. The analysis shows how participants aimed to manage the dilemma of being seen as interested due to their professional identities, and did so in a number of ways including referring to joint membership of the design group. However, there were still challenges in ensuring that lay members’ contributions were not diminished by more professional members. The analysis suggests that in an online PD group, moderators may be needed to ensure that potential conflicts of interest are managed appropriately and all members’ views are heard.