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This paper explores the use made of descriptions of embodiment and embodied activity in a collection of articles, which include case histories in different therapeutic traditions. As a context, the paper draws on three interests of ethnomethodology: how description is constructed; what competent ordinary members (of society) understand as elicited from accounts; and how work practice can be articulated. Primarily using introductory sections of accounts about cases in a spread of therapeutic traditions, the paper analyses how ordinary commonplace accounts of embodiment may offer initial clues as to the 'state' of the client, present a picture of the problem, or be used as relevant biographical data. A key feature of the analysis is to show that these embodied accounts, using ordinary lay language, do important work in establishing problems as 'in and part of the world', but are also an appropriate supplement to therapeutic accounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the range of papers on qualitative research published in the journal "Qualitative Research in Psychology." The editor is increasingly impressed with the range of papers submitted to the journal, both in terms of methodological orientation and place of origin. If one is are indeed part of an active qualitative research team with pertinent issues to share with peers, one might think of proposing a special issue. On the other hand, one could simply propose a lead paper on a topic of significance and invite commentaries from others working in the same area. The editors are happy to field queries about proposed special issues or lead papers.

This paper offers reflections on the use of a phenomenological method in the exploration of the experience of taking part in extreme sport. A phenomenological method was chosen in an attempt to gain some understanding of the meaning and significance of an embodied experience. The paper presents a brief account of the process and outcome of the research. This is followed by a discussion of the researcher's experience of conducting phenomenological research and the kind of knowledge that was produced as a result. Reflections revolve around the openness of the method and its ability to reveal a phenomenon, the degree to which it is able to capture uniqueness and specificity, problems around translation and language, recruitment of participants, and, finally, issues around the relationship between description and interpretation. The paper concludes with some recommendations for phenomenological research practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcribing talk originating from various interactional contexts into a written form is an integral part qualitative research practice. Transcripts are produced for particular analytic purposes and therefore range in detail, from broad verbatim transcripts in more content-oriented analysis to extremely refined and detailed transcriptions on interaction-oriented analysis of naturally occurring data. Learning to master transcription skills, and solving the practical, technical and theoretical considerations and decisions that go into the process of producing good quality transcripts is something that both students, teachers of qualitative methods and researchers within the field equally struggle with. Discussion on transcription practice is all the more important given that qualitative research sees transcripts as a central means of securing the validity and guaranteeing the publicly verifiable, transparent and cumulative nature of its claims and findings (e.g., Hutchby & Wooffitt, 1998; Perakyla, 1997; Seale, 1999). This paper offers a concise review on working with and producing 'good quality transcripts.' In addition and perhaps more importantly, it discusses the often-neglected question of translating data from another language for (typically) an English speaking academic audience and looks at the range of choices scholars make when presenting their work. Opening the question of transcription and the art of translation to a wider and more detailed discussion is crucial as qualitative research is increasingly conducted in an international environment. Students, scholars, and data travel across national boundaries and new language areas join in. This means that guidelines on how data are translated in an accessible yet precise fashion, how data should ideally be presented to the reading audience, and how analytic transparency is secured are in increasing demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an in-depth phenomenological exploration of the self-cutting experience and the meanings of the gesture, the wound, and the resulting scar. The phenomenon of self-cutting lends itself to qualitative questions. To address these questions, six female self-cutters were interviewed. Their audiotaped responses were analysed according to the phenomenological method of data analysis (Giorgi, 1975). The purpose of such research is to explicate the structure of a phenomenon from the descriptions of individuals who experience it. By including all that was common across participants' situated structures, the general structural description or essential meaning of the phenomenon was reached. Results revealed that 'bodily mineness', pain, despair, and competence all factor into the embodied nature of self-cutting. The act of self-cutting pulls the individual together while simultaneously tearing her apart with its self-destructive, shaming, and addictive consequences. Nevertheless, findings reveal how 'wounding to heal' is the cutter's way of coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends earlier interview-based work on youth in institutions, which is seldom grounded in actual analysis of the interaction taking place in the parties to the interview. In line with work within discursive psychology (DP) as well as ethnomethodology (EM), it fleshes out the interactional means through which both parties concertedly produce and interpret locally sensitive formulations, descriptions and accounts. The data consists of ten interviews with female residents in Swedish Youth Detention Homes specialized in assessments and/or treatment. Broadly, the study shows how various notions of 'normality' are locally constructed and exploited to account for presumably deviant behavior, typically by relocating the notion of device from the subject herself to the social circumstances. Finally, direct claims of being normal served to build up explicit opposition toward previous institutional categorizations of the teenager. This research emphasises the need for researchers to attend to such interactional phenomena as joint categorization of persons, construction of events and production of accounts, as well as the locally relevant rationalities underlying these discursive constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research today must develop tools to better clarify the processes of data interpretation. Studies on reflexivity have made inroads in this direction by stressing the engagement of the researcher’s subjectivity: the researcher is no longer “outside,” no longer a neutral observer who is affectively and politically detached, but is rather an instrument in the research process. However, reflexivity frequently remains no more than a general attitude whose practical modalities lack clear definition. Using the concept of resonances, originally developed in the field of constructivist systemic therapy (Elkaïm 1989), the present article proposes a tool to account for reflexive and self-reflexive processes more comprehensively. The practical application of the resonances technique is illustrated by the example of a research interview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theme-Analysis is an innovative research method that combines both a qualitative and quantitative dimension in the study of the psychotherapy change process by developing thematic categories from psychotherapy sessions and tracking change on these categories across sessions using a measure of change. This article presents the factors that influenced the development of Theme-Analysis, the definition and types of themes, and the method used to measure change on the themes. It then summarizes the four operations of Theme-Analysis which include unitizing transcripts of psychotherapy sessions, developing themes, identifying targets of the themes, and measuring change on the themes across the sessions. This is followed by the procedures to develop a theme-hierarchy and to select themes for study and by the formats by which to present the data. The initial research findings demonstrate that Theme-Analysis has the potency to extract the deeper underlying variables in human conditions such as overcoming depression and striving to be one's own person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research methods have become more prominent in professional psychology training over recent years, yet there are relatively few published accounts of how students learn to use these methods. In this article we describe the experiences of three British trainee clinical psychologists as they learn to use one qualitative method, Discourse Analysis, for their major research project. Based on these experiences, we discuss key aspects of the research process (e.g. supervision) and delineate dilemmas, theoretical questions, suggestions, and practical advice. Extracts from a group discussion conducted involving the supervisor and supervisees (after the trainees had completed their studies) are provided to illustrate some of these themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate programs in psychology in Canada rarely, if ever, teach qualitative methods as an integral part of the undergraduate curriculum. When programs do offer qualitative methods courses, they are often single stand-alone courses without adequate institutional support. Given the scientific traditions of training within psychology, it is important to consider the epistemological and infrastructural challenges faced by undergraduate students in psychology when they are first introduced to qualitative methods. Three psychology students reflect, with their professor, on their experiences of learning qualitative methods in their senior years as undergraduates. The students reflect on the many challenges, both intellectual and practical, of learning against the grain within a discipline that is firmly rooted in positivism. The authors reflect on these challenges and insights gained from exercises, which position them as both the knower and known when conducting life history studies in which they participate as both interviewer and interviewee. The authors conclude with practical suggestions for incorporating qualitative research methods into the undergraduate curriculum and advocate for increased methodological pluralism within psychology programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic thinking has yet to be widely embraced as a framework for research in psychology. The defining question in systemic research is “How and why does this system as a whole function as it does?” A range of qualitative or quantitative methodologies may be used to answer these questions. Systemic thinking provides a framework for research into complex psychosocial problems by supporting the entire research process from design to data collection and analysis. Systemic principles and constructs support the description of relationships within specific systems. Having mapped the connections between behaviors and perspectives, the question of why the system is behaving in a particular way can be answered by drawing from a wide range of theoretical sources. A particular strength of systemic thinking is that is allows the creative exploration of the relationship between the processes identified. Overall, it supports theory building and integrative thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenomenologists would agree that the body discloses the world just as the world discloses itself through the body. Yet, in much phenomenological research, the focus is on words from transcripts and protocols – the body is strangely absent. In this article, I argue for the importance of researchers attending reflexively to the bodies of both participant and researcher. I advocate attending to the body and embodiment through at least three distinct, though connected, layers: bodily empathy, embodied self-awareness and embodied intersubjectivity. Examples from different research projects are offered to show how such analyses might be worked reflexively. The final discussion section raises some critical issues about pursuing research in this way and examines the practical challenges of engaging in reflexive bodily analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-modern social scientists are moving beyond text-based evidence to gain understandings of embodiment and experiences of illness. This essay explores works of art produced by two women with breast cancer: Jo Spence, a British photographer, and Martha Hall, an American who created artists' books. It shows how they construct meaning in the production and display of their art and builds an argument about the benefits of developing a visual sociological imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined one month of listserv postings written by individuals who stutter and asked in what ways does the Internet provide a forum for collectivity, advocacy and (re)constructing selves among people who stutter; and in what ways do people who stutter contend with disability and stigma through Internet discourse. We used biographical, discursive and thematic strategies to interpret the threads of conversation dealing specifically with the self and stuttering. On the listserv, people who stutter meet to fluently communicate through writing. They share their feelings, thoughts and behaviours and (re)negotiate what it means to be a person who stutters. They reveal fluid and multiple selves and build a multifaceted understanding that challenges the stigma attached to people with disability. These are not passive individuals experiencing disability and stigma but active participants collectively confronting the important issues they face as people who stutter. The Internet listserv is a potential site for personal and social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a method of data collection and analysis that was developed for the tracing of processes of identity construction and perception of others among young Jewish adults - citizens of Israel. In order to learn how young adults perceive different 'others' and construct their sense of collective identity, a semi-structured interview was developed that was comprised of five moral dilemmas concerning internal as well as external others that contribute to the construction of Jewish-Israeli identity. This article traces the process of instrument development and presents the types of analyses that were used in interpretation of the dilemmas. We then demonstrate the analyses by presenting examples from four interviews with Jewish-Israelis. Based on the results of our study, ideas for future research and utilization of the research method are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]