Watch again the presentation by Dr Kate Summers from LSE who considers some of the epistemic implications of the emphasis on lived experience in social research. With the aim of ultimately strengthening the role of this form of research approach, the seminar poses and considers answers to three main questions: what sorts of knowledge claims can and should be made from lived experience data?; what are the implications for the position of the researcher and the research process?; what are the ethical implications and imperatives of taking such an approach?

Dr Kate Summers is a social policy researcher based in the Methodology Department at the London School of Economics. Her work focuses on social security (‘benefits’) policy and aspects of economic inequality.