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Variations and Commonalities in Processes of Collaboration: The Need for Multi-Site Workplace Studies

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Abstract

Workplace studies have made a major contribution to the field of CSCW, drawing attention to subtle practices that enable effective collaboration. However, workplace studies typically focus on a single setting, making it difficult to assess the generalisability of the findings. Through a multi-site workplace study, we explore a specific collaborative process, that of the handover which occurs when a patient is transferred from one hospital or ward to another. The study demonstrates that the term ‘handover’ captures a variety of collaborative practices that vary in both their form and content, reflecting aspects of the setting in which they occur. Multi-site workplace studies are shown to be essential for CSCW, not only generating findings that have relevance beyond a single setting but also focusing attention on aspects of work practice that may otherwise go unnoticed.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the staff members in the settings who have supported this work, as well as the patients who agreed to let us observe the handovers where they were discussed. This project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), grant number: (EP/D078636/1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Leeds, Wellcome Trust Brenner Building, St James’s University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK

    Rebecca Randell

  2. Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design, City University London, Northampton Square, London, EC1V 0HB, UK

    Stephanie Wilson

  3. Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Peter Woodward

Authors
  1. Rebecca Randell
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  2. Stephanie Wilson
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  3. Peter Woodward
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Correspondence to Rebecca Randell.

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Randell, R., Wilson, S. & Woodward, P. Variations and Commonalities in Processes of Collaboration: The Need for Multi-Site Workplace Studies. Comput Supported Coop Work 20, 37–59 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-010-9127-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10606-010-9127-6

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