J Arday Page


I read the work of Prof Arday in exactly the same way as I read all the other work in this folder, trying to summarise the arguments and make them accessible for others, so that students especially would be encouraged to go off and read the originals.

However, particular problems arose as I read Arday's work. I did not specifically seek them out, but they appeared as I went through. I have called them, in the most neutral way possible, 'oddities' or 'technical flaws'. They became so frequent that they dominated my reading, and I decided I had better contact Prof Arday.

I collected together the ones that had appeared as I read through, and sent them to him with a request for clarification. I received a rather unpromising reply, and a request not to contact him further. None of his senior colleagues at Cambridge were very helpful. However, I understand that he has agreed to modify one of the articles, although I am not clear what exactly he is proposing.

Meanwhile, I had written to the editors of some of the other articles pointing out some problems, and a colleague had written to the editors of another. Responses have been received so far, promising to consider amendments. Two editors/publishers have asked for corrections, but two have seen no problems with their professional guidelines. Obviously, I will bring this note up-to-date when I receive information about these amendments -- see below for two corrections that have been requested.

Meanwhile, these were the sort of problems that I detected initially, extracted from the email I sent to Prof Arday, with some alterations, together with one or two that I have discovered subsequently. I want to make it clear that I am just reporting what I have found. I have not made any definitive judgments about how these problems came to appear in the work: judgments like that are not available without the chance to discuss the issues with Prof. Arday.

The problems.
1. There are two articles, published in 2018 and 2022,  which pursued two separate projects, one researching students and one staff, and reporting the views of respondents in the form of verbatim quotations. However, two of the quotations in each article, seem very similar (not identical). There is another quotation in one of Arday's articles which is also very similar to a quotation in Memon et al. (2016) (1).
As examples:

Arday (2018a)
‘As a student who is a recent immigrant, my understanding of English is improving daily. As a result, sometimes I struggle to articulate clearly and accurately what I would like to say to the healthcare professionals provided at university. For this reason, I prefer not to discuss my psychological issues as they will misjudge what I am saying and then heavily medicate me' (Female, Asian, UG, 4).  
 Arday (2022a p. 95):
‘As someone relatively new to the United Kingdom (UK), my understanding of English is improving daily. Despite my improvements, I still struggle to converse and make sense sometimes of what others are saying… sometimes I struggle to articulate clearly and accurately what I would like to say to the healthcare professionals provided at university. I am aware of the potential manipulation of my words and meanings… and so sadly to avoid a wrong diagnosis, I just I prefer not to discuss my psychological issues, as my biggest fear is being heavily medicated, which would mean potentially not being able to work and having my visa revoked…’ (Female, Latin-American, Female, [sic] Academic, 38).
Arday (2018a p. 16):
‘Positive, interpersonal dialogue between service users and healthcare providers’ (Female, Black, UG, 27) where the consultation was ‘a reciprocal dialogue’ (Male, Asian, PG, 25).
This was considered to be an important factor in facilitating better ethnic minority engagement with mental health services at universities and wider society.
 Memon et al. (2016) (no page numbers, but found in the section on Power and Authority):
The need for a positive interpersonal connection between service user and healthcare provider where the consultation was “a dialogue” (Male D. FG1) was seen as an important factor in engaging with mental health services.

2. The descriptions of the methodological procedures used in several Arday articles are very similar. They also resemble closely the descriptions of the procedures used in Memon et al. (2016).
As examples:

Arday (2018a p.10) has:
...Discussions were facilitated by the researcher who had experience in cross-cultural working and qualitative methods. All focus group sessions and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to the recorded discussions, written notes were also taken and flipcharts were utilized for participants to document patterns of thought. This facilitated a reflexive process, which ensured participants’ views were clearly documented. Each participant was encouraged to speak and express their own views.
Arday (2022b p.520) has:
...Discussions  were  facilitated by the researcher and all focus group sessions and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to the recorded discussions, written notes were also taken and flipcharts were utilised for participants to document patterns of thought regarding their experiences of precarious work as an academic or professional member of staff. This facilitated a reflexive process, which ensured participants’ views were clearly documented. Each participant was encouraged to speak and express their own views…
Memon et al. (2016) has:
Discussions were facilitated by a researcher trained and experienced in cross cultural working and qualitative methods (LMM). Each session was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to the recording of the discussion, written notes were also taken, using flipcharts, to allow for a review of the process and to ensure that participants' views were clearly documented. Each participant was encouraged to speak and express their own views and often conversations among participants enriched the discussion.
3. I noticed several sentences that seem to be very similar to those found in other articles. I would have thought that they should have been included within quotation marks with the references to the original articles clearly given. I have not read Arday's articles deliberately to detect suspicions of plagiarism, but I found at least five cases overall where these problems arose.
An example:

Arday (2022b p.519)
A deductive approach is useful for centring a particular aspect of the data or a specific finding that could best be illuminated or understood in the context of an existing theory or frame (Kiger and Varpio 2020).
Kiger and Varpio (2020 p.3) (5)
a deductive approach is useful for honing in on a particular aspect of the data or a specific finding that could be best illuminated or understood in the context of a pre-existing theory or frame (Braun and Clarke 2006)
4. The definition of BME used in several Arday articles, usually in the form of explanatory notes, resembles that used in Grey et al. (2013) (2), although with some modifications.
 For example Arday (2018a):
... It is important to acknowledge that the term BME, despite its widespread use, has severe limitations and usually follows non-specific quantifiers such as ‘most’ or ‘some’ (Glover and Evison 2009). Typically, there has been an accepted use of the term BME, which has been illustrated in research and Government papers.
Grey et al. (2013  p.147):
The  term BME despite its widespread use, has severe limitations and usually follows nonspecific quantifiers, such as “most” or “some.”  For example, a study  of ethnic utilization of newly devised mental health services highlights the diversity of patterns across different groups (Glover  &  Evison,  2009).  Given the accepted use of the term  BME and the fact that research and government papers typically use this term this article uses it
5. A paragraph is repeated, except for the last sentence, in two separate articles published by Arday and Arday and Jones in 2022.

6. Edited collections are not referenced according to the conventions with which I am familiar, especially those co-edited by Arday himself, Alexander and Arday (2015) (3) and Arday and Mirza (2018) (4). These are frequently cited in the other works. The conventions I know suggest that actual contributors to those collections should also be cited as well as editors. This gives them credit and increases their citation counts, and also helps readers find the location of specific arguments. The Runnymede Trust, who publish Alexander and Arday (2015), actually say on the front cover that 'You must give the original author credit'.

7. Of less significance to me, but of great significance to some critics, there are plentiful examples of non-standard English, spelling/typing mistakes and grammatical errors. In one case, there are four prominent mistakes very visibly on display in the Abstract of an Arday article.


The point is that anyone going back to read these or other articles in the future might expect to find changes from the versions that I have summarised here ( see corrections below).


Works cited

(1). Memon, A., Taylor, K., Mohebati, L. M., Sundin, J., Cooper, M., Scanlon, T., & de Visser, R. (2016). Perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities: A qualitative study in Southeast England. British Medical Journal Open, 6 (11), e012337.
(2). Grey, T., Shapiro, G., Ashraf, F. (2013). Mental Health Inequalities Facing UK Minority Ethnic Populations. Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture. 3(1) Wiley Online Library. DOI: 10.1002/jpoc21080
(3). Alexander, C. & Arday, J. (Eds.) (2015). Aiming Higher. Race, Inequality and Diversity in the Academy. Runnymede Trust Perspectives. www.runnymedetrust.org
(4) Arday, J. &  Mirza, H. (Eds.) (2018). Dismantling Race in Higher Education. Geweberstrasse: Palgrave Macmillan Imprint, Springer International Publishing AG.
(5) Kiger, M., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic Analysis of Qualitative Data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher 42 (8): 846–854. doi:10.1090/0142159X.2020.1755030


Correction 1
Correction: Arday, Jason (2018). Understanding Mental Health:What Are the Issues for Black and Ethnic Minority Students at University? Social Sciences 7: 196

Jason Arday School of Education, University of Roehampton, London SW15 5PU, UK; jaa80@cam.ac.uk

The publication (Arday 2018) has been amended to increase the clarity of citation sources within the text. Previously, the statement that the research had been adapted from Memon et al. (2016) appeared in Section 4, but inadvertently omitted overlap between the two publications in prior sections. The author has revised the text to address this, so that it is clear where ideas were adapted from past research. Consequentially, the number of times Memon et al. (2016) has been referenced has increased.Text corrections to clarify citation sources and revised text have been made in the following sections:
Abstract;1.
Introduction;3.
Materials and Methods;4.1.
Exploring Mental Health for Black and Ethnic Minorities (BME) within Higher Education;4.1.1.
Personal and Community Factors;Cultural Identity and Fear of Stigmatization/Isolation;Social and Community Networks;Gender Differences;4.2.
Communication and Relationships between Service User and Healthcare Provider;4.2.1.
Communication: Cultural Naivety, Insensitivity, and Discrimination;4.2.2.
Power and Agency;4.2.3.
Language/Silencing;5.
Discussion;6.
Conclusions and Recommendations.

Acknowledgments have been added.In the original publication, there were missing citations that have now been inserted.- Citations to Grey et al. (2013) and Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted in the Abstract.- Citations to Grey et al. (2013) and Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted in the Introduction, on page 2 and 3.- Citations to Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted in Section 3. Materials and Methods, on page 10 and 11.- Citations to Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted to Section 4.1.1. on Gender Differences, on page 14.- Citation to Memon et al. (2016) has been inserted in Section 4.2. Communication and Relationships between Service User and Healthcare Provider, on page 14.- Citations to Grey et al. (2013) and Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted in Section 5. Discussion, on pages 16, 17, 18, and 19.- Citations to Memon et al. (2016) have been inserted in Section 6. Conclusions and Recommendations, on page 19.

The original publication has been updated to reflect the author’s current institutional email address.

Soc. Sci. 2023, 12, 672. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12120672 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/socsc

Correction 2

Article title: Attempting to break the chain: reimaging inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the academy

Authors: Jason Arday, Dina Zoe Belluigi, & Dave Thomas

Journal: Educational Philosophy and Theory

Bibliometrics: Volume 53, Number 3, pages 298-313

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1773257

A correction has been made to clarify the relationship between the study presented in this article and a prior study (Arday 2018), that utilised similar methodologies which in turn were based on Memon et al.’s (2016) study.

  • The corrections have been made to the Methodology section of the article, paragraphs 1, 3-5, citing Memon et al. 2016 and Arday 2018, pages 303-304.

  • Two references have been added to the reference list:

    • Arday, J. (2018b). Understanding mental health: What are the issues for Black and Ethnic Minority students at university? Social Sciences, 12(12), 672.

    • Memon, A. Taylor, K., Mohebati, L. M., Sundin, J., Cooper, M., Scanlon, T. & de Visser, R. (2016). Perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities: A qualitative study in Southeast England. BMJ Open, 6(11), e012337.

These corrections have now been made to the online version.


Correction 2 was asked of an article I did not highlight originally in my list of examples,and referred to an article written jointly,as you can see. I didn't take notes on it either It displays the familiar similarities:

Arday, J., Belluigi, D. & Thomas, D. (2021). Attempting to break the chain: reimagining inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the Academy. Educational Philosophy and Theory 53 (3): 298--313

That one also has familiar similarities with Memon et al ( 2016) and Grey et al (2013).

Similarities with Memon:

Arday, Bellugi and Thomas (2021, p.304):

The initial part of the study involved each participant being given an anonymous self-administrated questionnaire to complete which was deposited into a ballot box…. Discussions were facilitated by the researchers who had experience in cross-cultural working dynamics and qualitative methods. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to the recording discussions, written notes were also taken and flipcharts were utilised for participants to engage in mapping and documenting patterns of thought (Davies et al., 2009; Jones & Berry, 1986). Each participant was encouraged to speak and express their experiences

Memon et al (2016):

The participants were given an anonymous self-administrated questionnaire to complete and were requested to deposit it in a ballot box...Discussions were facilitated by a researcher trained and experienced in cross cultural working and qualitative methods (LMM). Each session was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In addition to the recording of the discussion, written notes were also taken, using flipcharts, to allow for a review of the process and to ensure that participants' views were clearly documented. Each participant was encouraged to speak and express their own views and often conversations among participants enriched the discussion.

My comment: This is an odd series of similarities, with some identical phrases, often referring to unimportant details – flipcharts or ballot boxes. The identical words have been laced with synonyms, seemingly quite systematically – Memon et al’s ‘participants’ views were clearly documented’ is replaced by Arday et al’s ‘participants to engage in mapping and documenting patterns of thought’, or ‘views’ is replaced by ‘experiences’.

Similarities with Grey et al (2013)

Arday, Bellugi and Thomas (2021, p.311):

There is a recognition, however, that the term BAME is not universally accepted in spite of its use within the British vernacular. It is important to acknowledge that the term BAME, despite its widespread use, has severe limitations and usually follows non-specific quantifiers such as ‘most’ or ‘some’ (Glover & Evison, 2009). Typically, there has been an accepted use of the term BAME, which has been illustrated in research and Government papers. Given the purpose of this paper, this term is applied purely as a descriptive term having been the preferred term for most of the participants throughout this study.

Grey et al (2013, p.147) :

The  term BME despite its widespread use, has severe limitations and usually follows nonspecific quantifiers, such as “most” or “some.”  For example, a study  of ethnic utilization of newly devised mental health services highlights the diversity of patterns across different groups (Glover  &  Evison,  2009).  Given the accepted use of the term  BME and the fact that research and government papers typically use this term this article uses it

My comment: Again there are puzzling edits or changes – ‘BME’ in Grey et al is changed to ‘BAME’ in Arday et al (three times), the reference to Glover and Evison is kept again but not the study it refers to.

On to the notes on specific articles (and book). I read these in the order in which I discovered them. I shall be adding to them:

Arday, J. (2022a). No one can see me cry: understanding mental health issues for Black and minority ethnic staff in higher education
Arday, J. (2021). Fighting the tide: Understanding the difficulties facing  Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Doctoral Students' [sic] pursuing a career in Academia.
Arday, J. (2018a). Understanding Mental Health: What Are the Issues for Black and Ethnic Minority Students at University?
Whigham, S. & Arday,J. (2021) A response to 'Seeking equality of educational outcomes for Black students: a personal account' — a sociological perspective.
Arday, J., Belluigi, D. & Thomas, D. (2021). Attempting to break the chain: reimagining inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the Academy.
Arday, J. (2022b) 'More to prove and more to lose': race, racism and precarious employment in higher education.
Arday,J. (2018 b). Understanding race and educational leadership in higher education: Exploring the Black and ethnic minority (BME) experience.
Arday, J., Branchu, C.,  & Boliver, V. (2021). State of the Art. What Do We Know About Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Participation in UK Higher Education?
Arday (2020) Cool Britannia and Multi-Ethnic Britain. Uncorking the Champagne Supernova. Abingdon: Routledge ('book')
Arday, J., Belluigi, D. & Thomas, D. (2021). Attempting to break the chain: reimagining inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the Academy. Educational Philosophy and Theory 53 (3): 298--313
Lewis and Arday (2023)  We'll see things they'll never see: Sociological reflections on race, neurodiversity and higher education.