ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines four elements of a speculative research engagement: a futures question, an “object to think with”, an audience to engage with and a way to capture responses and other materials generated through the research. Consideration of each of these elements opens up complex issues of representation, possibility, participation and the unexpected. The chapter discusses these issues in relation to ethical considerations and the matter of truth claims. It walks through the exploration of some converging issues around representation, identity and learning to show how contemporary issues can be a springboard for identifying and scoping out new speculative research, and closes with a series of questions that researchers can use to develop their own speculative research project.
