Accessibility, authenticity, and agility

Lessons learned from a case study of students as partners in research

Authors

  • Michael Priestley Durham University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7071-7336
  • Hannah Rachael Slack Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King’s College London https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2522-8717
  • Vee Okobia Department of Psychology, University of Nottingham
  • Amy Mackenzie Department of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Strathclyde https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1464-2665
  • Rachel Shemwell Rostron Department of Journalism, City, University of London
  • Carys Lynn Hoggan Department of Linguistics, University of Oxford
  • Nathan Utulu School of Medicine, King’s College London https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6847-2248
  • Valerie Xinyi Zhan Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge
  • Ayesha Memon Department of Psychology, University of Bristol
  • Nicola Byrom Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosciences, King’s College London https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2104-550X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.6674

Keywords:

belonging, participatory evaluation, coproduction, students-as-partners

Abstract

Student loneliness is a prevalent challenge across universities around the globe.  Epistemological, ethical, and efficacious challenges characterise contemporary research on student loneliness. To address this, our team of 11 staff researchers implemented a students-as-partners initiative with 16 students from 12 universities across the United Kingdom (UK). This student research team were responsible for co-producing the design, delivery, and dissemination of a research project to understand student belonging and loneliness. Adopting a participatory evaluation approach co-authored with seven members of the student research team, this paper critically examines strengths and limitations in our team’s approach to addressing common challenges in student-as-partners activities, namely engaging underrepresented groups, fostering meaningful and authentic engagement, and navigating sensitive topics. In doing so, we elicit good practice for inclusive, accessible, and impactful research with students as partners.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barreto, M., Doyle, D. & Qualter, P. (2024). Changing the narrative: Loneliness as a social justice issue. Political Psychology, 45(S1), 157–181. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12965

Barreto, M., van Breen, J., Victor, C., Hammond, C., Eccles, A., Richins, M. T., & Qualter, P. (2022). Exploring the nature and variation of the stigma associated with loneliness. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(9), 2658–2679. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221087190

Bennett, J., Di Cara, N., & Winstone, L. (2025). Understanding and supporting the mental health and professional quality of life of academic mental health researchers: Results from a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health, 25, 632. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21823-3

Blake, S., Capper, G., & Jackson, A. (2022). Building belonging in higher education: recommendations for developing an integrated institutional approach. Pearson and WONKHE. https://wonkhe.com/wp-content/wonkhe-uploads/2022/10/Building-Belonging-October-2022.pdf

Boateng, G., Neilands, Frongillo., Melgar-Quiñonez, H., & Young, S. (2018). Best practices for developing and validating scales for health, social, and behavioural research: A primer. Frontiers in Public Health, 11(6), 149–177. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00149

Chittle, L., Laios, E., King, A., Hinch, I., Sood, S., Sorge, A., Milidrag, L., Houser, C., & Cavallo-Medved, D. (2024). A mixed-method investigation of faculty perspectives on the benefits and challenges of engaging in student partnership activities in science. International Journal for Students as Partners, 8(2), 58–81. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v8i2.5635

Cook-Sather, A., Matthews, K. E., Ntem, A., & Leathwick, S. (2018). What we talk about when we talk about students as partners. International Journal for Students as Partners, 2(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v2i2.3790

Cooper, F. (2024). ‘solitude is not thrust upon any lovable person’: Loneliness, shame, and the problem (of) personality. Journal Of Psycho-Social Studies, 17(1), 28–45. https://doi.org/10.1332/14786737Y2023D000000004

Diehl, K., Jansen, C., Ishchanova, K., & Hilger-Kolb, J. (2018). Loneliness at Universities: Determinants of Emotional and Social Loneliness among Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(9), 1865. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15091865

Dodd, A., Ward, J., Armstrong, N., Priestley, M., Tyrrell, K., Cygan, S., Ortega Vega, M., & Byrom, N. (2024. How to get engagement right in mental health research: Lessons from the higher education sector. The Student Mental Health Research Network: King’s College London.

Ellis, L., Collin, P., Hurley, P., Davenport, T. (2013). Young men's attitudes and behaviour in relation to mental health and technology: Implications for the development of online mental health services. BMC Psychiatry, 13(1), Article 119. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-13-119

Flint, M. A. (2018). Co-implicated disruptions: Narratives of belonging in higher education. International Review of Qualitative Research, 11(2), 210–230. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2018.11.2.210

Foulkes, L., & Stringaris, A. (2023). Do no harm: Can school mental health interventions cause iatrogenic harm? BJPsych Bulletin, 47(5), 267–269. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjb.2023.9

Heath, C., & Mormina, M. (2022) Moving from collaboration to co-production in international research. The European Journal of Development Research, 34(1), 1704–1715. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-022-00552-y

Isobel, S. (2021). Trauma-informed qualitative research: Some methodological and practical considerations. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 30 (1), 1456–1469. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12914

Kitchen, E. (2023). Student partnership in creating an event: Benefits, challenges, and outcomes. International Journal for Students as Partners, 7(2), 142–150. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v7i2.5363

Klaiber, P., Whillans, A. V., & Chen, F. S. (2018). Long-term health implications of students’ friendship formation during the transition to university. Applied Psychology. Health and Wellbeing, 10(2), 290–308. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12131

Neves, J., & Stephenson, R. (2023). Student Academic Experience Survey 2023. Higher Education Policy Institute. https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Student-Academic-Experience-Survey-2023.pdf

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). (2025). Payment guidance for researchers and professionals involving people in research. https://www.nihr.ac.uk/payment-guidance-researchers-and-professionals

Oliver, K., Kothari, A., & Mays, N. (2019). The dark side of coproduction: Do the costs outweigh the benefits for health research? Health Research in Policy Systems, 17(1), 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-019-0432-3

Ostrowdun, C., Friendly, R., Matthews, K., De Bie, A., & Roelofs, F. (2020). Holding space and engaging with difference: Navigating the personal theories we carry into our pedagogical partnership practices. International Journal for Students as Partners, 4(1), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v4i1.4093

Priestley, M., Hall, A., Wilbraham, S. J., Mistry, V., Hughes, G., & Spanner, L. (2022). Student perceptions and proposals for promoting wellbeing through social relationships at university. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(9), 1243–1256. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2022.2061844

Priestley, M., & Mazzoli-Smith, L. (2023). The epistemology and ethics of analysing lived experience data: A pragmatic Foucauldian-informed approach to coproducing student mental health initiatives in the neoliberal university. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231215234

Priestley, M., Slack, H. R., Islam, M. M., Fuhrmann, D., Long, E., Crook, S., Foster, J., Homer, S., & Byrom, N. (2025). “No one told you life was gonna be this way”: A qualitative exploration of friendship expectations and reality in university life. Journal of Adolescence, 97(5), 1225–1235. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12489

Priestley, M., & Crook, S. (2025). Incorporating care and compassion into the neoliberal academy. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 35(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi35.1338

Qualter, P., Hennessey, A., Yang, K., Chester, K. L., Klemera, E., & Brooks, F. (2021). Prevalence and social inequality in youth loneliness in the UK. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), Article 10420. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910420

Richardson, T., Elliott, P., & Roberts, R. (2017). Relationship between loneliness and mental health in students. Journal of Public Mental Health, 16(2), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-03-2016-0013

Singh, L., Kumar, A., & Srivastava, S. (2021). Academic burnout and student engagement: a moderated mediation model of internal locus of control and loneliness. Journal of Education for Business, 14(2), 219–239. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-03-2020-0020

Skinner, T., Brance, K., Halligan, S., Girling, H., Chadwick, P., & Tsang, E. (2023). The Researcher Wellbeing Project Report. https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/the-researcher-wellbeing-project-report

Slay, J., & Stephens, L. (2013). Co-production in mental health: A literature review. New Economics Foundation (NEF). https://neweconomics.org/2013/11/co-production-mental-health

Surkalim, D., Luo, M., Eres, R., Gebel, K., van Buskirk, J., Bauman, A., & Ding, D. (2022). The prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 376(1), Article e067068. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-067068

Zarandi, N., Soares, A., & Alves, H. (2024). Strategies, benefits and barriers–A systematic literature review of student co-creation in higher education. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34(2), 895–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2022.2134956

Downloads

Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

Priestley, M., Slack, H. R., Okobia, V., Mackenzie, A., Rostron, R. S., Hoggan, C. L., … Byrom, N. (2025). Accessibility, authenticity, and agility: Lessons learned from a case study of students as partners in research. International Journal for Students as Partners, 9(2), 158–169. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.6674

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Case Studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Michael Priestley, Hannah Rachael Slack, Vee Okobia, Amy Mackenzie, Rachel Shemwell Rostron, Carys Lynn Hoggan, Nathan Damascus, Valerie Xinyi Zhan, Ayesha Memon, Nicola Byrom

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).