Mark Koning has been working in Philadelphia as a research associate since 2017. For example, together with Miriam Zagsma, he conducted research on the use of DigiContact within an organization. They wrote an article about this together. It is precisely this article that interests Patricia O’Brien, a professor at the University of Sydney. She is interested in inclusivity in the world of research, and has published numerous articles about researchers working with co-researchers with disabilities. She invited Mark to write his story on paper.
“When you do research, you take a lot of steps together,” Mark says. “But writing was mainly the responsibility of the principal investigator. Now I wanted to write. It is also a way to reflect on what I have done. Then something of what I have learned will remain.” Maryam was immediately enthusiastic. I then sent a number of questions about our collaboration to her and five other researchers. I worked closely with them and after a number of conversations I first had to present a summary to Patricia O’Brien, a proposal for what would be in the article and with her approval I could begin.
