International Journal of Qualitative Methods: ARCHIVE
Not a member yet
403 research outputs found
Sort by
Navigating the Terrain of Lived Experience: The Value of Lifeworld Existentials For Reflective Analysis
No full textIn qualitative research we are often presented with a tension between having open and fluid interviews to support staying true to the lived experiences of participants and achieving a level of abstraction from the data in order to uncover the essential structures and meanings of that particular lived experience. A way of resolving this tension is through the application of theoretical frameworks. Van Manen’s four lifeworld existentials offer a lens through which to explore and navigate disparate interview data and uncover the essences of lived experience, without imposing categories upon the data itself. Drawing on a study exploring the lived experiences of childless women, we explore the process and principles in operationalising the existentials and discuss the potential implications for analysis and findings. The article demonstrates how Van Manen’s lifeworld existentials present us with a holistic and valuable method for reflective practice, in coming to understand lived experience
Stories Rather Than Surveys: A Journey of Discovery and Emancipation
No full textEmpirical research, which has traditionally been privileged in Western health disciplines, has left notable gaps in the implementation of health interventions for Indigenous people and in the knowledge of and respect for Indigenous ways of knowing, both locally and globally. This article emphasizes the notion of pluralism in health research, and the responsibility of non-Indigenous researchers to collaborate respectfully and at a personal level with Indigenous people. It explores the value of unexpected forms of knowledge, and the need to recognize the stories and narratives of research participants as valuable in themselves, rather than as something to be dissected or reinterpreted out of context. Through the exploration of one data collection experience, we show how research collaboration, negotiation, and respect can transcend the boundaries between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, researchers and non-researchers, those with and without disabilities, and between countries
The Integrated Use of Audio Diaries, Photography, and Interviews in Research with Disabled Young Men
No full textIn this article we provide a critical reflection on the integrated use of solicited audio diaries, photography, and interviews in a study with disabled young men transitioning to adulthood. In the study, we developed a methodological approach for illuminating the intersectionality of gender, disability, and generation (life stage) identities. Drawing from a critical Bourdieusian perspective, we suggest that rather than producing single or “true” accounts, the combination of methods can be used to elucidate how participants establish, maintain, and reform their identities in everyday practices. Furthermore, we discuss how participants’ acts of data creation are analyzable events in themselves, wherein participants do work to establish, maintain, and reform their identities. We conclude with some lessons learned and future directions
Questioning the Meaningfulness of Rigour in Community-Based Research: Navigating a Dilemma
No full textAs community-based research (CBR) continues to emerge, CBR practitioners are beginning to ask, “How do we know if we are doing CBR well?” For some, this question may bring to mind the concept of rigour. Yet, how meaningful is rigour among diverse CBR partners from community, government, and academia? Using an exploratory approach, we engaged in dialogue a group of seven CBR practitioners from diverse contexts and asked the question, “Is rigour a meaningful concept in CBR?” We used interpretive description to analyse the interview and guide the application of findings in CBR practice. The findings are presented as three themes: Obligation, Representation, and Turn to Action. Participants expressed a sense of obligation to meet often competing expectations to do CBR well. The fulfillment of one obligation sometimes meant compromising another, thus presenting a dilemma to CBR practitioners. Representation outlines participants’ beliefs that some obligations can be met through the analysis, interpretation, and carefully contextualized presentation of research findings on behalf of CBR partnerships. In Turn to Action, participants described their desire to participate in the co-construction of understanding and identified a need to conceptualize the meaning of doing CBR well. We recommend that practitioners of CBR continue to form communities of practice in which to engage in dialogue about rigour; together, we can navigate the identified dilemma and collaboratively construct what it means to do CBR well. Specifically, we recommend that communities of CBR practice strive to: (a) be transparent during CBR collaboration, (b) be in dialogue with other CBR practitioners, and (c) co-construct the meaning of doing CBR well
Beyond Words: Using Nonverbal Communication Data in Research to Enhance Thick Description and Interpretation
No full textInterviews represent the most common method of collecting qualitative data in both qualitative research and mixed research because, potentially, they provide researchers with opportunities for collecting rich data. Unfortunately, when collecting and analyzing interview data, it appears that researchers tend to pay little attention to describing nonverbal communication data and the role that these data played in the meaning-making process. Thus, in this mixed methods research-based systematic review, we examined the prevalence and use of nonverbal communication data throughout the phases of all qualitative research studies published in a reputable qualitative journal—namely The Qualitative Report—since its inception in 1990 (n = 299) to the mid-year point (i.e., June 30) of 2012—representing approximately 22 years. Overall, nonverbal communication was evidenced in only 24% (N = 299, n = 72) of qualitative research studies involving design and instruments suitable for collection of nonverbal communication. Moreover, the degree of discussion varied greatly from a mere mention to substantive integration and interpretation. Nonverbal discussion was least frequent in the data analysis phase of research and most underutilized in case studies. The essential functions of nonverbal discussion across the stages of research were identified as clarification, juxtaposition, discovery, confirmation, emphasis, illustration, elaboration, complementarity, corroboration and verification, and effect. Implications are discussed
Hermeneutics as Embodied Existence
No full textThis article explores the possibilities and limits of a hermeneutic way of being in the world, more specifically being a researcher as a part of human, embodied existence. Understanding existence as embodied highlights the subjectivity of a researcher. For a hermeneutic researcher this subjectivity is both a precondition for interpretation and something that might endanger the scientific endeavour. In this article, I examine the possibilities of combining Hans-Georg Gadamer’s empathetic hermeneutics with Paul Ricoeur’s critical hermeneutics as a means of both recognizing and, to some extent, controlling my subjectivity in the research process. With Gabriel Marcel I also argue for hermeneutics as an embodied experience. This is exemplified by my study with a focus on the existential dimensions of the nursing profession. The first part of the article introduces Marcel and his philosophical anthropology concerning our bodily existence as essential for shared lives with others. In the second part, this understanding of self and others is further developed by means of the hermeneutics of Gadamer and Ricoeur. In the third part, I present a way of applying hermeneutics in procedures for interviews, transcription, and analysis of data
Privileging Younger Children’s Voices in Research: Use of Drawings and a Co-Construction Process
No full textThe growing acknowledgement of the value of listening to children’s views and experiences in social research, popularly termed as “listening to their voices,” brings with it methodological consequences. Regarding children as expert informants about their own lives carries with it the simultaneous call for researchers to be experts in developing and employing appropriate strategies that can effectively elicit the insights that children can bring to a research topic. With younger children, the use of participatory methodologies has been foregrounded as the key to unlocking their potential to contribute rich and useful perspectives to inform research into their lives. This article explores the usefulness of employing preschoolers’ drawings within the context of a co-construction process to facilitate the children’s construction of ideas and reinforce their voices in research. The case is made that the quality of the dialogical engagement is as important as the drawing itself, and both visual images and the verbal exchanges are central to the children’s meaning-making process. In the co-construction process, both adult and child are (ideally) equal players and the resulting dialogical process plays a major role in the constitution of the phenomena. The role of the researcher as the co-constructor can be a challenging one because it entails engaging and supporting children’s views and the expression of these views. The discussion and illustrations from the first author’s research projects contribute to the literature base on positioning preschool children as valid social actors in their communities
Managing Ethical Problems in Qualitative Research Involving Vulnerable Populations, Using a Pilot Study
No full textThe purpose of the researcher’s study was to examine the meaning that intimate partners of female rape victims attached to their lived experiences after the rape. The conduct of qualitative research concerning non-offending partners of female rape victims, however, often involves multifaceted ethical and practical challenges, which can be managed through the use of pilot studies. The pilot study described in this report had three objectives. The first was to pretest and refine the proposed method for locating, accessing, and recruiting intimate partners of female rape victims, within the first two weeks after the rape, for participation in a six-month longitudinal study. The second objective was to identify and prevent all possible risk factors in the proposed recruitment and data collection methods that could harm the participants’ safety during the main study. The third objective was to determine the feasibility of the main study, in terms of the limited financial and human resources available. The pilot phase was valuable in identifying ethical and methodological problems during the recruitment of participants and collection of data. It allowed for methodological adjustments prior to the main study and confirmed the feasibility of the overall research design. A pilot, pretesting phase is therefore seen as an essential component of a qualitative study involving a vulnerable population