Building a Community of Research Practice

This article explicates the intragroup social dynamics and work of a nursing and education research team as a community of research practice interested in organizational cultures and occupational subcultures. Dynamics were characterized by processes of socialization through reeducation and group social identity formation that enabled members to cross discipline-bordered traditions and produce interdisciplinary mixed methods combinations. Combinations were achieved at the paradigm level through the generation of a shared viewing position and theoretical model. At methods and technique levels, such achievements were accomplished through methodological capitalization and prioritization and the development of a quantitative culture assessment tool that can be used in combination with complementary qualitative observation and interview protocols. Recommendations for other teams are provided.