Abstract

This book is a collection of personal essays about the unplanned, accidental and even obstructive events that occur in research life and the substantial potential for analytical insights herein. We call them detours—the routes we did not plan, the clutter we made or encountered when carrying out our research and the results of it all—which we may not fully understand. Sharing such stories has the power to make us more adventurous, sensitive and creative researchers. Hopefully, some of these stories will resonate with you as a reader and make you feel like writing. By writing–sharing–reading–writing, we can expand the playground of research and inspire a research culture in which ‘accountable’ research methodologies involve adventurousness and not-being-so-sure.