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In this paper, we offer discursive psychology (DP) as a particularly useful analytic approach for engaging in applied research. We begin by overviewing the broad area of discourse analysis and then more specifically describe the contours of discursive psychology. Drawing upon a secondary, shared dataset, we provide a general discussion of the analytic process for conducting a DP informed analysis and offer some example findings. Notably, we highlight the limitations of doing DP work when working with a secondary data set and point also toward the possibilities and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the special issue, "Diverse Approaches to Qualitative Data Analysis for Applied Research," in which seven papers analyze one shared data set to illustrate different approaches to qualitative analysis. In addition to discussing the articles included in the special issue, this introduction provides an overview of applied research--highlighting some of the implications for qualitative research--and discusses how researchers could use the special issue to compare different qualitative approaches to choose one most appropriate for a given project's goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal learning spaces, such as summer reading programs, have the potential to both motivate children and provide opportunities for preservice teachers to try out new practices. However, there is little research on the talk that occurs in these informal learning spaces, particularly those intended to function as third spaces. Audio recordings of meetings between preservice teachers and high school students talking together about young adult literature in a space intended to function as a third space were analyzed to explore how discourse choices shaped the participants' practices. We found that the participants both resisted and reproduced the traditional classroom in their talk, suggesting that the successful design of third spaces is a complex endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore our own discomfort with naming our research studies participatory action research - at least during the initial stages of our work - and highlight several practices that we believe serve to create greater researcher reflexivity. Drawing upon two different research studies, we share three "lessons from practice" generated from an analysis of our fieldnotes and a series of interactive interviews. The lessons illustrate how we have come to name and un-name our research "participatory." We offer suggestions for other researchers committed to engaging in participatory action research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]