Researching Authentic Relational Communities
Research Insight #3:
Relationship is the Primary Methodology
Emerging Question: How do we research things we can feel but can't easily measure?
Through the relational research community, fellows discovered that relationships themselves constitute a research methodology—not merely the context within which research happens, but the very means through which knowledge is created, validated, and transformed. This represents a crucial aspect of the Middle Way: holding space for both empirical observation and relational knowing as equally valid forms of scholarly inquiry.
A relational research approach expands traditional academic methods by recognizing that the knowledge emerging from sustained connection and collaborative inquiry works hand-in-hand with established empirical approaches.
Ayman Mir (Transdisciplinary Design MFA, Parsons School of Design) brought up a question that became central to the cohort's exploration: "How do you research things you can feel but can't easily measure?" She was talking about those moments in community work when you sense a shift in the room, when trust builds between people, or when someone finally feels safe enough to share their story. These real-life experiences don't fit neatly into traditional research methods.
Seeking to design methods to research what we can't always see or measure, Ayman introduced the concept of al-ghaib (الغيب) – the unseen/hidden/veiled knowledge – and challenged the cohort to expand their methodological horizons:
Ayman Mir (IRH Fellow, Transdisciplinary Design MFA, Parsons School of Design)
"There is an element of al-ghaib, the unseen/hidden/the knowledge of something which we know but is veiled. This foundational difference changes the way I look at, seek, and interact with all forms of knowledge."
This idea to research beyond what's visible on the surface is often reflected in everyday collaborations. Think about community organizing: often the most important changes happen in people's hearts and minds long before you see them in action. Or consider healing work, where someone's sense of safety might shift in ways that don't show up in a survey but are absolutely crucial to their wellbeing. Ayman's profound spiritual insights and language from Islamic tradition suggest that the knower and known are interconnected and knowledge can't be fully grasped through concepts alone.
This insight pushed the entire group to expand how they think about evidence and think bigger about what counts as valid knowledge.
What if the most important aspects of community life—trust, belonging, healing, transformation—can't be fully captured through interviews and observations alone? What if there are ways of knowing that require us to be present differently, to listen with our whole selves, not just our analytical minds?
This didn't mean abandoning rigorous research methods. Instead, it challenged scholars to expand their research toolkit to include approaches that could honor both what can be measured and what can be sensed—the visible and the al-ghaib. This Middle Way approach recognizes that the most complete understanding emerges from integrating multiple forms of knowing.
With time in the relational research community, fellows discovered that even the smallest relational moments could serve as methodological mirrors. Reflecting on a typical minor challenge that exists with community, such as technical difficulty during a Zoom call, Ayman observed how "every interaction, no matter how small, can act as a mirror and amplify, name, or contextualize deep set rituals and help spark more generative (and healthy) ways of conducting research."
“We are not outside the work. We are shaped by it and we shape it in return.”
— Ayman Mir, IRH Fellow
Once relationships become the primary methodology, the question of how we communicate across differences becomes essential. Language emerged as both a bridge and a potential barrier in this relational work.