Search

This article examines the influence that digital life stories (DLS) can have on cancer research, using the PARCA1 project as an example. After describing the theoretical framework of DLS, we present the PARCA1 project. The PARCA1 project was anchored in the French context (Grand Est region) and aimed at producing knowledge on patients' experience of the cancer pathway through DLS. It involved 10 patients chosen to favor heterogeneity in profiles and experiences of illness. The paper describes the digital tool and the life stories methodology used to accompany the DLS. Next, it presents the methods and strategies used by participants to complete their DLS and the relationship between people with cancer and the accompanying researcher. Following this, we present (1) the impact of DLS on people with cancer, i.e., their progressive engagement in research, and (2) the impact on research, i.e., the methodological impact of people with cancer on research. In the discussion and conclusion, we explore how DLS can impact individuals who engage in them and their role in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Listening Guide (LG) is a relational, voice-centered method to analyzing qualitative research data. This article provides an account of how the LG was modified for a study that examined personal critical reflection papers written by 27 fourth-year dietetics university students after they participated in an arts-informed module on body image in a dietetics professional practice course. By relying on the main principles of the LG, we demonstrate how the LG can help us to listen and hear previously unnoticed and underappreciated voices. The purpose of this article is to serve as a source of guidance and support for researchers looking to implement the LG method beyond its original purpose, which was for transcribed interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a reflective account of delivering art workshops in women's prisons in England, as one method in a larger, qualitative study around the role of food in prisons. We present reflections around the role of art workshops in building relationships and community between the researcher and the participants, and the participants themselves. We found that building connection through art workshops, in a hostile and challenging environment like prison, enabled us to gather richer and deeper data during the qualitive interviews that succeeded the art workshops. We propose that attention from researchers to the 'unintended consequences' can contribute to research projects which are impactful for both the participants and researchers. This paper addresses gaps in literature around the use of visual art as method in women's prisons and the role of arts-based methods in larger qualitative research projects in secure settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being subject to criticism, qualitative research methodology remains a unique and valuable approach in collecting rich and informative data. However, this may vary from one context to another and researchers understanding of the context. Grounded on the decolonization notion of qualitative research, this paper explains leeways and obstacles in conducting research, reflecting upon the procedural and practical aspects that represent the reality in Tanzania based on two cases. Our paper emphasizes that it is essential to understand and capture the real-world reflective of the voices of the population whom the study targets, which may be easier for local/native researchers. This is because the local/native researchers may be able to explain the research processes and findings in consideration of the socio-cultural settings and political environment. The paper acknowledges that qualitative research requires patience and time, which may have financial implications. It also acknowledges that some populations are facing research fatigue exacerbated by inadequate research dissemination plans. Understanding the context of the study area or topic and applying appropriate methodological approaches to overcome obstacles and gather required adequate and relevant information is thus of importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws together critical learnings from diverse qualitative health research projects in Australia that sought to shift power and focus on the strengths and expertise of people with lived experience who are involved as co-researchers. These projects have included exploring and challenging identities, understanding experiences in treatment programs, critiquing and designing/re-designing services, and sharing experiences with the wider community in novel and innovative ways. Lived experiences included alcohol and other drug dependency, mental health, domestic, family or sexual violence, and living with HIV. This paper provides important learnings and actions about partnering with co-researchers with lived experience. In this paper we draw on a process of reflective discussions that occurred over six months with fortnightly online meetings between co-researchers, including co-authors with lived experience external to academia and university-based researchers, some of whom also have lived-experience that intersects with their research. From this, we distilled key learnings across seven themes: (1) the ethics of ethics, which highlights a need for constant reflection on the ethical issues in co-research; (2) recruiting co-researchers, which focuses on ensuring and integrating a diversity of voices; (3) creating safety for all, which must be a priority of engagement and support self-determination; (4) supporting different ways of partnering, which emphasises the need for diverse roles and ways to contribute on research teams; (5) capacity building and training, which requires ongoing evaluation of needs and tailored responses; (6) positioning, which highlights the need to transition from the idea of vulnerability to a strengths-based perspective of lived experience; and (7) power plays, reflecting the need to disrupt the dynamics and established hierarchies of privileging certain forms of knowledge and expertise. The paper includes recommendations for action against these seven themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regarding debates over researcher insider/outsider positionalities in the field of migration studies, many scholars have proposed various explanations. Some scholars studying migrant populations note that migrant scholars who share identities such as nationality, language, religion, race, ethnicity etc. with their study participants are usually perceived as insiders. Other scholars, however, contend that dynamics of insider/outsider positionalities are situationally shaped during researcher-participant interactions in fieldwork. There is now wide consensus among many scholars that shared social identities between researchers and study participants do not automatically position researchers as insiders. Drawing on secondary literature and my fieldwork encounters, this paper contributes to these debates by proposing typologies for migration researchers to use as analytical tools. The three typologies that map out insider/outsider dynamics during researcher-participant encounters in fieldwork are presuming ethnic insiderness/outsiderness, presuming national insiderness/outsiderness and the indeterminate fieldwork context. This paper argues that researchers' insider/outsider positionalities should not be viewed as pre-determined or fixed formations but as uncertain and situationally constituted. I further argue that migration researchers should not enter the fieldwork with an assumption of automatic insiderness or outsiderness but that they need to view their insider or outsider positionalities as emerging during encounters with research participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we outline our qualitative protocol for the largest, independent, mixed-method, evaluation of the High Volume-Low Complexity Surgical Hubs programme in England – The MEASURE study. In addition to serving as a protocol paper, we outline the key methodological considerations and adaptations that are needed when designing big qualitative studies – complex (multi-site, multi-stakeholder), multi-method (e.g. interviews, observations, documents) qualitative research involving a large number of participations (n = 100+). This paper expands on our previous methodological work, where we used our experience of undertaking a big qualitative study as part of a mixed-method evaluation of a national emergency care-based initiative, to outline the methodological considerations and uncertainties for designing and analysing "big" qualitative studies. In this paper, we put these considerations into practice by providing a transparent account of our qualitative study design. The methodological reflections which we present are centred around the areas where we feel there is the most uncertainty for big qualitative research: study design, sampling (of case sites and stakeholders) and analysis. Underpinning this uncertainty are broader challenges which utilising this approach incite. Namely, that striving for both breadth (national-level insights) and depth (local variation and context), challenges paradigmatic norms and expectations and forces either methodological innovation, or the adaption of existing qualitative methods. We hope this paper provides transparency and insight into an area of qualitative research which has, potentially due to a perception of "safety in numbers" been inherently trusted and rarely scrutinised. Ultimately, we hope that by providing a transparent account of our study design and the challenges we have faced that we continue to encourage discussion and innovation in this evolving area of qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scoping review offers insight into researcher well-being when working with sensitive and traumatic topics in a qualitative research context. The study identified existing empirical research concerning researcher well-being and mental health. The databases included SSCI, ASSIA < IBISS, Scopus, Social Policy and Practice, PsycInfo, Social Science Database/Social Science Premium Collection (Proquest), and Open Grey. An international search was conducted, with no time constraints on publication dates to gather as wide a selection as possible. 55 papers met the criteria. We found that the terminology used within the papers was not consistent which necessitated grouping the (self-) reflection/reflexive practices researchers used and categorizing them under the umbrella term SRR practices. The research questions were: 1. Which disciplines or fields are conducting SRR practices on sensitive topics? 2. What SRR practices do researchers employ in the context of sensitive research? 3. What were the self-reported outcomes from using SRR practices as a tool of researchers working on sensitive research? A key finding of the scoping review is that many researchers who work on sensitive topics feel unprepared and receive little or no training or support for SRR practices. This poses particular challenges for early career researchers. We also identified that qualitative researchers have developed a range of SRR practices to manage the emotional impact of their sensitive research work. Many authors of the scoped papers stress the importance of peer-support as well as formal and informal debriefing meetings. Another key SRR practice discussed by many researchers is reflexive journaling. Our scoping review suggests that if it is combined with other activities, self-reflexive journaling can be an excellent way to acknowledge and assess the emotional impact of sensitive research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, on qualitative thematic analysis (QTA) in social change research, falls somewhere between a reflective piece and a how-to guide. Using two examples from my own previous research, I discuss why QTA in the field of social change or social justice, which often analyzes the words of vulnerable, marginalized, or underserved populations, is so fraught, so contested, and so often dismissed. Qualitative thematic analysis of interviews or focus groups is a common research tool used in the field, but the guidelines, scope, and practices of this tool are varied and ill-defined. I have witnessed in my students' papers and in peer reviewing for journals that there are a handful of assumptions and misconceptions that appear repeatedly, for example around intercoder reliability and frequency counting, that reduce the quality of analysis. This paper focuses on how to conduct QTAs that address social change: complex social problems faced by underserved populations, such as those dealing with poverty and inequality. By discussing the methods used in two of my own social change research projects, this paper offers a balanced method for both promoting rigor and understanding the limits and strengths of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive guide for novice researchers (mostly applicable to PhD students and those new to qualitative research), teachers, and reviewers of qualitative psychology research methods. This paper delineates the main quality criteria across qualitative methods: providing a holistic framework that covers fundamental principles as well as nuanced, context-specific guidelines relevant to a chosen qualitative approach. First, we demonstrate why this overview is needed, in part because of an increasing emphasis on finding sound ways of appraising qualitative studies, the lack of agreement on quality markers, and the variety of qualitative research methodologies available. Next, we present general criteria for quality across all qualitative methods, before setting out method specific criteria for four commonly used qualitative research approaches: Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA), Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Critical Discursive Psychology/Discursive Psychology (CDP/DP) and Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT). While the focus is on providing criteria specific to these methodological approaches, we also describe the broader philosophical foundations underpinning these approaches and other branches within these philosophies, recognising that methodological criteria can be contrasting and competing even within methodologies. The integration of general and approach-specific criteria cultivates a deeper understanding of both the philosophical underpinnings and practical intricacies of qualitative inquiry, empowering researchers to navigate the methodological landscape with critical acumen and intellectual humility. Finally, we compare the four methodologies in terms of key features and qualities they aim to achieve. The paper emphasizes that even though there are criteria that are common across the field, it is essential to maintain the specific stance of each individual methodological approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content analysis, initially a quantitative technique for identifying patterns in qualitative data, has evolved into a widely used qualitative method. However, this evolution has resulted in a confusing array of differing qualitative content analysis approaches that lack clear distinction from other methods. To address these issues, this paper introduces reflexive content analysis, a transtheoretical and flexible researcher-oriented method for the description and reduction of manifest qualitative data. RCA is used to identify patterns in the overt surface meanings of qualitative data through the use of a hierarchical structure of quantifiable analytical strata called codes, subcategories, and categories. Each stratum exists on a continuum of abstraction with codes being the closest to the original data and categories being the most abstract. During each stage of the RCA process, reflexivity is regarded as a valuable analytical resource that is crucial for ensuring adequate description of the data. RCA is intended to be used as method for data analysis, not a methodology, and therefore can be integrated with various methodological and epistemological approaches. This paper provides an introductory guide to conducting RCA. It first presents an overview of existing challenges in qualitative content analysis methods, followed by a rationale for the development of RCA. Then, the foundational principles of RCA and key concepts that support this method are discussed. The paper culminates by outlining the process for conducting an inductive RCA within a qualitative framework, using a previous application of this method as a reference point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images and texts, their qualities as empirical data, and their entanglements, have been the object of methodological and theoretical debates in social scientific research for a few decades now. Scholars have argued that images and texts are fundamentally different to the point of being incommensurable. Contrary to this line of reasoning, this paper suggests that images and texts are similar enough to be studied within the same framework, that of semiotics, understood as a non-reductive approach to the socio-cultural making of aesthetics, performances, and meanings in multi-media arrangements. Unfolding this argument, I do not suggest that 'images are like texts,' but instead propose that 'texts are like images.' Doing so, I discuss a few of the most frequently assumed properties of images, and how these may apply to texts. As such, this article sets the theoretical perimeters for more specific methodical approaches in social scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) was developed to support the use of evidence from qualitative reviews within policy- and decision-making. To date, the approach has been applied predominantly to aggregative synthesis methodologies and descriptive review findings. GRADE-CERQual guidance recommends the approach be tested on more diverse review methodologies and outputs to support its evolution. This paper contributes to this evolution by reflecting on our experiences of applying GRADE-CERQual to findings that emerged from a recent Cochrane meta-ethnography on childhood vaccination. Specifically, we describe the similarities and differences, challenges and dilemmas we experienced applying the approach to more interpretive versus more descriptive review findings. We found that we were able to apply the core criteria and principles of GRADE-CERQual in ways that were congruent with the methodologies and epistemologies of a meta-ethnography and its findings. We also found that the practical application processes were similar across review finding types. The main differences related to the level of demand placed on the evidence and the level of complexity involved with the decisions. Compared to more descriptive findings, more interpretive findings required evidence that was richer, thicker, more contextually situated and methodologically stronger for us to have the same level of confidence in them. Making the assessments for these findings also involved more complicated forms of judgement. We provide practical examples to illustrate these complexities and how we approached them, which others applying GRADE-CERQual to more interpretive review findings could draw upon. We also highlight areas requiring further discussion, in the hope that this will offer a platform for engagement and the potential future refinement of the approach. Ultimately, this could enhance the usability of GRADE-CERQual for a larger range of qualitative review findings and in turn expand the kinds of knowledges that count within decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines my experience as an early career researcher engaging with my power and privilege embedded in my white, English-speaking identity while working with Mexican American male-identifying research participants. Utilizing critical race theory as a framework, this paper chronicles my reflections on un/hooking from whiteness within the context of scholarly inquiry. Specifically, I draw inspiration from a qualitative research project to anchor the discussion of privileged epistemologies and power structures embedded in the inquiry process and academia more broadly, and how race can intersect with how we negotiate our roles, methods, and subjectivities as qualitative scholars. More broadly, this paper explores notions of knowledge and agency in educational inquiry against the question of whose stories are told, how, for whom, and by whom. This paper contributes to the conversation and efforts toward disentangling from whiteness and the epistemologies around which research, higher education, and society are structured to instead magnify the voices and experiences of participants through more egalitarian inquiry practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thematic analysis is a highly popular technique among qualitative researchers for analyzing qualitative data, which usually comprises thick descriptive data. However, the application and use of thematic analysis has also involved complications due to confusion regarding the final outcome's presentation as a conceptual model. This paper develops a systematic thematic analysis process for creating a conceptual model from qualitative research findings. It explores the adaptability of the proposed process across various research methodologies, including constructivist methodologies, positivist methodologies, grounded theory, and interpretive phenomenology, and justifies their application. The paper distinguishes between inductive and deductive coding approaches and emphasizes the merits of each. It suggests that the derived systematic thematic analysis model is valuable across multiple disciplines, particularly in grounded theory, ethnographic approaches, and narrative approaches, while also being adaptable to more descriptive, positivist-based methodologies. By providing a methodological roadmap, this study enhances the rigor and replicability of thematic analysis and offers a comprehensive strategy for theoretical conceptualization in qualitative research. The contribution of this paper is a systematic six-step thematic analysis process that leads to the development of a conceptual model; each step is described in detail and examples are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional qualitative inquiry research methods exhort us to look for the 'good' story tellers who use metaphors to describe their experiences, emotions, and events. This privileges abled-bodied individuals, meaning that without full individual accessibility for people with disability is not achieved. The objective of this paper is to present a case study on inclusion of research participants who live with deafblindness. This case study posits where qualitative story telling spaces currently are; whose voices occupy these narratives; what is said and how it is said: and the performative aspects of the qualitative inquiry currently. Research including people with disability is reflected in the evidence base, however the question that if qualitative methods don't seek to explore and understand these differences, epistemic injustices will be perpetrated. The case study reflects on a research project whose methodology sought to solicit hospital experiences for those living with deafblindness. The Australian study of 18 deafblind participants with wide ranging communication needs, shared in-depth narrative inquiry stories told in: 'snapshots' of moments of disempowerment; through sign and vibrotactile communication; usage of the strong verb with metaphor rarely present except to exclusively describe instances of dehumanisation. Narrative inquiry method when used with people who are deafblind is predominately chaotic with some tense instability for non-signing participants. Emphasis is via repetition, altered pitch and expletives. Touch centricity is fundamental. Dissonance is evident between words used and stories told. The thematic analysis identified a need to reflect epistemically across the creation of any qualitative project from beginning to end, focussing on what is being said and how it is being said or signed or felt. The conclusion of the paper provides a roadmap for future projects to ensure improvements in the enhancing of awareness of different ways of being, doing and telling in qualitative research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the COVID-19 pandemic halting all in-person research in March 2020, many researchers adopted virtual methods to continue their work amid this global crisis. As the pandemic persisted and the safety of participants and researchers remained a priority, virtual research grew in popularity for qualitative researchers. This in turn led to methodological insights on the application and advantages of conducting qualitative research using virtual methods. Virtual methods have been found to enhance participant comfort, facilitate open discussion of sensitive topics, alleviate fatigue in participants and researchers, and result in more engaging and focused interviews. While the body of evidence supporting virtual methods of data collection for nursing and other healthcare disciplines continues to grow, its application in the long-term care (LTC) setting remains underreported. In this paper, we discuss the virtual methods that we developed and implemented to successfully conduct a virtual qualitative single case study in a Canadian LTC home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Considerations from existing literature on virtual methods are discussed in parallel with strategies we implemented to successfully conduct a virtual study in LTC. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on methodological insights into conducting virtual qualitative research in LTC. We provide evidence-based strategies for the virtual recruitment of study sites, study participants including residents, team members and families, and virtual data collection methods. These recommendations offer insights to overcome challenges and maximize the advantages of virtual methods, to enhance the quality and rigour of virtual qualitative research conducted within LTC settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that qualitative researchers should focus more attention on producing locally causal explanations for social phenomena. To enable qualitative researchers to achieve this goal, this paper introduces a novel, step-by-step methodology for analysing qualitative data called the 'Realist Phenomenological Method'. The Realist Phenomenological Method does not represent a novel philosophical insight because several studies have already adopted a realistic phenomenological approach in a philosophical context. Rather, this article's novelty lies in its methodological contribution. The introduction of the Realist Phenomenological Method marks an advancement in qualitative research because it is the first formalized analytical methodology to merge methods inspired by critical realism and descriptive phenomenology. Furthermore, this method represents an advancement in qualitative research due to it enabling qualitative researchers to produce causal explanations for social phenomena. This advancement has important implications for qualitative researchers who aim to influence public policy, as any public policymaker who wants to suggest how a social problem can be addressed must first possess an awareness of what is causing the problem. This article begins by introducing the need for a new outlook on causality in qualitative research and outlining how inspiration has been taken from critical realism and descriptive phenomenology in designing the Realist Phenomenological Method. The step-by-step methodology of the Realist Phenomenological Method is then introduced, and an account is provided of how this novel methodology can advance understandings around causal explanations in qualitative research and social science. Interview extracts taken from the author's doctoral dissertation are then used to frame each stage of the Realist Phenomenological Method and demonstrate how the method can be implemented effectively. The paper concludes that the Realist Phenomenological Method can be useful to both qualitative researchers and policymakers who aim to address social issues through effectively identifying the causes of such problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of saturation in qualitative research is a widely debated topic. Saturation refers to the point at which no new data or themes are emerging from the data set, which indicates that the data have been fully explored. It is considered an important concept as it helps to ensure that the findings are robust and that the data are being used to their full potential to achieve the research aim. Saturation, or the point at which further observation of data will not lead to the discovery of more information related to the research questions, is an important aspect of qualitative research. However, there is some mystification and semantic debate surrounding the term saturation, and it is not always clear how many rounds of research are needed to reach saturation or what criteria are used to make that determination during the thematic analysis process. This paper focuses on the actualisation of saturation in the context of thematic analysis and develops a systematic approach to using data to justify the contribution of research. Consequently, we introduce a distinct model to help researchers reach saturation through refining or expanding existing quotations, codes, themes and concepts as necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this literature review-based paper is to share some insights into general methodological issues pertaining to the case study research strategy and how I applied it for purposes of my doctoral study on the design and delivery of rural enterprise business support programmes. I hope that the insights I share here will help novice researchers who have intentions of using the case study research strategy for their studies or those who just want to broaden their knowledge about the research strategy. The paper is largely an excerpt of my methodology chapter from my recently completed and unpublished doctoral thesis, derived mainly from the methodology literature. The paper starts by exploring the definition of case studies and goes on to look at case studies issues to do with the unit of analysis; research questions; types of case studies; sampling, data collection, triangulation and quality issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores methodological advantages and limitations of using asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) as an approach to investigating community attitudes and values relating to biotechnology in food production. We describe our experiences using AOFGs during the COVID-19 pandemic as a form of emergent design. We highlight the methodological advantages and limitations of such research approaches, particularly to explore unanticipated ideas relating to community attitudes and values associated with biotechnology in food production. Although AOFGs are not a direct substitute for traditional methodologies, there are clear advantages that can outweigh typical concerns, depending on the research questions and goals, particularly when research aims to involve participants from diverse demographic groups and engage in more emergent methods allowing unanticipated ideas to be explored. As a result of having to pivot our methods to produce the required analyses during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper provides valuable insights into the use of AOFGs to capture qualitative data when use of traditional methods is restricted or may be less desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative inquiry has often been merged with other methodologies to conduct research in schools. Its interweaving with appreciative inquiry as a methodology to research within education, however, is newly emerging. In this study, which interweaves the two methodologies, narrative inquiry and appreciative inquiry are used to examine stories of teaching and explore teacher identity—an evolution of narrative inquiry that facilitates the telling of participant school stories in a focused and intentional way through an appreciative inquiry framework. This paper explores the interweaving of the methodologies and provides an example of its use. It draws on a doctoral study titled Identity as pedagogy: Locating the shadows in the sacred space between, which examined the stories of teacher identities and the ways such stories manifest in pedagogy, with a group of teachers from a common educational jurisdiction in eastern Canada. The data that emerged through the appreciative inquiry process were narratively analyzed and understood through the common themes they presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of HIV in South Africa is informed by national guidelines, which are regularly updated. Ongoing training of healthcare workers is vital for optimal patient care, but is challenging, due to human, financial and infrastructural constraints. There is a need for innovative solutions to meet training and support needs. With 93.2% of South African adults using WhatsApp, it is an ideal platform for training, even in the most remote clinics. The primary aim of the study is to design, test and evaluate the effect of WhatsApp group-based HIV training on nurses' and community health workers' knowledge. The secondary aims are to assess uptake, acceptability, and feasibility of the intervention; and to explore and describe the changes in prescribing, comparing the intervention group to the control group. A pragmatic, mixed-methods, parallel-group cluster-randomised study design will be used. This paper details the design – and rationale behind it – of the study. A critical realist stance was chosen, with outcomes measured using questionnaires, pre- and post-intervention; WhatsApp group interaction; focus groups; and folder reviews. Inferential analysis will be conducted using Stata, descriptive analysis using Excel™ and qualitative data using template analysis with NVivo™. Rigor of the study will be ensured using relevant points from the CASP and COREQ checklists, considering the study's theoretical underpinning, design and aims. Reporting will be guided by the CONSORT and SRQR guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of qualitative research methodology. They include "What Lies Beyond the Narrative Horizon?: The Spiritual Dimension in Critical Qualitative Research," "The Best and/or Worst Times? The Uncertain Future of Qualitative Research," and "The Contested Terrain of Action Research as a Qualitative Method."

Vulnerability has typically been addressed in the context of research ethics from the point of view of participants, with a focus on how to prevent the potential or exacerbation of existing harm caused by the power and role asymmetries between researchers and participants. However, more recent approaches to research ethics question whether researchers are, by definition, located in a privileged position during the research process and safe from any kind of vulnerability. In line with this, we reflect on the dimensions of researcher vulnerability specific to studies using a qualitative methodology in health research. Our argument is that participants and researchers should be on the receiving end of efforts to implement ethical procedures and protection from harm. Based on the autoethnographic analysis of our experiences as qualitative health researchers, this paper aims to identify dimensions of researcher vulnerability, and draw out relevant recommendations for practice. The reflections upon which this paper is based emerged during a spring school focusing on research ethics in qualitative health research, during which we discussed situations from our own research experience which left us feeling vulnerable. We identify four dimensions related to the experience of vulnerability (reciprocity; emotional labor; application of ethical standards; reversed power asymmetries) and five crosscutting aspects relating to these dimensions (researching sensitive topics; researching in contexts of vulnerability, poverty and structural violence; being a novice; lacking adequate support; insufficient time and space for ethical reflexivity). Our recommendations address particular challenges for these dimensions, and center on the role of reflexivity, as one of the cornerstones for enabling ethical qualitative research practice, requiring us to acknowledge and address our own vulnerability and positionality. Autoethnographic exercises are particularly useful for zooming in on ethically important moments in research related to researcher vulnerability and fruitful for identifying resources to respond to such challenges in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many research projects were forced to adapt their design and conduct interviews online. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of using online focus groups with participants representing different generations and cultural and social backgrounds. Based on the researchers' experiences and field notes from a three-country comparative project, aiming at analysing the extent to which previous experience of state surveillance impacted attitudes to commercial monitoring and tracking of online behaviour among two generational cohorts, the paper identifies seven aspects where the move from offline to online interviewing interfered with the original research design. The paper suggests that most of these interferences resulted in a need to adjust the methodology to better fit the online setting. We reflect critically upon the issues of technological preconditions and digital skills, recruitment, group size, degrees of previous acquaintance, the role of the interviewer, participants' household status and media environment, and ethical considerations concerning privacy and data management. Based on these methodological insights, we conclude that future online focus group research would benefit from using smaller groups and adjusted moderation, flexibility in interviewing tools and channels, and new, online-specific ethical considerations when planning, executing, and analysing interviews. The paper advocates the complementarity between in-person and online focus groups as two modalities of data collection and argues for the normalization of hybrid methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What continuities and contradictions can qualitative researchers discern among versions of the grounded theory method? How do contradictions within the method affect research practice? How do new versions of grounded theory advance research practice and critical inquiry? To answer these questions, this keynote address begins with a brief overview of grounded theory for those who are unfamiliar with the method and subsequently discusses the continuities and contradictions between versions of the method. Constructivist grounded theory (CGT) uses the methodological strategies of the original version but builds on its pragmatist heritage, shifts its epistemological foundations, and resolves contradictions in earlier versions of the method. The result means placing grounded theory in the social constructionist tradition, viewing data as co-constructed with research participants, puncturing deeply held methodological preconceptions, and subsequently fostering a heightened methodological self-consciousness. The practice of CGT assists researchers in interrogating their data, nascent analyses, research actions, and themselves each step along the way. Subsequently, researchers can gain awareness of the pervasiveness of Anglo-North American worldviews throughout inquiry. CGT not only aids theorizing and defining and developing emergent critical questions during the research process but also brings power into purview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the dominance of ableist narratives, there is a distinct lack of diversity of participants and geographies in education research with students with disabilities. To address this lack, we developed podcasting as a method for DisCrit-informed qualitative research in the form of a pilot project for the first author's doctoral study on the experiences of acquired disability as intersected with policy, race, gender, sexuality, religion, and nationality. Using writing as method of inquiry, in this paper, we reflect on moments of questioning, tensions, challenges, and ethical ponderings that we encountered throughout the creation of the podcast project. These tensions include questions about what digging deep means in DisCrit research, the challenges of negotiating power, ethics, and care, questioning whose stories are worth telling and who gets to tell them and, finally, the epistemological provocations we rubbed against. Specifically, we argue that the creative, digital, and culturally specific properties of podcasting offer a counterstorying approach to ableism, by generating situated knowing about living with a disability. Podcasting, as a DisCrit-informed qualitative approach, may enable researchers' abilities to develop rich, nuanced, and detailed understandings of experiences of disabilities, across geographies, identities, and contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asynchronous email interviewing has been increasingly utilized as an electronic method of data collection in qualitative research, because it eliminates the need for costly travel and transcription and allows more time for participants to react with thoughtful, reflective responses. While research indicates that data collected in written form is comparable in content and richness with that collected in-person, via telephone, or through virtual live interactions, there is the risk of participant attrition, loss of trust-building with subjects and missing non-verbal/visual cues for the researcher. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate use of asynchronous email interviewing as applied to a study on expectations and demands of chaplains in hospital settings. Unique in this approach is the inclusion of multiple participant groups over a large geographical area. Data were collected among chaplains, chaplain leaders, nurses, hospital executives, and patients and family members across a multi-state healthcare system. Although enrollment was adequate, 37% of those enrolled did not respond to initial interview emails, and of those who did respond, only 42% responded to follow-up questions. For several participants who did not respond to requests for email interviews, subsequent invitations to participate in live virtual interviews were preferred. Analysis reflected significant differences between groups in the quantity, quality, and richness of data, which may reflect communication patterns and preferences, time restrictions, and subject matter engagement. Based on study findings, it is suggested that similar studies offer options of interview modalities to participants to best meet their preferences and schedules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research methods had to quickly adapt to using online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic to limit in-person interactions. Online platforms have been used extensively for interviews and focus groups, but workshops with larger groups requiring more complex interactions have not been widely implemented. This paper presents a case study of a fully virtual social innovation lab on bioplastics packaging, which was adapted from a series of in-person workshops. A positive outcome of the online setting was diversifying the types of participants who could participate. Highly interactive activities such as icebreakers, networking, bricolage, and prototyping were particularly challenging to shift from in-person to online using traditional web conferencing platforms like Zoom. Creative use of online tools, such as Gather.Town and Kahoot!, helped unlock more innovative thinking by employing novel techniques such as gamification. However, challenges such as adapting facilitation for an online environment and exclusion of groups that do not have consistent access to internet and/or computers still need to be addressed. The reflections and lessons learned from this paper can help researchers adapt qualitative methods to virtual environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online communication in our work and private lives has increased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative research has evolved with this trend with many studies adopting online methods. It is therefore timely to assess the use and utility of online focus groups compared to face-to-face focus groups. Traditional Pearl Growing Methodology was used to identify eligible papers. Data were extracted on data collection methods, recruitment and sampling strategies, analytical approaches to comparing data sets, the depth of data produced, participant interactions and the required resources. A total of 26 papers were included in the review. Along with face-to-face focus groups (n = 26) 16 studies conducted synchronous, eight asynchronous and two both online focus group methods. Most studies (n = 22) used the same recruitment method for both face-to-face and online focus groups. A variety of approaches to compare data sets were used in studies. Of the studies reporting on depth of data (n = 19), nine found that face-to-face groups produced the most in-depth data, four online groups and six equivalent data. Participant interaction was reported to be greater during face-to-face groups in 10 studies; three reported online groups produced greater interaction and six equivalent interaction. Detailed resource use comparisons were not presented in any of the studies. This review demonstrates that to date there is not a clear consensus as to whether face-to-face or online focus groups hold specific advantages in terms of the data produced and the resources required. Given these findings it may be appropriate for researchers to consider using online focus groups where time and resources are constrained, or where these are more practicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, there has been a growing trend towards the use of 'big qualitative data' in applied health research, particularly when used as part of mixed methods evaluations of health policy in England. These 'big qualitative' studies tend to be longitudinal, complex (multi-site and multi-stakeholder) and involve the use of multiple methods (interviews, observations, documents) and large numbers of participants (n = 100+). Despite their growing popularity, there is no methodological guidance or methodological reflection on how to undertake such studies. Qualitative researchers are therefore faced with a series of unknowns when designing large qualitative studies, particularly in terms of knowing whether existing qualitative sampling and analysis methods are appropriate in this context. In this paper, we use our experience of undertaking a big qualitative study, as part of a national mixed methods evaluation of a health policy in England to reflect on some of the key challenges that we faced in our qualitative study, which broadly related to: sample size, data analysis and the role of patient and public engagement. Underpinning these difficulties was the challenge of being flexible and innovative within the largely positivist research climate of applied health research and being comfortable with uncertainty relating to the three issues outlined. The reflections we present are not to be viewed as a method 'how to' guide, but rather as a platform to raise key issues relating to the qualitative methods that we found challenging, in order to stimulate discussion and debate amongst the qualitative community. Through this paper, we therefore hope to demystify what it is like to undertake such a study and hope to spark much needed discussion and innovation to support the future design and conduct of qualitative research at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the Rug Methodology to enhance participation in the qualitative research process. The idea of using rugs to facilitate narratives and expression, and to build reciprocity and activate reflexivity and meaning-making, grew out of a peer-to-peer debate between the authors of this paper on a qualitative research approach for weaving rugs, inventive methods for community action, and drawing as a reflective practice. The article describes the procedure of drawing rugs to encourage people participation. Rugs are everyday objects but they can become a qualitative tool that can be used with in-depth interviews, amplifying the opportunity of collecting participants' lived experiences, emotions, reflections, and desires. The paper aims to define a framework which connects "to-do activities" with dialogical practices in research and to describe strengths and limitations of drawings rugs in a qualitative research design. Drawings, life events, and stories from the field are described and discussed, showing how everyday objects such as rugs can support expression, participation, reflexivity, and how drawing rugs is suitable for various and vulnerable targets and settings in qualitative studies. Finally, the paper describes the challenges of analysing data from drawings to illustrate lived experiences related to people who stay in rural areas and how they learnt to generate their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative social science research has an obligation to resist replicating or reinforcing social harms. This paper explores how researchers can adopt strategies to develop inclusive, safe, and reflexive research spaces with queer participants. Reflecting on a research study that explored the impact of queer representation in young adult literature on young readers, the paper explores the concepts of building queer connections and fostering inclusion as methods to support qualitative research design. Through this reflexive process, it has been found that intentionally using strategies to establish queer connections between participants and promoting inclusion through empathetic listening can significantly enhance participant experiences, primarily in terms of safety, support, and openness to vulnerability. These deliberate strategies also play a crucial role in reinforcing participant engagement and retention. Further, these findings indicate that these methods have additional benefits for research that transitions from face-to-face methods to online and digital formats. We argue that qualitative social science researchers who work with the queer community have an obligation to create inclusive and safe spaces for participants – not only to resist replicating stigmatising social structures, but to move beyond a pedagogy of pathologization in queer research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes using the Qualitative Pathway Project Mapping Tool (QL-PPMT) to guide the development of rigorous qualitative research proposals. The original PPMT was initially developed to assist nursing students in planning their quantitative research proposals and has been widely used by faculty to advise student research projects. In this paper, we have adapted the 26 sections of the PPMT to provide a comprehensive checklist and road map for qualitative proposal planning. Further, we describe each section of the QL-PPMT in detail with examples and suggest additional resources to guide the development of evidence-based qualitative research proposals for new investigators, students, and trainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although qualitative research is often equated with inductive analysis, researchers may also use deductive qualitative approaches for certain types of research questions and purposes. Deductive qualitative research allows researchers to use existing theory to examine meanings, processes, and narratives of interpersonal and intrapersonal phenomena. Deductive qualitative analysis (DQA; Gilgun, 2005, 2019) is one form of deductive qualitative research that is suited to theory application, testing, and refinement. Within DQA, researchers combine deductive and inductive analysis to examine supporting, contradicting, refining, and expanding evidence for the theory or conceptual model being examined, resulting in a theory that better fits the present sample and accounts for increased diversity in the phenomenon being studied. This paper acts as a primer on DQA and presents two worked examples of DQA studies. Our discussion focuses on the five primary components of DQA: selecting a research question and guiding theory, operationalizing theory, collecting a purposive sample, coding and analyzing data, and theorizing. We highlight different ways of operationalizing theory as sensitizing constructs or as working hypotheses and discuss common pitfalls in theory operationalization. We divide the coding and analyzing process into two sections for parsimony: early analysis, focused on familiarity with the data, code generation, and identification of negative cases, and middle analysis, focused on developing a thorough understanding of evidence related to the guiding theory and negative cases that depart from the guiding theory. Theorizing occurs throughout as researchers consider ways in which the theory being examined is supported, refuted, refined, or expanded. We also discuss strengths and limitations of DQA and potential difficulties researchers may experience when utilizing this methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature closure of analysis refers to finishing data analysis too early, leading to underdeveloped qualitative findings. It is a critical issue in qualitative research affecting the rigor and trustworthiness of qualitative findings. While much has been written about how to conduct rigorous data analysis across a range of qualitative approaches, there has been no discussion of the features of premature closure of analysis and strategies for addressing it. The purpose of this paper is to outline how to spot premature closure of analysis and to describe strategies to mitigate this issue. Three identifying features of premature analysis are: providing thin descriptions with loaded participant quotes, presenting conventional concepts as themes, and using topic summaries as themes. Using a First Approach to qualitative analysis, working in segments to generate a wholistic thematic output, and critical reflection and examination before finalizing the thematic output can be useful strategies to mitigate premature closure of analysis. Themes and patterns that are too vague and meaningless to provide a comprehensive account of the studied phenomenon are a threat to the validity of the study and a waste of researchers' effort and time. Premature closure of analysis is one of the most common problems affecting the quality of thematic outputs in quality studies. Therefore, researchers should be mindful and critical in their analytical decision-making to prevent this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As researchers in communication sciences and related disciplines continue to embrace qualitative research methodologies, there will be a corresponding need for innovative methods and strategies for data collection and generation, reflexivity and knowledge translation to make qualitative research methods more inclusive. Historically, those who communicate differently from the status quo have been excluded from or spoken for in qualitative research. The resulting omission of these perspectives in the literature constitutes a critical research-to-practice gap as clinicians seek to deliver client-focused communication care. Arts-Based Research (ABR) offers researchers a means of augmenting potentially linguistically and cognitively demanding verbal interviews while inviting participants to share a window into their daily lives with researchers and knowledge users. Additionally, ABR offers participants alternative forms of expression and creates avenues for researcher reflexivity and participant-researcher reflexive dialogue. To illustrate how ABR can enhance communication research, we present reflections on a study that incorporated multi-media artistic materials in a reflexive arts-based collective case study design. Working with young people experiencing post-concussion communication changes, we used arts-based materials collected and created by participants to support and enhance data collection. These materials were analyzed as part of each case, across cases, and played a central role in sharing our findings. Additionally, arts-based materials facilitated participant-researcher reflexive dialogue and researcher reflexivity. The goals of this paper are to: 1) provide a brief overview of ABR as a method for researchers interested in communication; 2) discuss four ways to incorporate ABR in the research process; 3) provide a case example illustrating different types of creative works to illustrate the four ways ABR can enhance communication research; and 4) discuss benefits, considerations and implications of using ABR to support inclusive research design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health qualitative research has largely failed to achieve full inclusion of people with disabilities and Black people and Latinx/as. Although there is a small, but growing, community of academic researchers from each of these communities, there has been limited involvement of non-academic community members in research. While Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) has informed the inclusion of marginalized groups in research for decades, instances of full inclusion of disabled Black people and Latinx/as in public health research have been minimal. One way to ensure the inclusion of Black/Latinx community members with disabilities is to involve them as peer researchers. As part of a qualitative study examining pregnancy experiences of individuals with physical disabilities from Black/Latinx communities, academic researchers trained four peer researchers to conduct interviews and analyze the data. This paper describes our approach, which may serve as a model for training peer researchers in qualitative research methodology for future studies. All peer researchers were women who identified as Black or Latina parents with physical disabilities. This approach was chosen due to the study's focus on the intersections of disability, race, ethnicity, and pregnancy, and applied a disability justice lens. Although CBPR offers important principles for research existing literature suggests CBPR is not always inclusive and power sharing. Therefore, we developed a research training model which places a unique and timely focus on the intersections of CBPR, racial and disability justice, the importance of building the capacity of Black and Latina disabled peer researchers, and its importance to building community relationships and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has required researchers to adapt methodologies for remote data collection. While virtual interviewing has traditionally received limited attention in the qualitative literature, recent adaptations to the pandemic have prompted increased discussion and adoption. Yet, current discussion has focussed on practical and ethical concerns and retained a tone of compromise, of coping in a crisis. This paper extends the nascent conversations begun prior to the pandemic to consider the wider methodological implications of video-call interviews. Beyond the short-term, practical challenges of the pandemic, these adaptations demonstrate scope for longer-term, beneficial digitalisation of both traditional and emergent interview methods. Updating traditional interview methods digitally has demonstrated how conversion to video interviewing proves beneficial in its own right. Virtual focus-group-based research during COVID-19, for example, accessed marginalised populations and elicited notable rapport and rich data, uniting people in synchronous conversation across many environments. Moreover, emergent interview methods such as the Grid Elaboration Method (a specialised free-associative method) demonstrated further digitalised enhancements, including effective online recruitment with flexible scheduling, virtual interactions with significant rapport, and valuable recording and transcription functions. This paper looks beyond the pandemic to future research contexts where such forms of virtual interviewing may confer unique advantages: supporting researcher and participant populations with mobility challenges; enhancing international research where researcher presence or travel may be problematic. When opportunities for traditional face-to-face methods return, the opportunity for virtual innovation should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Doctors with a history of mental health or substance use challenges face barriers accessing treatment and are difficult to recruit for research. This makes understanding their experiences challenging, yet essential. Overcoming barriers to research participation among unwell doctors is critical to advancing their overall health and wellbeing. Methods: A qualitative interview study of 21 allegedly impaired doctors in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand who were subject to regulatory processes relating to their health. Based in an interpretative phenomenological paradigm, this paper examines participants' motivations for participation in this study and their reactions to participating. It highlights wider implications for sensitive research involving doctors and marginalised groups. Results: Participants were strongly motivated to participate in our research for their own benefit (desire to be heard, catharsis, and empowerment) and to benefit others (to change the system, and to avoid other doctors experiencing what they experienced). Careful planning and communication of unique legal risks fostered a trusting researcher-participant relationship. To assist other researchers undertaking sensitive qualitative research with vulnerable participants, we describe our research protocol, challenges, and successes in detail. Conclusions: Despite ethical concerns about research risk, researchers can and should pursue qualitative research into the experiences of under-represented groups, including allegedly impaired doctors. Without involving them in research that examines issues directly impacting on them, we may be inadvertently perpetuating the barriers and stigma that also hinder them from accessing treatment and support. This also deprives us of knowledge that can be used to improve doctors' health. This paper has broader relevance for anyone doing research with doctors, people in vulnerable positions, people disempowered by institutional or social systems, people who are stigmatised or shamed, and people who have experienced trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative evidence syntheses (QES) have increased in prominence and profile over the last decade as a discrete set of methodologies to undertake systematic reviews of primary qualitative research in health and social care and in education. The findings from a qualitative evidence synthesis can enable a richer interpretation of a particular phenomenon, set of circumstances, or experiences than single primary qualitative research studies can achieve. Qualitative evidence synthesis methods were developed in response to an increasing demand from health and social professionals, policy makers, guideline developers and educationalists for review evidence that goes beyond "what works" afforded by systematic reviews of effectiveness. The increasing interest in the synthesis of qualitative research has led to methodological developments documented across a plethora of texts and journal articles. This "State of the Method" paper aims to bring together these methodological developments in one place, contextualizing advances in methods with exemplars to support readers in making choices in approach to a synthesis and aid understanding. The paper clarifies what a "qualitative evidence synthesis" is and explores its role, purpose and development. It details the kind of questions a QES can explore, the processes associated with a QES, including the methods for synthesis. The rational and methods for integrating a QES with systematic reviews of effectiveness are also detailed. Finally approaches reporting and recognition of what a "good" or rigorous QES look like are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research plays an important role in helping us describe, interpret and generate theories about complex phenomena in healthcare. Complete and transparent reporting of research informs readers about the significance and rigor of the work. The aim of this scientometric study was to determine the quality of reporting of qualitative research in nursing social science. Studies were identified by manually searching the table of contents for qualitative papers published in the June (or closest subsequent) 2018 issue of 115 nursing journals. Adherence with the 32-item Consolidated Criteria for REporting Qualitative (COREQ) research was determined for each study by two researchers. Additional information about the study (e.g., sample size, field of nursing) and the publishing journal (e.g., endorsement of COREQ) were also extracted. Using established criteria, COREQ compliance was coded either good (≥ 25 items), moderate (17 to 24), poor (9 to 16), very poor (≤ 8) based on the number of items addressed in each study. One hundred and ninety-seven manuscripts were included. The quality of reporting was generally rated as either moderate (57%) or poor (38%). Journal endorsement of qualitative reporting guidelines was associated with better reporting. The reporting of qualitative research in nursing social science journals is suboptimal. Researchers, authors, reviewers and journal editors need to ensure their papers comprehensively address the requirements of COREQ to ensure comprehensive and transparent reporting of their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative studies are often found to be accompanied by quotations from interviews or similar data sources. As with any methodological tradition, it is essential to critically explore the general principle of including quotations in scientific papers: what is the purpose and justification for including quotations? Are there standards and, in that case, what are they and what are their scientific positioning? This paper presents an overview of the somewhat diverse guidance found in the literature in reference to the representation of quotations. Yet, both students and scholars use a variety of approaches to quote from their data, ranging from presenting numerous, extensive, and/or comprehensive quotations throughout the results section to the reporting of a few particular quotations to illustrate certain aspects of the findings only. While their function may be described, scientific reasoning for using quotations is scarce. Along with an overview of the scientific background and options for including quotations in qualitative studies, we discuss the consequences of the different epistemological and methodological aspects found in the literature. In conclusion, we argue that there are incentives for promoting a more deliberate employment of references from data; deriving from the human sciences tradition, a corresponding epistemological stance would suggest that quotations preferably apply for illustrating the analysis process and/or findings, while the idea that quotations can be employed to validate findings has limited support. Further critical examination of the application of and justification for including quotations in the reporting of qualitative studies is needed among researchers, journal editors and reviewers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The website Reddit has been noted as a fertile space for researchers due to its large user base and collection of distinctive communities. Reddit communities may be encouraging areas for specialized participant recruitment, though there is currently a lack of literature integrating Reddit into qualitative research participant identification and recruitment. This paper examines unique challenges and opportunities associated with using Reddit for sampling in-depth, qualitative research designs. Using a case example of a qualitative study which recruited from Reddit, the paper offers insight into what social scientists may expect to experience if attempting this form of recruitment. Reddit can potentially offer contact with hard-to-reach populations, and using it for recruitment may broaden the quality of qualitative data if sourced in ways which are ethical and conform to the tolerated standards of the specific communities being sampled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Semi-structured interviews allow progressive interview refinements to gain an in-depth understanding of a research question, but interview refinements affect the stopping point. This paper aims to describe a method that provides transparency in interview refinements and helps researchers decide on a stopping point. Methods: We established systematic and practical methods to document interview refinements and visualize novel and duplicate interview codes. We illustrated the methods using a case study called the Mass Atrial Fibrillation Screening Study, a real-world clinical trial. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed progressively. Two researchers established the initial coding into a predefined framework with reference to the Medical Research Council Guidance of Process Evaluation. Final codes were reached by discussion and consensus. NVivo v12 software was utilized to manage the qualitative data. Results: We developed an open-access software package for the 'R' statistical programming language called 'novelqualcodes' and a video demonstrating the application. Our package converts NVivo coding matrices into graphs of the trends of novel and duplicate codes. Our package also enables users to document interview refinements as fieldnotes, providing a visual guide to help researchers decide on a stopping point. In the case study, one researcher (KCW) conducted 48 one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants from September 2021 to July 2022. Interview refinements were identified and reported to provide transparency to the readers. The novel code graphs and examination of the code sufficiency in the predefined framework demonstrated the stopping point at which we were satisfied with the richness and insights of the interviews in answering our research question. Conclusions: We illustrated a new paradigm of systematic and practical methods and shared an open-access software package and a video to describe, document and visualize the path to the stopping point. This approach can be applied in other qualitative research using different predefined frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoice is a qualitative, participatory research method with great potential for increased use across settings and disciplines in sub-Saharan Africa. The method originated over 30 years ago with two women researchers in reproductive health and has since been used across disciplines in diverse settings globally. Despite its origin within the social and cultural contexts of China in 1992, the method has been used predominantly in settings in the global North and West. There is ample opportunity to employ the method in sub-Saharan African contexts as a powerful, versatile research method. This paper highlights the current use of the photovoice research method in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Uganda. We aim to demystify photovoice and advocate for more use of the method as a participatory approach in tackling major current transdisciplinary challenges across the globe. We introduce the method, describe the historical and philosophical underpinnings, illustrate use of the method through two examples of our photovoice research in Uganda, and discuss its challenges and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To critically explore the value and challenges of combining a traditional methodology (constructivist grounded theory) with a newer approach (Patient-Oriented Research) in nursing research. Overview of the Issue: Researchers need to examine novel approaches to research which incorporate the thoughts and ideas of patients and stakeholders in order to ensure that the research is important to end users. However, it is essential to maintain the rigour of traditional methodologies. Therefore, there is a need to explore combining traditional methodologies with new approaches. Results: We combined a rigorous methodology with a modern approach to health promotion research that has not been described in the literature. There are numerous synergies between constructivist grounded theory and Patient-Oriented Research. However, tensions exist including pre-conceived knowledge, patients as researchers, and flexibility in research direction. Discussion: Constructivist grounded theory with a Patient-Oriented Research approach for use in health promotion research requires thought and intentionality. Consideration of the time and money needed to build relationships and include patient partners as full team members is critical to successful research. Additionally, points of synergy and tension between constructivist grounded theory and Patient-Oriented Research must be navigated with each study. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that constructivist grounded theory can be enhanced with a Patient-Oriented Research approach and may lead to increased depth in the development of the substantive grounded theory while also giving voice to the patient-partners. Implications for Profession: There is a need for researchers to actively engage patients and stakeholders in a Patient-Oriented Research process while retaining the core of traditional methodologies. Impact: This paper will provide researchers with an exemplar to incorporate patients as team members while conducting constructivist grounded theory research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, lead agencies and consumer movements emphasise the need for high-level research participation in mental health. However, evidence suggests that people with lived experience tend to be recruited as subjects rather than as active agents in research, or are consulted in tokenistic ways. Although participatory research has the potential to rectify epistemic disparities, few studies have grappled with how to move from exclusion and tokenism to high-level research participation. This paper describes a qualitative co-evaluation of a co-produced model of research partnership, Raising the Bar, which involved deliberate establishment and facilitation of six participatory research teams, comprising 28 lived experience and 'conventional' mental health researchers. Findings indicate that the theoretical elements of the model set the bar high from the outset, supporting research teams to address inconsistencies in knowledge about participation. It also provided researchers with the competencies and resources to undertake participatory research in egalitarian team structures, and to negotiate new forms of non-traditional research outputs - thereby challenging whom research might be for and how it might be made accessible. Finally, the model shifted collective meanings about research, lending credibility to participatory practices, which came to be seen as essential for meeting the needs of affected communities. Nonetheless, systemic barriers to participatory research remain, and need to be recognised and acted upon to promote a culture that supports high-level research participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]