Becoming a ‘Bricoleur’ - Using a Holistic Bricolage Approach to Explore Breast Cancer Candidacy

Bricolage is a ‘critical, multi-perspective, multi-modal and multi-theoretical’ (Rogers, 2012, p.1) research approach to exploring complex phenomena. Levi-Strauss (1966) suggests it requires the researcher (‘bricoleur’) to use creativity and ‘wild thinking.’ The approach develops a repertoire of skills and knowledge that enable bespoke, fit-for-purpose data collection, analysis, and theorisation; combining these to innovate understandings of complex research issues. Though complicated, bricolage can be successfully deployed by the ‘apprentice bricoleur,’ whereby the emerging researcher’s skill development occurs simultaneously with the development of the research approach. This paper provides a ‘how-to’ guide to ‘becoming a bricoleur.’ We document the development of a holistic bricolage that combines critical social theory with creativity to re-purpose coronary candidacy in a new disease context — breast cancer — and advance understandings about how public health might improve breast cancer prevention. We introduce bricolage and outline how it varies from mixed methods research. We describe our process for constructing a holistic, critical bricolage to explore breast cancer candidacy (i.e. women’s perceptions of their own/other people’s breast cancer risk) and how this impacts their cancer prevention practices (specifically alcohol reduction). We describe the value of the connected methodological, theoretical, interpretive, political, and narrative dimensions of the bricolage. Our bricolage combined something ‘old’ (the candidacy concept), something ‘at-hand’ (secondary data), and something ‘new’ (empirical data collection), with Bourdieu’s relational social class theory, and by recognising gender as a social determinant of health, the bricolage paid attention to gendered power. Our bricolage facilitated a comprehensive understanding of women’s perceptions of breast cancer risks from varied perspectives, contoured by life chances, social contexts, and personal experiences. We discuss how bricolage supports emerging researchers’ skill development and progresses ‘apprentice bricoleurs’ to become competent, reflexive researchers. We conclude with insights about the benefits and strategies to overcome the potential challenges of bricolage.