Table 1 Differentiating Traditional and Transformative Eating Disorder Research

Research topics and questions

The cause and cure of eating disorders; practitioner curiosity.

Research driven by community wants and needs.

Research methods

Participant is unaware of what is being measured and why it is being measured.

Open and transparent process where the participant can contribute to how the research proceeds.

Analysis

Researchers are in control of the data used and can make assumptions about what participants wants and needs are. No shared ownership of data.

Participant is part of the research team, is involved and aware of assumptions. Member-checking and other strategies are used to ensure that the analysis leads to destigmatizing attitudes towards eating disorders.

Findings

Seeking to normalize persons living with eating disorders: make them “better.”

Seeking to naturalize persons living with eating disorders: destigmatizing coping, allowing autonomy and self-determination, and promoting health and well-being with or without eating disorder “recovery.”

Outcomes

Personal responsibility of the individual to get “better.”

Advocating with persons living with eating disorders for better societal outcomes.