Showcasing “Feldenkrais® Studies” – New Reference Database & Research Section on IFF Website launched

Stefan Wiltschnig, v0.3, 26th of October 2015 Tracking scholarly studies on the Feldenkrais Method and keeping up with the latest research can be tedious work for a Feldenkrais practitioner. Several research lists have been collected so far but were not always kept up to date. The freshly compiled reference database in Zotero provides an open-access group-platform that enables easier user-involvement in maintaining, updating and expanding the content. The new research section on the IFF website gives an overview of key-resources and channels for staying “up to date” regarding research and getting involved in “Feldenkrais® Studies”. 2015 was a good year for research related to the Feldenkrais Method (FM) so far. A number of interesting new articles have been published in peer reviewed scientific journals. The Feldenkrais Research Journal was re-launched with a call for papers. Initiatives to update reference databases were started by a number of Feldenkrais practitioners, the Australian Feldenkrais Guild and the IFF. This article presents the results of these efforts including the newly compiled reference database as well as the updated research section of the IFF website. It concludes with an invitation to get involved in maintaining and expanding those resources. Reference Database in Zotero Based on co-funding from the IFF and prior work in that area it was possible to start a joint effort to create a newly compiled reference database for research publications related to the Feldenkrais Method over the summer. A fresh meta-search was conducted in the academic library databases at the University of Vienna and the findings were crosschecked with existing "Feldenkrais research lists" in collaboration with a group of FK practitioners interested in research. The results were integrated in a new database in Zotero – a free, open-source research tool that allows users to collaboratively collect and organize bibliographic data and related sources. The content is open to the public and ready to be used in various contexts with a creative commons license.

Fig. 1 – Reference Database in Zotero

IFF Website - Research Section The new research section of the IFF homepage provides a comprehensive overview of available resources and platforms related to "Feldenkrais Studies". It presents research publications in the reference database, curated collections and the IFF Research Journal. Complementary opportunities for staying up to date concerning the most recent research publications – i.e. through the Zotero-Group, the “Feldenkrais Studies” Facebook Group, a WordPress Blog and an email-newsletter – can be found. In addition to that, several ways of getting involved are described in more detail.

Fig. 2 – IFF Research Webpage

Get involved in "Feldenkrais Studies" The IFF is committed to supporting research related to the Feldenkrais Method® as well as the collection and dissemination of information regarding relevant scholarly publications for the benefit of the international community. Setting up the database and infrastructure for communication are issues that can be handled by co-investing in professional services. Keeping such platforms alive and their content up to date is another topic that calls for the voluntary engagement of the broader community of Feldenkrais Practitioners interested in “Feldenkrais® Studies”.

Fig. 3 – “Feldenkrais Studies” Facebook-Group

There are many openings to get involved along those lines. First and foremost, we are looking for people to conduct research projects related to the Feldenkrais Method, publishing the results in esteemed journals and making sure that the references are stored in the Zotero database. The editorial team welcomes support in the maintenance and expansion of the content of the database. This can happen through correcting, adding and updating references, as well as reading the full texts, summarizing and tagging them. The “Feldenkrais Studies®” Facebook Group and Blog are inviting comments and reviews of the most interesting texts. If you are interested and willing to contribute, please send an email to get.involved@feldenkraisstudies.org. LINKS IFF Research Webpage: http://feldenkrais-method.org/research/ Zotero Reference Database: https://www.zotero.org/groups/feldenkrais_studies “Feldenkrais Studies”-Blog: https://feldenkraisstudies.wordpress.com Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/feldenkraisstudies IFF Research Journal: http://iffresearchjournal.org

AUTHOR Stefan Wiltschnig is an Austrian creativity researcher, enabler of knowledge-co-creation and FK practitioner currently based in Malmö, Sweden. He founded the “Feldenkrais Studies®” Facebook Page in March 2015 and coordinated the project team to compile the new reference database as well as to update and expand the Research Section of the IFF Webpage. Stefan is determined to maintain and grow together with interested colleagues this and other platforms to inspire and conduct further „Feldenkrais Studies® “. CONTACT stefan@wiltschnig.com