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Objective: Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine created a program planning course required for all master of public health (MPH) students to address the revised 2016 Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) foundational competencies. The objective of this study was to examine students' feedback on this new class based on their reflective writing. Methods: Students across 3 class sections during 3 semesters (fall 2018, spring 2019, and fall 2019) wrote a reflection paper as a final assignment about their course experience (N = 102). We conducted a conventional qualitative content analysis of deidentified student responses to systematically examine themes in the overarching areas of what students found valuable about the course and what they would want to be improved. We calculated frequency counts of themes to further contextualize the findings. Results: Students found the following aspects of the course valuable: a positive perception shift toward program planning (93.1%), new transferable career skills (87.3%), the course format (77.5%), course content (69.6%), working in teams (52.0%), course assignments (47.1%), and the instructional team (31.4%). Critiques included the following: more support for course assignments (39.2%), challenges of working in teams (27.5%), aspects of the course format (25.5%), gaps in course content (19.6%), and wanting more consultations with the instructional team (5.9%). About 14% of students stated there was nothing or little they would change about the course. Conclusion: Overall, the course received positive feedback from students. They identified several valuable course components and areas that could be enhanced, which we have worked to improve. We offer the course as a potential model for how schools and programs of public health can meet the 2016 CEPH competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of what ethnography looks like, and its purpose, is continuously evolving. COVID-19 posed a significant challenge to ethnographers, particularly those working in health-related research. Researchers have developed alternative forms of ethnography to overcome some of these challenges; we developed the Mobile Instant Messaging Ethnography (MIME) adaptation to ethnography in 2021 to overcome restrictions to our own research with hospital doctors. However, for ethnographic innovations to make a substantial contribution to methodology, they should not simply be borne of necessity, but of a dedicated drive to expand paradigms of research, to empower participant groups and to produce change – in local systems, in participant-collaborators and in researchers and the research process itself. In this paper, we reflect on our experiences using MIME, involving collaborative remote observation and reflection with 28 hospital doctors in Ireland from June to December 2021. After reviewing literature on ethnography in COVID-19 and general epistemological developments in ethnography, we detail the MIME approach and illustrate how MIME presents an evolution of the ethnographic approach, not only practically but in terms of its reflexive shift, its connected and co-creative foundations, and its ability to drive change in research approaches, participant life-worlds and real-world improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When using video and visual methods in qualitative and post-qualitative research, the size and scale of the data set can be overwhelming, particularly for new researchers. Collaborative research teams often work with a code book to systematize and unify their analyses. Interpretive researchers pursuing multi-layered and multi-voiced visual analysis often find it difficult to move away from desires for a single 'best' interpretation of what happened. This paper illustrates and interrogates an open and flexible method for 'thinning' (screenshotting) video data that we call the 'Five Images Method'. We offer one unfolding of interpretive processes and tensions and examine how four researchers worked across positionalities to analyse video data. We start with our positionalities in relation to a research study of children creating photographic and written stories of cultural artifacts, carried out over one year. The primary data from the study was generated through online video-conference sessions connecting a university researcher with an elementary class. A second level of data was created through a process of screenshotting, followed by recursive cycles of conversation about the choices of each researcher, and how they were guided by background, geography, roles in relation to child participants, technologies, personal experiences, and so on. Two key incidents that illustrate the potential of the method and the interpretations produced are described. We argue that reducing video data in this way can be both generative and limiting, while also serving as a catalyst for enhanced analysis. The collaborations and relationships built in research teams through slow processes of analysis (and writing!) working across difference also promote evocative and layered learning. Looking at interpretations as multiple can be hampered by longstanding histories of research as intended to produce authentic and singular truths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thick description of qualitative findings is critical to improving the transferability of qualitative research findings as it allows researchers to assess their applicability to other contexts and settings. However, what thick description entails and how it should be carried out is often missing or insufficiently described. While expert qualitative researchers may be familiar with the concept, the wide variety of meanings and interpretations of thick description in the literature may make it difficult for novice qualitative researchers to understand this concept when reporting qualitative findings. The purpose of this paper is to propose the "MIRACLE" narrative framework for providing thick description in qualitative research. We developed this framework based on a critical review of theoretical literature about thick description and writing in qualitative research, as well as our personal experiences conducting, writing, and publishing qualitative studies. The proposed framework can be valuable for improving the reporting quality and transferability of qualitative research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Words and stories have the power to resonate with people. Composite narratives can be constructed using multiple participant accounts, representing their experiences while also capturing the properties and categories of qualitative research findings. The ability of composite narratives to represent the multiple facets of theory construction through a singular narrative point-of-view is unique and provides a concise and credible method to present research findings. This paper explains how composite narratives can be constructed to present the research data that findings are built upon through an illustrative example of the process. The example of a composite narrative presented in this article is one of a larger set from a grounded theory study about a substantive group of Australian students' experiences of their interactions in the classroom that communicate their teachers' expectations of them. Narratives have the power to affect change in society by enhancing the transferability of research findings, presenting research findings with impact because they are engaging and memorable for readers. Qualitative researchers who are interested in composing composite narratives to reflect multiple participants' different experiences, through interview data, will benefit from the justification and example of the technique, which provides a model for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ill-defined behaviors related to emotional disturbance (ED) classification and a lack of cultural competence have contributed to the over-representation of Black children in special education. Several meta-analyses and systematic reviews of the literature have been conducted to examine the topic of over-representation, but to date, there remains debate surrounding this issue. At the same time, and in recognition of the fact that statistical analyses from quantitative research do not lend voice to the participants in research studies, there is a dearth of qualitative research studies focused on Black students eligible for special education under an ED label where the researchers spoke to the students themselves, rather than asking others (e.g., teachers, parents) about them. In the current forum paper, we call attention to this issue by reviewing the existing studies where researchers have spoken to Black students with ED about their school experience, and we place a call to action before the field of special education researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of informal peer support as a bridge for participation by foreign national prisoners in prison activities (e.g. education, work, sports activities, library) and services (e.g. psychologist, doctor). A total of 51 individual interviews, following an appreciative inquiry perspective, were conducted with foreign nationals in four prisons in Flanders (Belgium). In terms of leading foreign nationals to prison activities and services, the findings reveal four types of informal peer support: informational support, instrumental support, emotional support, and social companionship. Moreover, during participation in these prison activities and services, three types of informal peer support emerged: informational support, instrumental support, and social companionship. Peer support seems to be a 'form of survival' for foreign nationals to overcome barriers experienced in accessing prison activities and services and difficulties during participation in such prison activities and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An estimated 21 million children worldwide would benefit from palliative care input and over 7 million die each year. For parents of these children this is an intensely emotional and painful time through which they will need support. There is a lack of synthesised research about how parents experience the care delivered to their child at the end of life. Aim: To systematically identify and synthesise qualitative research on parents' experiences of end-of-life care of their child. Design: A qualitative evidence synthesis was conducted. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021242946). Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases were searched for qualitative studies published post-2000 to April 2020. Studies were appraised for methodological quality and data richness. Confidence in findings was assessed by GRADE-CERQual. Results: About 95 studies met the eligibility criteria. A purposive sample of 25 studies was taken, of good-quality papers with rich data describing the experience of over 470 parents. There were two overarching themes: parents of children receiving end-of-life care experienced a profound need to fulfil the parental role; and care of the parent. Subthemes included establishing their role, maintaining identity, ultimate responsibility, reconstructing the parental role, and continuing parenting after death. Conclusions: Services delivering end-of-life care for children need to recognise the importance for parents of being able to fulfil their parental role and consider how they enable this. What the parental role consists of, and how it's expressed, differs for individuals. Guidance should acknowledge the need to enable parents to parent at their child's end of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Natural language processing has been increasingly used in palliative care research over the last 5 years for its versatility and accuracy. Aim: To evaluate and characterize natural language processing use in palliative care research, including the most commonly used natural language processing software and computational methods, data sources, trends in natural language processing use over time, and palliative care topics addressed. Design: A scoping review using the framework by Arksey and O'Malley and the updated recommendations proposed by Levac et al. was conducted. Sources: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore databases were searched for palliative care studies that utilized natural language processing tools. Data on study characteristics and natural language processing instruments used were collected and relevant palliative care topics were identified. Results: 197 relevant references were identified. Of these, 82 were included after full-text review. Studies were published in 48 different journals from 2007 to 2022. The average sample size was 21,541 (median 435). Thirty-two different natural language processing software and 33 machine-learning methods were identified. Nine main sources for data processing and 15 main palliative care topics across the included studies were identified. The most frequent topic was mortality and prognosis prediction. We also identified a trend where natural language processing was frequently used in analyzing clinical serious illness conversations extracted from audio recordings. Conclusions: We found 82 papers on palliative care using natural language processing methods for a wide-range of topics and sources of data that could expand the use of this methodology. We encourage researchers to consider incorporating this cutting-edge research methodology in future studies to improve published palliative care data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human service nonprofits (HSNPs) are primarily responsible for addressing prominent social problems such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, and mental health. As such, they vary considerably in their service provision to their marginalized clients. In this paper, I use the theories of institutional logics and inhabited institutions to highlight how individual actors within HSNPs translate different institutional logics in service provision. Using qualitative interviews from 38 HSNP managers working with sex workers, I focus on competing logics and gender ideologies that influence HSNPs. Findings show that despite conflict between different gender ideologies, HSNP employees discover merits in combining logics and ideologies, discovering ways to reinterpret these at the ground level in conjunction with social relationships and interactions in the field. The implications around the role of individual agency and meaning-making in nonprofit dynamics, as well as a reflection upon what this means for HSNPs and their work, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much debate around the ‘voice’ of the child in qualitative research. This paper contributes to these discussions by drawing on the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, which emphasizes dialogical encounters that recognize the value of children's subjectivities. The paper critically reflects on a qualitative study of primary education during the COVID-19 pandemic that involved children aged 5–7 (n = 30), teachers (n = 6) and parents and carers (n = 18) in Wales. The study generated data using creative methodologies, field notes and qualitative interviews. The philosophy of Reggio Emilia was utilized to be reflexive about the processes of research design, fieldwork, data analysis and dissemination, questioning tensions between voice and silence and how research teams can face and respond to the challenging issues that complicate the intent of respecting children's subjectivities and perspectives. A key lesson from this process of reflection and questioning was the need to be attentive to and attuned with the subtleties of children's paralanguage and to maintain a level of flexibility in research design and processes that respected children's requirements and preferences. While the study focussed on children's experiences, the lessons learnt from evaluating the study in relation to the philosophy of Reggio Emilia have value for wider qualitative projects with diverse communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been increasing use of comic-based approaches within qualitative research as part of an increase in creative and visual methods more generally within social science research. However, whilst increasingly prevalent in dissemination, their use within data collection is less common. This paper examines the dual use of a comic-based approach embedded within a study that explored widening participation in higher education. Initially developed for the triangulation of emergent research findings with a wider group of participants, a comic panel was developed to be used as a focus of discussions within a workshop with 11 practitioners. This was then further developed for wider dissemination and to create a space for dialogue and to engage wider publics with the study's recommendations. Both uses are critically examined, highlighting the affordances of comic-based approaches such as their capacity for supporting dissemination to a wider audience by distilling the findings and presenting them in an engaging way. Furthermore, it argues that the form can allow for creating points of ambiguity that create spaces for the audience to challenge and question taken for granted assumptions on a topic. The paper also sets out possible challenges such the need for specialist skills, the potential for oversimplification and misrepresentation of complex issues. This paper argues that with careful planning, comic-based approaches can add significant value and increase engagement with research. Finally, it offers suggestions for how this approach could be developed by future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Background: In general, qualitative research design often involves merging together various data collection strategies, and researcher's may need to be prepared to spend longer periods in the field to pursue data collection opportunities that were not foreseen. Furthermore, nurse researchers performing qualitative research among patients and their relatives often experience unforeseen ethical dilemmas. Aim: This paper aimed to explore aspects of ethical dilemmas related to qualitative nursing research among patients and their relatives in the intensive care unit (ICU). Research design: This paper is based on a qualitative researcher's personal experience during a hermeneutic phenomenological study involving close observation and in-depth interviews with 11 intensive care nurses. Data were collected at two ICUs in two Norwegian university hospitals. Ethical considerations: The study was approved by the Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD). The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REK) granted dispensation to the project regarding health personnels confidentiality of the patients who were present during the observation (2012/622-4). Findings: Close observation with nurses in the ICU requires the researcher to balance being a qualitative researcher, an ICU nurse and a sensitive fellow human being open to the suffering of the other—that is, being embodied, engaged and affected by sensitive situations and simultaneously constantly stepping back and reflecting on the meaning of those situations. Conclusions: The qualitative researcher's ethical awareness also entails knowing and acknowledging his or her own vulnerability, which becomes apparent in the researcher-participant relationship and settings in which being a fellow human always overrules the researcher's role in ethical dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we seek to open a dialogue about the approach of co-interviewing, which, to our surprise, has not received much attention in the realm of qualitative social research. The co-interviewing approach stands apart from 'multiple' interviewing, in which two or more researchers are tasked with conducting interviews in a single research study. Instead, this approach involves two researchers actively taking part in the same interview. In a qualitative grounded theory study that sought to explore doctoral students' emotional well-being, we adopted the approach of co-interviewing each of our participants. This process involved us sharing the responsibilities of asking questions, probing, note taking and making observations. Our experience has led us to critically examine this unique approach to interviewing, and here, in this paper, we offer insights about its potential to enhance the generation of data and the research process. In doing so, we draw on literature, whilst reflecting on key concepts including power, reflexivity and well-being, by considering the positions of participants and researchers alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late Black feminist scholar, bell hooks, suggested that the margin can be a place of radical possibility, where marginalized people nourish their capacity for collective resistance. On the margin, it is possible to generate a counter-language. In this paper, we chronicle, describe and reflect upon how bell hooks' ideas inspired the creation of a national 2-day conference titled, 'Listening to the Margins'. This conference was focused on understanding the intersectional experiences of childhood disability and race with a view to better supporting racialized disabled children, youth, and their families. This conference was needed because intersectional experiences of childhood disability and race have been silenced in childhood disability studies, critical race studies, and various other resistance-oriented systems of thought. Racialized children with disabilities and their families are often unsupported as they navigate Euro-centric healthcare systems. Reflecting on lessons learned from our conference, we suggest several strategies for advancing meaningful research programs with racialized disabled children. Strategies include centering the art of listening, amplifying the margin, engaging the arts to promote empathy, embracing psychosocial support in work on ableism and racism, developing clinical tools and practices that are grounded in lived patient experiences, and advancing decolonizing research that recognizes the role research has historically played in perpetuating colonial violence. In totality, this article unpacks how sitting on the margins, as bell hooks suggested, has allowed us to occupy a place of discomfort and creativity necessary to disrupt dominant discourses. In so doing, we have made space for the hidden narratives of racialized disabled children and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2020 and the first semester of 2021, in Santiago de Chile, five women researchers who work with qualitative methodologies, based on their reflections on how the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on their doctoral research or their role as thesis advisors, conducted a reflective exploration of the conditions and challenges for qualitative research amid a global crisis. In this context, they convene once per week to explore how other researchers conduct and document their research processes, based on a purposive and thorough bibliographic exploration of qualitative studies on the pandemic and remote methods published in qualitative research journals. During these meetings, they reflect on and analyze the impacts and challenges of research in today's world, identifying possibilities and challenges in the methodological and ethical domains. Thus, they organize the present paper around two axes: one on the effects of the pandemic on academic and research practices, in general terms, and another on the specific methodological challenges facing qualitative research during the pandemic. These challenges are largely caused by difficulties in accessing and recruiting participants; the conditions of participation, influenced by vulnerabilities or barriers that constitute factors of inequality; the data production strategies and methodologies used in virtual contexts; ethical considerations; and the effects of the pandemic context on quality and rigor criteria. The article concludes with reflections and questions on the meanings, underlying logic, and practices of qualitative research, which are interrogated and re-signified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic while also illuminating research in post-pandemic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-humanist theories and feminist new materialism are a growing feature of social work scholarship. It is timely to explore how these theories inform qualitative social work research approaches. Drawing on post-qualitative methodology and Barad's concept and method of diffraction, in this article we engage in a performative re-analysis of an account of school social work practice with a group of boys with behavioural concerns. We illuminate the interplay of neurological and behaviourist ways of knowing boys and social workers' expertise and their linkages with the materiality of the place and space of the school-based group programme. Moving beyond merely representing these material-discursive happenings, this paper affirms new social worker identities and behavioural boys' subjectivities which emerge within the entangled relations with non-human, material objects and things in schools. Doing post-qualitative inquiry, co-configures us as researchers actively involved in knowledge generation as we seek to make differences that matter in social work practice. Diffraction not only offers methods to engage with the material-discursive interface of social work knowledge practices, but also an ethical methodology for researchers to do justice in our engagement with research data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to contribute to the indigenisation discourse by illustrating how dominant discourses and cultural practices explain and perpetuate social problems. We argue that focussing on the fundamental issue of a cultural conceptualisation of social problems will contribute positively to the development of the indigenous social work practice framework. As social work education forms an important foundation for how future social work practices will be performed, we interviewed 15 social work practicum students in Ghana about the cultural underpinnings of social problems. Themes developed from the interview data suggest that culture plays a key role in conceptualising social problems in Ghana. Although not often, culture tends to underpin and perpetuate social problems, such as streetism, child marriage and child neglect. Social work practice within the indigenous framework should aim at addressing the negative impacts of the cultural undertones of social problems. Social work practitioners should increase advocacy and knowledge sharing on the cultural explanations of social problems and collaborate with community leaders to change cultural values and norms that have negative ripple effects on children, young people and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy and research acknowledge that the quality of end-of-life care in hospitals can be poor, with families reporting significant concerns regarding physical and psychosocial care. In order to design appropriate evidenced-based care approaches, we conducted qualitative research examining the perspectives of bereaved families of patients who received end-of-life care in our health network. This paper reports on ethical dilemmas facing practitioner-researchers conducting interviews with bereaved families. We recruited 40 bereaved family members to participate in semi-structured interviews discussing the care a loved one received while a patient under the general medicine units. Bereaved participants expressed grief, humour and anger regarding their experience, and several reported perceptions of negligent and harmful care. Irrespective of the protocols in place to mitigate distress, this posed an ethical dilemma for the practitioner-researcher as a member of the health network, who needed to balance clinical and research roles when responding to distress. The practitioner-researcher's own bias and assumptions emerged when analysing families' distressing recollections. More broadly, the issues discussed have clinical implications for models of hospital bereavement support. Participants' use of photos and mementos jointly served to include the presence of the deceased in the research interview, but also highlighted the potential to utilise visual methods to examine sensitive research issues. It helps every practitioner-researcher to distinguish between research-oriented goals and clinical responsibilities to care provision as they consider their human research ethics application before beginning any research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a major public health issue and a threat to the well-being of a mother and her offspring. As a growing concern in sub-Saharan Africa, this paper explores the knowledge, attitude, and practices of healthy expectant mothers towards GDM, and the content of GDM information delivered by prenatal nurses during Antenatal Clinic (ANC) in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. Semi-structured telephone interviews were employed with 22 participants comprising 20 pregnant women and 2 antenatal nurses. The results reveal that majority of the pregnant women were unaware of GDM as a particular health condition during pregnancy that poses a risk to both maternal and infant health and could lead to a long-term risk of developing the chronic condition of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). This low level of awareness was attributed to a lack of adequate information during prenatal clinic sessions. The findings from this study emphasize the need to enhance the quality of public health education offered to pregnant women during pre and antenatal clinical services emphasizing GDM as part of the overall global agenda on promoting maternal and infant health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a common yet hidden form of violence. It is primarily perpetrated against women by their male partners and is associated with a range of serious mental and physical health outcomes. Despite these harms, it is chronically under-researched. In particular, the overlaps between IPSV and psychological abuse in relationships are poorly understood. Extant literature has focused primarily on the relationship between IPSV and physical violence, neglecting the fact that IPSV often involves verbal or emotional coercion, threats or blackmail rather than the use of 'force'. In this paper, we draw on reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with n = 38 victim/survivors of IPSV to explore how they understood the relationship between sexual and psychological abuse in their heterosexual relationships. Four themes were developed from this analysis: 1. I felt like I couldn't say Nno'; 2. I felt degraded and worthless; 3. Letting me know who's boss; and 4. Making me feel crazy. These themes broadly correspond to four distinct patterns or interactions between IPSV and psychological abuse. Our findings strongly suggest that the relationship between sexual and psychological abuse in relationships is far more complex than previous research would indicate. Psychological abuse is not simply a tool to obtain sex and sexual violence is not only used as a mechanism of psychological control. Instead, the two forms of abuse interact in ways that can be unidirectional, bi-directional or simultaneous to develop and maintain an environment of fear and control and erode women's self-worth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent attention focused on child sexual abuse (CSA) disclosure pathways has highlighted complex psychological processes that influence disclosure both for children and adults. Some authors have suggested that such processes may differ between children and adults yet few studies have examined distinct samples within the same study. This paper addresses this gap by exploring adolescent (n = 20) and adult (n = 10) experiences of disclosure of childhood sexual abuse. Interviews were conducted with both samples, using the same interview schedule and a comparative analysis was conducted of the key themes identified from a grounded theory analysis. Those themes that were found to be common to both samples included pressure cooker effect, telling would make it worse, and self-blame. Themes that were found to be more prevalent in the adolescent sample included police/court involvement, concern for other children, being asked, and peer influence. It is suggested that such potential differences reflect the changing social context over the past few decades which is characterised by increased awareness of sexual abuse as a crime and the risks of recidivism of offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 ushered in public health guidelines restricting face-to-face contact and movement, and encouraging social distancing, all of which had implications for conducting field-based research during the pandemic. For qualitative researchers, this meant adapting conventional face-to-face methods and resorting to virtual variations of the same in adherence to stipulated COVID-19 health protocols. Virtual qualitative research introduced new concerns and logistical challenges. This paper presents critical reflections on experiences of conducting qualitative research during the pandemic, from the perspectives of a cohort of postgraduate fellows. A critical reflection framework was utilised to explore fellows experiences and meanings ascribed to their experiences. The research findings illustrate three overarching processes which, in turn, shaped ways of thinking, doing and being. First, explicating tacit assumptions about their anticipated research journeys and interrogating these. Second, shifts in power differentials demonstrated by role reversal between researchers and participants, and between fellows and supervisors as they re-negotiated their positionalities in virtual research spaces. Third, context specific sense-making, in which - narrative accounts support the notion of knowledge as a social construct. Our findings have important implications for qualitative research practice. Our study documents methodological nuances and social implications of conducting qualitative research during COVID-19 and in a-South African context. In addition, our study exemplifies the use of critical reflection in qualitative research practice in the specific context of postgraduate academic research. Further, our study illustrates how the use of technology shapes qualitative research protocol development, data collection and analysis phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational research has sometimes been criticized for its seeming lack of relevance to classroom reality and its subsequent inability to inform pedagogical practices. Such criticism has prompted researchers to consider research methods that may better approximate reality. Among these methods, photo-elicitation interviews (PEI) offer a visual dimension to elicit lived experiences, feelings, and thoughts in real educational contexts, and to enhance researchers' understanding of educational practitioners' and students' experiences in real classrooms and school communities. This review examines the application of PEI to explore educational practitioners' and students' lived experiences and perceptions in educational contexts. Specifically, this paper examines the existing educational studies adopting PEI in order to identify the affordances of the method, the challenges it has presented for researchers in the education field, and critical considerations for researchers who may be planning to use the method. Specifically, this review addresses the following three questions: 1. What has PEI contributed to previous investigations of participants' lived experiences and perceptions in educational contexts? 2. What methodological challenges have previous researchers encountered when utilizing PEI? and 3. How can methodological concerns be addressed when designing and implementing PEI to understand participants' lived experiences and perceptions? We provide an up-to-date critical examination and discussion of PEI to better inform researchers seeking to develop the use of the method in future investigations in the education field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thick description of qualitative findings is critical to improving the transferability of qualitative research findings as it allows researchers to assess their applicability to other contexts and settings. However, what thick description entails and how it should be carried out is often missing or insufficiently described. While expert qualitative researchers may be familiar with the concept, the wide variety of meanings and interpretations of thick description in the literature may make it difficult for novice qualitative researchers to understand this concept when reporting qualitative findings. The purpose of this paper is to propose the "MIRACLE" narrative framework for providing thick description in qualitative research. We developed this framework based on a critical review of theoretical literature about thick description and writing in qualitative research, as well as our personal experiences conducting, writing, and publishing qualitative studies. The proposed framework can be valuable for improving the reporting quality and transferability of qualitative research findings. [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]

The use of online focus groups is becoming popular as a qualitative research method and the literature available for evaluating this data collection method is useful. However, to the best of our knowledge almost no methodological information is available on synchronous, online video-based focus groups with children of 10-12 years of age. In this article we describe our experiences with a study in which we conducted a total of 13 online synchronous video-based focus groups with children of this age. Our study generated rich and useful data, however, during our research we also encountered several challenges. In this paper we discuss these challenges concerning a) the technical tools used, b) the interaction between children, and c) ethical issues. We evaluate possible solutions and in doing so, also discuss standard procedures that are used in real-life focus groups, such as the optimum number of children, the duration of the focus groups, and the relation between the moderator and the children. We conclude that, when conducting online focus groups with children, researchers need to consider several aspects beforehand such as using a platform that is well-known to the children, developing a technical step-by-step guide, and recruiting a flexible moderator that is familiar with child development. We propose a flexible framework that includes questions and offers suggestions for conducting online focus groups with children aged 10-12 years. This framework can inform researchers wanting to conduct online focus groups with children in the future. [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]

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]

The common-place quantification of humanitarian disasters enables rapid and informed crisis responses. In disaster settings, understanding feelings and perceptions regarding individuals' experiences, livelihood disruptions and coping mechanisms can also be valuable for extending and deepening quantitative insight. This paper explores the potential for diary methods to capture extensive, nuanced data from marginalised groups during a disaster, by drawing upon a study with 100 young diarists (aged 15-29) who produced 1418 diary entries over 4 months. In particular, we share how diary-methods can be designed inclusively, through addressing themes of equitable research partnerships, supporting more vulnerable participants, ensuring data quality, data management, participatory analysis, and budgeting for collaborative research. [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]

COVID-19 ushered in public health guidelines restricting face-to-face contact and movement, and encouraging social distancing, all of which had implications for conducting field-based research during the pandemic. For qualitative researchers, this meant adapting conventional face-to-face methods and resorting to virtual variations of the same in adherence to stipulated COVID-19 health protocols. Virtual qualitative research introduced new concerns and logistical challenges. This paper presents critical reflections on experiences of conducting qualitative research during the pandemic, from the perspectives of a cohort of postgraduate fellows. A critical reflection framework was utilised to explore fellows experiences and meanings ascribed to their experiences. The research findings illustrate three overarching processes which, in turn, shaped ways of thinking, doing and being. First, explicating tacit assumptions about their anticipated research journeys and interrogating these. Second, shifts in power differentials demonstrated by role reversal between researchers and participants, and between fellows and supervisors as they re-negotiated their positionalities in virtual research spaces. Third, context specific sense-making, in which - narrative accounts support the notion of knowledge as a social construct. Our findings have important implications for qualitative research practice. Our study documents methodological nuances and social implications of conducting qualitative research during COVID-19 and in a-South African context. In addition, our study exemplifies the use of critical reflection in qualitative research practice in the specific context of postgraduate academic research. Further, our study illustrates how the use of technology shapes qualitative research protocol development, data collection and analysis phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2020 and the first semester of 2021, in Santiago de Chile, five women researchers who work with qualitative methodologies, based on their reflections on how the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on their doctoral research or their role as thesis advisors, conducted a reflective exploration of the conditions and challenges for qualitative research amid a global crisis. In this context, they convene once per week to explore how other researchers conduct and document their research processes, based on a purposive and thorough bibliographic exploration of qualitative studies on the pandemic and remote methods published in qualitative research journals. During these meetings, they reflect on and analyze the impacts and challenges of research in today's world, identifying possibilities and challenges in the methodological and ethical domains. Thus, they organize the present paper around two axes: one on the effects of the pandemic on academic and research practices, in general terms, and another on the specific methodological challenges facing qualitative research during the pandemic. These challenges are largely caused by difficulties in accessing and recruiting participants; the conditions of participation, influenced by vulnerabilities or barriers that constitute factors of inequality; the data production strategies and methodologies used in virtual contexts; ethical considerations; and the effects of the pandemic context on quality and rigor criteria. The article concludes with reflections and questions on the meanings, underlying logic, and practices of qualitative research, which are interrogated and re-signified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic while also illuminating research in postpandemic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research using interviews is a crucial and established inquiry method in social sciences to ensure that the study outputs represent the researched people and area rather than those who are researching. However, first hand primary data collection is not always possible, often due to external circumstances. Additionally, the use of secondary data, particularly open data, is progressively preferred to increase efficiency and gain geographical breadth. Therefore, this paper proposes a new step-by-step secondary qualitative inquiry methodology for online, publicly available interview data. Such procedural approach can help increase rigor, explicitly consider and mitigate potential pitfalls, and expand the research community's datasets. The 7-step methodology is based on a hybrid approach with elements of pragmatic qualitative approach, discursive grounded theory, and narrative approach and refers to research ethical principles of autonomy, equity, and diversity. One of the proposed steps is data quality assessment, which consists of quality assessment of data context and data content with a total of 16 quality dimensions to filter the collected data. The data analysis method comprises of content analysis for dataset categorization and thematic discourse analysis to answer the pre-set research questions. Additionally, the methodology covers the ethical and legal considerations relating to secondary online data and reporting the research findings of such data. By providing an example in the field of forced migration, we demonstrate how the methodology provides structure when conducting secondary qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When using video and visual methods in qualitative and post-qualitative research, the size and scale of the data set can be overwhelming, particularly for new researchers. Collaborative research teams often work with a code book to systematize and unify their analyses. Interpretive researchers pursuing multi-layered and multi-voiced visual analysis often find it difficult to move away from desires for a single 'best' interpretation of what happened. This paper illustrates and interrogates an open and flexible method for 'thinning' (screenshotting) video data that we call the 'Five Images Method'. We offer one unfolding of interpretive processes and tensions and examine how four researchers worked across positionalities to analyse video data. We start with our positionalities in relation to a research study of children creating photographic and written stories of cultural artifacts, carried out over one year. The primary data from the study was generated through online video-conference sessions connecting a university researcher with an elementary class. A second level of data was created through a process of screenshotting, followed by recursive cycles of conversation about the choices of each researcher, and how they were guided by background, geography, roles in relation to child participants, technologies, personal experiences, and so on. Two key incidents that illustrate the potential of the method and the interpretations produced are described. We argue that reducing video data in this way can be both generative and limiting, while also serving as a catalyst for enhanced analysis. The collaborations and relationships built in research teams through slow processes of analysis (and writing!) working across difference also promote evocative and layered learning. Looking at interpretations as multiple can be hampered by longstanding histories of research as intended to produce authentic and singular truths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the criticisms leveled against research and knowledge, especially "knowledge for knowledge's sake" is that it seldom goes so far as to make a significant difference in practice. Thousands of doctoral graduates worldwide produce new knowledge every year, only to run out of steam at the end of their doctoral journey. For many, earning their doctorates is sufficient to justify the painstaking academic journey, so they give up the ghost and strive no more to make a difference. As 12th century French abbot St Bernard of Clairvaux writes, "Some seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge--and that is curiosity. Some seek knowledge that they may be known to have knowledge--and that is vanity. Some seek knowledge that they may give to others their knowledge--and that is charity." But how does one apply the knowledge to solve real-world problems? How does what you have learned and discovered, find its way into praxis? How does it find favor with organizational and community leaders who are not academically inclined and could not care less for academic theories and jargon? This paper is inspired by the work of a team of French researchers who have conceptualized and developed an innovative approach entitled "Inductive Process to Analyze the Structure of Lived Experience" (IPSE), which is being successfully integrated into evidence-based medicine (EBM). Taking a cue from EBM, an attempt is made to unpack and elucidate the IPSE framework for doctoral researchers that are unfamiliar with it and offer a compelling case for its application in the practice of social science research, outside the field of medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoice is an emerging qualitative research method used to engage community members in research that highlights their lived experiences and initiate change. Photovoice offers potential benefits to research conducted by and with Indigenous communities through privileging Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. There is a lack of synthesized evidence about the usage, benefits, and challenges of conducting Photovoice research by and with Indigenous communities, which this systematic methods review aims to address. We specifically focus on Indigenous young people in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the United States. Five databases were searched systematically for articles including keywords for 'Indigenous' and 'Photovoice'. Empirical studies and methods papers reporting the use of Photovoice with majority cohorts of young Indigenous participants were included. Relevant data were extracted and Photovoice methods analysed using an integrative approach. Database searches yielded 1402 articles, with 109 reviewed in full and 41 included in the review. These articles represented 37 unique studies, with most from Canada (n = 17), and the United States (n = 14). Our analysis revealed great variability in how Photovoice has been applied across studies with Indigenous young people. However, some notable commonalities include recruitment of participants via community networks, and participant involvement in data collection and analysis. The potential benefits associated with using Photovoice with Indigenous young people included: fostering participant autonomy and authority; photography being familiar and fun; the visual medium being culturally appropriate for Indigenous peoples; and the method being effective for engaging the whole community. Challenges associated with Photovoice included: engagement difficulties between researchers and participants; issues with photography; and ethical complexities. These findings suggest that Photovoice is an appropriate and largely effective method to engage young Indigenous people in research. However, there are logistical and ethical issues associated with the method that require careful consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part 1 of this UK-based study, across four timepoints between March and October 2020, autistic children and young people showed higher levels of parent-reported depression and anxiety symptoms than those with other special educational needs and disabilities. In this study, we draw on qualitative data from 478 parents/carers of autistic pupils and those with other special educational needs and disabilities to conduct a longitudinal qualitative content analysis examining stability and change in the mental health of these young people, and their parents/carers, during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Worry and psychological distress were dominant categories at all timepoints and we noted that, in line with quantitative findings, worry in autistic pupils stayed stable over time but decreased for those with other special educational needs and disabilities. The third dominant category was wellbeing and we saw evidence that removing demands, especially the demand to attend school, was a driver of wellbeing for a significant minority of pupils, particularly autistic pupils, and their parents/carers. Overall, we observed no differences in mental health experiences between the two groups of parents, also mirroring quantitative findings. We know that autistic children and young people, and their caregivers, are at increased risk of mental ill health. We asked whether the first 6 months of COVID-19 exacerbated that risk, and whether the implications were different for autistic pupils and their caregivers, than for those with other special educational needs and difficulties. In a linked paper, we found that caregivers of autistic pupils reported higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms in their children than parents of children with other special educational needs and difficulties (Toseeb & Asbury, 2022). For pupils with other special educational needs and difficulties, their parent-reported anxiety symptoms eased over time while remaining high throughout for autistic pupils. There were no differences in mental health and wellbeing between caregivers of autistic pupils and those with other special educational needs and difficulties. Here, we used parents' written descriptions of their own and their child's mental health during the first 6 months of COVID-19 to explore these linked findings in greater depth. We identified strong evidence of worry and distress for all, but most prominently autistic children and young people. Our finding that worry and distress declined over time for pupils with other special educational needs and difficulties, but not for autistic pupils, was supported and we observed a few differences between caregivers. We also found evidence of wellbeing throughout the sample, and examples of some (mainly autistic) pupils benefitting from a reduction in demands (e.g. going to school). This has implications for our understanding of the school experience for autistic pupils. Findings suggest that the mental health of autistic children and young people may have been disproportionately affected during the first 6 months of COVID-19 and that careful consideration of optimal support, from both health and education perspectives, is vital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual violence (SV) among adolescents is a pervasive public health concern. Research on community-based prevention programs that seek to reach youth outside of school hours is less developed, but suggests positive effects. In the current paper, we examine attendance at community events and overnight retreats for a youth-led SV prevention initiative, Youth Voices in Prevention (Youth VIP) using survey (n = 2539) and short-answer (n = 1177) data from a broad sample of youth in a small urban district in the Great Plains (United States), where Youth VIP took place. Multivariate logistic regression models using multiple imputation sampling were tested for retreat and community event attendance (respectively). The model of retreat attendance found that those with past SV victimization had significantly higher odds of attending retreats and each additional extracurricular activity youth participated in was associated with increased odds of attendance. The model of event attendance found that male youth had significantly lower odds of attending an event and that odds of attending increased with each additional extracurricular activity reported. Age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and bystander denial were not significant predictors of attendance. Short-answer questions, coded with content analysis, found that youth report being more likely to attend if events feature fun activities with their friends, money, or other incentives; in survey questions, youth report lack of time and lack of interest as the most common reasons for non-attendance. Findings suggest that programming that blends social time and recreational activities with SV content may improve youth attendance; additional recruitment may be needed to engage male youth and youth who are less involved in extracurriculars. This study provides important insight into youth attendance—who attends, who does not, and why—that can be leveraged by others when seeking to engage youth in SV prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Native Americans (the preferred term of our partners/co-authors) experience high rates of sexual violence, which is rooted in colonization and multiple historical traumas. Sexual violence leads to numerous deleterious outcomes, underscoring the critical need for prevention early in life. Yet, most research to date on sexual violence has not focused on Native American populations, and we know little about the most effective strategies to recruit and retain Native American individuals in sexual violence prevention research. The purpose of the current study, grounded in principles of participatory action research, is to describe strategies that were used to recruit (e.g., traditional feeds, door knocking) and retain (e.g., monetary incentives, ongoing community engagement) Native American youth for a study that sought to assess, via surveys and qualitative interviews, the impacts of a youth-led sexual violence prevention initiative in a small city in the Great Plains. We also collected qualitative data from Native American caregivers regarding their perceptions of research. Overall, 67.9% (n = 545) of eligible Native American youth completed the survey, and school and door knocking were most effective methods of recruitment/enrollment followed by community and school events and texting. Over the course of 3 years of data collection, there were higher rates of attrition among Native American youth compared to white youth, and several factors (e.g., older age, sexual assault victimization) predicted attrition among Native American youth. Native American caregivers' responses reflected on reasons it is hard to engage youth and caregivers in research (e.g., lack of time, distrust) as well as strategies to enhance engagement (e.g., personal connection, providing community resources). Throughout the paper, Native American co-authors and project partners reflect on these findings. Implications for future sexual violence prevention research with Native American youth and their caregivers that uses decolonized, participatory action research methodologies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vocational and professional training tracks can be a good option for many adolescents, many of whom enter these programs with a sometimes hidden burden of negative experiences and attitudes to school. This paper explores the sense of academic futility in future VET students at the end of lower secondary education. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 25 Czech students in which they described their experiences from lower secondary school, we found that despite the students' beliefs that their achievement is the product of their own effort, they describe situations from which it is evident that they noticed (i.e., perceived) that they actually did lose control over their results. At the same time, they explicitly claim that they have full control over their own achievement. This implicit sense of academic futility is created by several mechanisms at the school level: the curriculum, ineffective teaching, grading leniency, and teachers' distrust of students' capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disciplines anchor themselves using a particular kind of epistemology and ontology to produced it's knowledge. In healthcare, quantitative research has been dominant were in social sciences, qualitative research was. However, in the last two decades, we have seen a mixing (better said in French with the word métissage) of strategies within those two disciplines. Despite the newfound acceptance of qualitative research within the healthcare field, some criticism about those strategies still exists and still impact the feasibility of conducting qualitative research, especially in hospital setting. More particularly, when it comes to the systematisation of the method, when conducting ethnography. In this paper, I argue that ethnography does remain scientifically rigorous, especially when it is informed by theory and used consistently. This article presents the ways in which I negotiated the uncertainties of doing a hospital ethnography on the use of the ventilator by using concepts from Latour's (2005) Actor's Network Theory, of 'mediators' and 'intermediaries'. Staying attuned to various actors in the healthcare setting and taking care to ensure that whatever my research brought into the field maintained an intermediary status enabled me to alter my methods in the field while still respecting the necessity to gather data systematically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings of a qualitative study examining the perceptions of 21 Australian women professionals who conduct home visiting with families experiencing intimate partner violence. There is scant evidence documenting how home visiting professionals adapted practice to address the safety concerns of women and their children within the context of the pandemic. Practitioners noted an increase in the risk level and complexity of intimate partner violence (IPV), including the ways that perpetrators weaponized the pandemic to exert power and control over women and children. Practitioners reported on their rapid adaptation of practices, to ensure the continuation of services which included moving to online delivery methods, wearing PPE, and negotiating practice from a distance. While responses to these changes were mixed, most reported their desire to continue to use online platforms post-pandemic, reporting increased safety, flexibility, and accessibility for the majority of clients. This research addresses a gap in respect of professionals' perceptions of the issues facing survivors of IPV and of their professional practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. As policies, practices, and protocols continue to adapt to the challenging environment posed by the pandemic the experiences of professionals and service users are critical to inform these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods research has become an important approach to research worldwide. The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods has made it possible for a deeper and broader understanding of multifaceted phenomena, thereby offering readers more confidence in research findings and conclusions. The use of mixed method designs became more established in the 1980s and early 1990s, but some controversies surrounding the approach remain. Nonetheless, experts in the field of mixed methods research have continued to work on the central premise that the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches, in combination, provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone. This concept paper discusses some of the known controversies around mixed methods with the aim of providing useful insights to emerging researchers interested in learning the methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of a smartphone application ('app') as a method for undertaking diary-based qualitative research with a group of participants with lived experience of multiple disadvantage (experience of two or more of homelessness, offending, mental ill-health and substance misuse). As part of a multi-method approach to the study, an app was designed for participants to capture rich, real-time qualitative data through a variety of media – text, audio, image and video – to make it accessible and interactive for participants. There is an identified gap in the use of apps to collect qualitative data with marginalised groups, and this paper reflects on our experience of designing and implementing an app as part of a wider multi-method research project. We argue that, particularly during the challenges of adapting research methods in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the smartphone app has considerable potential for engaging participants in a flexible way to involve marginalised groups. Qualitative researchers in particular should consider the potential of this approach, and encourage others to share their reflections and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to teaching and research in universities. This has prompted the publication of a considerable number of studies, frameworks, and guidelines on teaching adaptations. Less has been written on adaptations to empirical research projects, partly because such projects have been put on hold or redesigned entirely. This paper reflects on adaptations made, challenges encountered, and lessons learned while persisting with a qualitative study involving parents, teachers, tutors, and university academics during the second and third waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong in 2020. Specifically, we reflect on the reconsideration of research design and instruments, negotiation of different kinds of access to research sites and participants, optimization of existing data sources, streamlining of data collection approaches, and consideration of the mental well-being of both researchers and respondents. The paper includes lessons learned from the use of Zoom, WhatsApp Messenger, and phone calls as technological tools, and hashtag search on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Special consideration is given to the unexpected benefits of doing research during the pandemic and the convenience of using technology and adaptability approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown represents a significant challenge for qualitative researchers due to social distancing measures restricting face-to-face data collection. At the time of ethical approval (early April 2020), all face-to-face research projects facilitated by the Scottish Prison Service and most prison jurisdictions were paused. In response to these methodological challenges, a participatory action correspondence methodology was designed in order for people in custody to influence the direction of this project by suggesting research questions and themes. This article analyses the potential of this approach, what this illuminated and critically engages with the challenges of implementing this qualitative methodology. Eight participants were selected due to previous participation in a Participatory Action Research project at one Scottish prison. After consent was given via post, eight letters were sent to the participants. This paper analyses the questions relating to, and aspects of Covid-19 that were important to the participants, in the hope that these insights will influence other qualitative research on the impacts of Covid-19 within prison settings. Methodologically and theoretically, this paper illustrates the potential and challenges relating to using a qualitative correspondence method to facilitate unique insights into life in custody during what emerges as a particularly challenging time in prison settings. More widely the paper reiterates and restates the importance of qualitative research methods as methods that provide unique and rich insights into the Covid-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most widely used qualitative research methodologies are grounded theory and phenomenology. Both methodologies have expanded over time to several adaptations aligning with different paradigms, complex philosophical assumptions, and varying methodological strategies. Novice researchers either mistakenly mix the strategies of both methodologies or blend specific assumptions of methodologies' different adaptations. Choosing the appropriate methodology and the specific adaptation in line with research inquiry and congruent with the researchers' worldview is crucial in undertaking rigorous qualitative study. To date, there is limited literature that compared and contrasted the varying philosophical underpinnings of the two methodologies' different adaptations. The purpose of this methodological paper is to provide a general overview of the two methodologies' different adaptations to illustrate how they differ in approach. By immersing into the origins, philosophical assumptions, and utility of the two methodologies' adaptations, novice researchers will develop a general overview of the foundations that support those specific adaptations. Finally, the considerations in choosing a specific adaptation of a methodology are discussed and applied by underpinning a research question on the care experiences of patients in the Accountable Care Unit. Thus, this methodological paper may assist novice researchers in deciding which specific adaptation of the two methodologies is the appropriate qualitative methodology for their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of participant validation in qualitative research, and illustrates that the process of validation can be something more than validation. It can also generate new data and provide the participants with empowering experiences. The paper is based on an action research project involving birth parents in the development of new types of services for parents who involuntary have had a child placed in care. In addition to discussing the challenges of participant validation, this paper also highlights the methodological, ethical, and empowering effects of this type of validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In combination with non-pharmacological interventions, opioids may safely reduce chronic breathlessness in patients with severe illness. However, implementation in clinical practice varies. Aim: To synthesise the published literature regarding health professionals', patients' and families' views on the use of opioids for chronic breathlessness, identifying issues which influence implementation in clinical practice. Design: Systematic review and synthesis using the five-stage framework synthesis method. Data sources: Three electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase via OVID, ASSIA via Proquest) were searched (March 2020) using a predefined search strategy. Studies were also citation chained from key papers. Papers were screened against a priori eligibility criteria. Data were extracted from included studies using the framework synthesis method. Qualitative and quantitative data were synthesised using the pillar process. Included studies were critically appraised using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. Results: After de-duplication, 843 papers were identified. Following screening, 22 studies were included. Five themes were developed: (i) clinician/patient characteristics, (ii) education/knowledge/experience, (iii) relationship between clinician/family, (iv) clinician/patient fear of opioids and (v) regulatory issues. Conclusions: There are significant barriers and enablers to the use of opioids for the symptomatic reduction of chronic breathlessness based on the knowledge, views and attitudes of clinicians, patients and families. Clinicians' interactions with patients and their families strongly influences adherence with opioid treatment regimens for chronic breathlessness. Clinicians', patients' and families' knowledge about the delicate balance between benefits and risks is generally poor. Education for all, but particularly clinicians, is likely to be a necessary (but insufficient) factor for improving implementation in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]