Journal Article 1.1: Mitchell, K. M., & Clark, A. M. (2018, January 30). Five steps to writing more engaging qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1).

Abstract: As these authors write, “Qualitative data speak to some of the most profound and transcending human experiences. As researchers we write, we teach, or we engage to give voice to the voiceless, and we often seek to foster understanding and insight where none has been”. Yet, as the authors point out, our writing of qualitative research often “fails” in that it can be conventional, formulaic, and, sometimes, even stilted. The key question posed is: Where can the potential of our qualitative work find place in our qualitative writing?

Questions that apply to this article

1. What does it mean to “consider what you are writing”?
2. What does it mean to “identify to whom you write”?
3. What does it mean to “find your voice and cadence”?

 

Journal Article 1.2: Hostetler, K. (2005). What is “Good” education research? Educational Researcher, 34(6), 16-21.

Abstract: The question of what counts as good education research has received a great deal of attention, but it is often conceived primarily as a methodological question rather than an ethical one. Good education research is a matter not only of sound procedures but also of beneficial objectives; our ultimate aim as researchers and educators is to serve people’s well-being. These authors contend that for their research to be deemed good in a strong sense, education researchers must be able to articulate a sound connection between their work and a robust and justifiable conception of human well-being, and they call for a concerted endeavor for moral education among researchers and the people with whom they work to be vigorously debated.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is your idea of “good” education research? Why?
2. What informs your point of view?
3. Has your perspective changed at all over time? If so, how and why?

 

Journal Article 1.3: Anfara, V. A., Brown K. M., & Mangione, T. L. (2002). Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the research process more public. Educational Researcher, 31(7), 28-38.

Abstract: This article discusses standards for assessing qualitative research, thereby responding to calls for greater clarity and transparency regarding methods in qualitative research. The authors discuss some of the strategies that they have employed in working with doctoral students and offer suggestions for assessing and publicly disclosing the methodological rigor and analytical defensibility of qualitative research. Specifically, tabular strategies are introduced for use in documenting the relationship between data sources and a study’s research questions, the development of themes and categories, and the triangulation of findings. Examples from three dissertations are provided.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What strategies are provided for addressing credibility?
2. What strategies are provided for addressing conformability?
3. What strategies are provided for addressing dependability?
4. What strategies are provided for addressing transferability?
5. How do the authors suggest addressing triangulation?

 

Journal Article 1.4: Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “Big-Tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851.

Abstract: This article presents a model for quality in qualitative research that makes distinctions among qualitative research’s means (methods and practices) and its ends. The article first provides a contextualization and rationale for the conceptualization. Then the author presents and explores eight key markers of quality in qualitative research including (a) worthy topic, (b) rich rigor, (c) sincerity, (d) credibility, (e) resonance, (f) significant contribution, (g) ethics, and (h) meaningful coherence. This eight-point conceptualization offers a useful model and provides a common language of qualitative best practices that can be recognized as integral by a variety of audiences. While making a case for these markers of quality, the article offers a springboard for dialogue and critical reflection.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Do you see this as a useful model for evaluating the quality of qualitative research? Why or why not?
2. Can you describe the eight quality criteria?
3. For your experience in conducting qualitative research, could you add any additional quality criteria?

Journal Article 2.1: Penrod, J. (2003). Getting funded: Writing a successful qualitative small-project proposal. Qualitative Health Research, 13(6), 821-832.

Abstract: As a program of research is developed, the small-project grant is a perfect means for initiating discrete projects to build support for larger funding. The author describes the development of a successful small qualitative project proposal. She dissects the process of writing a small-project proposal to assist novice or junior researchers in securing funding for small projects that, she hopes, will build toward funding on a larger scale. Major portions of the proposal are included in this article to demonstrate the keys to success in getting small qualitative projects funded.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the major recommendations these authors offer regarding obtaining funding for a research project?
2. Could these recommendations apply in your field of practice?
3. What additional suggestions could you offer in terms of successfully gaining funding for a research project?

 

Journal Article 2.2: Galdas, P. (2017). Revisiting bias in qualitative research: Reflections on its relationship with funding and impact. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1).

Abstract: Recognizing and understanding research bias is crucial for determining the utility of a study’s findings and an essential aspect of evidence-based decision-making. Research proposals and manuscripts that do not provide satisfactory detail regarding the mechanisms employed to minimize bias are unlikely to be viewed favorably. But what are the rules for qualitative research studies? This author reflects on whether the growing tendency of qualitative researchers trying to manage “bias” in their work is due to the increasing pressure to demonstrate that research outputs lead to quantifiable impact.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What constitutes bias in qualitative research?
2. How and in what ways do qualitative researchers guard against bias?
3. What connections does the author see among bias, funding, and impact?

 

Journal Article 2.3: Clark, A. M., & Sousa, B. J. (2017). The five neglected skills all qualitative researchers need. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1).

Abstract: These authors point out that qualitative researchers in academic settings have never had more options, nor have they been more challenged. Whereas in previous decades researchers would mostly work alone, now research is done far more in interdisciplinary teams. Expectations of academics and students and their outputs at every stage seem to be higher. Given these demands, excelling at qualitative research requires a lot more than substantive expertise and methodological prowess. With this in mind, the authors identify the five most neglected but essential skills needed for success.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the key five skills that the authors outline?
2. Do these skills resonate with you and your experience of qualitative research? How?
3. What are some ways to bring your work alive to people and communities?

Journal Article 3.1: Cheek, J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry, ethics, and politics of evidence: Working within these spaces rather than being worked over by them. Qualitative Inquiry, 13(8), 1051–1059.

Abstract: Qualitative researchers find themselves in the position of having to be endlessly creative and interpretive with respect to the various spaces they move in and out of as they conceptualize, conduct, write, and report their research. This article explains that some of these spaces are shaped by new and mutated forms of “old regimes of truth”. Navigating and moving in and out of these spaces creates tensions but also possibilities for qualitative researchers. This article aims to encourage a focus on better understanding these spaces.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the paradoxes that confront qualitative researchers?
2. How can qualitative researchers working within contemporary contexts address the paradoxes that confront them?
3. Does excellence in qualitative research need to be redefined? If so, why and how?

 

Journal Article 3.2: Milner IV, R. H. (2007). Race, culture, and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen. Educational Researcher, 36(7), 338-400.

Abstract: This author introduces a framework to guide researchers into a process of racial and cultural awareness, consciousness, and positionality as they conduct education research. The premise of the argument is that dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen can emerge for researchers when they do not pay careful attention to their own and others’ racialized and cultural systems of coming to know, knowing, and experiencing the world. Education research is used as an analytic site for discussion throughout this article, but the framework may be transferable to other academic disciplines. After a review of literature on race and culture in education and an outline of central tenets of critical race theory, a nonlinear framework is introduced that focuses on several interrelated qualities: researching the self, researching the self in relation to others, engaged reflection and representation, and shifting from the self to system.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the new insights you have come away with as a result of reading this article?
2. Explain critical race theory with regard qualitative inquiry analysis.
3. The authors present a framework of researcher racial and cultural positionality. How do you explain this?

 

Journal Article 3.3: van der Riet, M. (2008). Participatory research and the philosophy of social science: Beyond the moral imperative. Qualitative Inquiry, 14(4), 546-565.

Abstract: Participatory research has a predominantly transformative and social justice concern. This article goes beyond the moral imperative of participatory research to address its potential to account for human action, the subject matter of social science research, through accessing its intentionality, and accounting for the complex and interactive nature of behavior. Two of the core principles of participatory research (participation and accessing local knowledge) are articulated in relation to dialogism and dialectics.

Questions that apply to this article

1. In what ways does participatory research have transformative potential?
2. Why do you think the participatory research approach appropriate to 21st-century social science?
3. What kinds of participatory techniques would apply to your field of research?

 

Journal Article 3.4: Stanley, L., & Temple, B. (2008). Narrative methodologies: Subjects, silences, re-readings and analyses. Qualitative Research, 8(3), 275-287.

Abstract: This article explores a variety of components associated with narrative analysis.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How does the author characterize the “narrative turn”?
2. What are “counter-narratives”?
3. What are “meta-narratives”?
4. What can be considered “non-narrative”?

 

Journal Article 3.5: Subedi, B., & Rhee, J. (2008). Negotiating collaboration across differences. Qualitative Inquiry, 14(6), 1070–1092.

Abstract: By exploring the complex dimensions of collaboration, this discussion traces the challenges of researching communities one affiliates with, particularly in relation to ethnic, cultural, and “unusual” researcher-researched positional differences. By describing the dilemmas faced in translating languages spoken by respondents, the authors explain how the issues of language and representation complicate the collaborative relationships involved in the research process. This discussion proposes that researchers reexamine how they have interacted with participants in everyday contexts, with the goal of redefining the meaning of collaborative research across differences.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the ethical issues involved in doing research with marginalized people?
2. What are some of the challenges of researching across differences?
3. What does it mean for researchers to be reflexive about their “nativeness”?

 

Journal Article 3.6: Timonen, V., Foley, G., & Conlon, C. (2018). Challenges when using grounded theory: A pragmatic introduction to doing GT research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17, 1-10.

Abstract: Grounded theory (GT) has evolved over time to comprise several different variants. Researchers new to the GT method often find it hard to gain an oversight of the method and the different strands within it. GT processes such as theoretical sampling and saturation are frequently misunderstood. This article outlines the main tenets of GT and dispels some of the common myths associated with GT. These authors propose some core principles underpinning existing GT approaches that can aid further engagement with the different variants of GT. Their goal is to demystify GT and make this qualitative methodology more comprehensible and accessible, especially for researchers who are new to it.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the main challenges associated with grounded theory?
2. What are the different strands of grounded theory?
3. In what ways has grounded theory evolved over the years?
4. What are some of the common myths about grounded theory

 

Journal Article 3.7: Roulston, K., & Shelton, S. A. (2015). Reconceptualizing bias in teaching qualitative research methods. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(4), 332-342.

Abstract: Researchers who have been prepared in positivist traditions to social research frequently equate “subjectivity” with “bias,” which is viewed as both a problem to be managed and a threat to the credibility of a study. This article revisits the methodological literature to examine how bias has been understood in qualitative inquiry. The authors argue for an approach to teaching qualitative research methods that assists students to make sense of long-standing and new debates related to “bias” and reconceptualize it in relation to their work. Recommendations are provided for how teachers of qualitative inquiry might do this and illustrate these strategies with examples drawn from methodological reflections completed by a graduate student taking qualitative coursework.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Can we equate bias with subjectivity?
2. How do we account for bias in qualitative research?
3. Explain the concept of “reflexivity” with regard qualitative research.

Journal Article 4.1: Finefter-Rosenbluh, I. (2017). Incorporating perspective taking in reflexivity: A method to enhance insider qualitative research processes. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917703539

This article contributes to the literature by illuminating the importance and illustrating ways of incorporating perspective taking in the process of addressing reflexivity. The author dissects an insider-researcher’s attempt to resolve research uncertainties by considering the perspective of an outsider-researcher, who had conducted similar study at the same school. Through incorporating processes of perspective taking in reflexivity, the insider-researcher uncovered complexities and ethical quandaries that may have had an impact on her study.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. How and in what ways might your perspective incur bias on your part?
2. In what ways may you be considered and “outsider”? Why?
3. What ethical challenges do you expect will need to be addressed in your study?

Journal Article 4.2 : Guillemin, M., & Gillam, L. (2004). Ethics, reflexivity, and “Ethically important moments” in research. Qualitative Inquiry, 10(2), 261-280. https://doi.org/10.1177800403262360

This article examines the relationship between reflexivity and research ethics by focusing on what constitutes ethical research practice in qualitative research and how researchers can achieve ethical research practice. As a framework for thinking through these issues, the authors distinguish two different dimensions of ethics in research, which they term “procedural ethics “and “ethics in practice.” The relationship between these two dimensions, and the impact that each has on the actual conduct of research are examined. The article also draws on the notion of reflexivity as a helpful way of understanding both the nature of ethics in qualitative research and how ethical practice in research can be achieved.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. How do you distinguish between procedural ethics and “ethics in practice”?
2. Can you provide examples?
3. Why is reflexivity so critical in conducting qualitative research?

Journal Article 4.3: Mortari, L. (2015). Reflectivity in research practice: An overview of different perspectives. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 14(5), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406915618045

The article is based on the assumption that researchers should be able to reflect in a deep way, not only on the practical acts of research but also on the experience which constructs the meaning about practice. Learning the practice of reflection is fundamental because it allows researchers to engage more meaningfully in their research. The author uses phenomenological theory to analyze in depth the kind of reflexivity that is necessary in qualitative research.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. What are some active ways of ensuring researcher reflexivity?
2. How does this author use phenomenology in addressing reflexivity?
3. What other research design can be used to explain reflexivity? Why?

Journal Article 4.4: Phillips, L., Christensen-Stryno, M., & Frolunde, L. (2021). Thinking with autoethnography in collaborative research: A critical, reflexive approach to relational ethics. Qualitative Research, 1-16. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14687941211033446

The authors propose a critical, reflexive approach to relational ethics in “collaborative, democratic and transformative” research, based on “thinking with” autoethnography. Underpinning the approach is the view that the buzzwords of “collaboration” and “co-creation/co-production” may signify equitable, symmetrical power relations and, as a result, romanticize collaborative research as straightforward processes of inclusion. The approach integrates critical, reflexive analysis of the play of power in the “with” in “research with, not on, people” and the “co” in “co-creating knowledge” into the ongoing collaborative research process. As a main method for critical, reflexive analysis, the approach uses ‘thinking with’ autoethnography. 

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Describe what you understand by collaboration and the co-construction of knowledge in the research process.
2. What is the value of the above?
3. How might a study be limited if collaboration is not valued or addressed by the researcher?

 

Journal Article 4.5: Finefter-Rosenbluh, I. (2017). Incorporating perspective taking in reflexivity: A method to enhance insider qualitative research processes. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-11.

Abstract: This article illuminates the importance of incorporating perspective by way of reflexivity. Accounts of perspective taking as a method are offered to enhance qualitative research processes, namely, to help resolve methodological uncertainties and to portray a richer and nuanced inquiry picture.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Describe what reflectivity, reflexivity, and critical reflection have in common.
2. What is an “insider researcher”?
3. What is meant by “social perspective taking”?

 

Journal Article 4.6: Davies, D., & Dodd, J. (2002). Qualitative research and the question of rigor. Qualitative Health Research, 12(2), 279-289.

Abstract: In this article, the authors discuss the issue of rigor in relation to qualitative social research. Informed by the researchers’ own experience, suggestions are made for a concept of rigor that addresses the needs of qualitative research. Incorporating a notion of ethics, the authors develop a cluster of terms around which they argue that qualitative research can meaningfully speak about rigor: attentiveness, empathy, carefulness, sensitivity, respect, reflection, conscientiousness, engagement, awareness, and openness.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How do the authors define rigor with regard qualitative research methods?
2. How is reflexivity defined and described?
3. How do the authors address subjectivity inherent in qualitative research?

Journal Article 6.1: Sandberg, J., & Alvesson, M. (2011). Ways of constructing research questions: Gap-spotting or problematization? Organization, 18(1), 23-44.

Abstract: This article examines ways of constructing research questions from existing literature. The authors review 52 articles in organization studies and develop a typology of how researchers construct their research questions from existing literature. The most common way across research paradigms is to spot various “gaps” in the literature and, based on that, to formulate specific research questions. The dominance of gap-spotting is surprising, given it is increasingly recognized that theory is made interesting and influential when it challenges assumptions that underlie existing literature. The article proposes some ways of constructing research questions that move beyond gap-spotting, and discusses how these ways are likely to promote more interesting and significant theories.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the key challenges in developing research questions?
2. What key insights do you come away with?
3. What questions are you still left with in regard to the development of research questions?

Journal Article 7.1: Fawcett, J. (2013). Thoughts about conceptual models, theories, and literature reviews. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 285–288.

Abstract: This article focuses on various types of literature reviews, including scoping reviews, realist reviews, and integrative reviews. As contributions to understanding the state of nursing science about a particular topic, each literature review should be but rarely is guided by a nursing conceptual model, and the research findings should be but rarely are interpreted as theories that were generated or tested. Examples that are exceptions to usual literature reviews are provided.

Questions that apply to this article

1. The author talks of various types of literature reviews. What are some of the key differences between them?
2. What, according to this author, is the function of a literature review?
3. What is “meta-synthesis” and “meta-summary”, and what are the differences between them?

 

Journal Article 7.2: Rocco, T. S., & Plakhotnik, M. S. (2009). Literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical frameworks: Terms, functions, and distinctions. Human Resource Development Review, 8(1), 120-130.

Abstract: This article begins with a discussion of the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as components of a manuscript. The discussion includes similarities and distinctions among these components and their relation to other sections of a manuscript such as the problem statement, discussion, and implications. The article concludes with an overview of the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework as separate types of manuscripts. Understanding similarities and differences among the literature review, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework can help novice and experienced researchers in organizing, conceptualizing, and conducting their research, whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the key components of a literature review as outlined in this article?
2. What is the relationship of the literature review to other sections of the dissertation?
3. What is the relationship of the literature review to the conceptual framework?
4. What new insights do you come away with after reading this article regarding the role and function of a conceptual framework vis-à-vis the literature review and the research project overall?

 

Journal Article 7.3: Freer, P. K., & Barker, A. (2008). An instructional approach for improving the writing of literature reviews. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 17(2), 69-82.

Abstract: The authors engaged in a team-teaching approach to foster improvements in the writing and evaluation of scholarly literature reviews by their graduate students in music education. A focal point of the semester-long project was the analysis and public critique of each author’s dissertation literature review by the other author, using a variant of a rubric for evaluating literature reviews by Boote and Beile. Students further refined the rubric by evaluating literature reviews in current music education journals and then used the rubric to guide their own writing. Student reflections and responses were gathered through questionnaires and interviews, with indications that the process had a twofold effect: (a) improved skills in conceptualizing, writing, and analyzing literature reviews and (b) increased collegiality as students perceived their instructors as peer scholars.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What do you think are the biggest challenges in writing a literature review?
2. What is the function of a literature review?
3. What is meant by “synthesis” and how does this differ from “summary”?

 

Journal Article 7.4: Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 3-15.

Abstract: A thorough, sophisticated literature review is the foundation and inspiration for substantial, useful research. The complex nature of education research demands such thorough, sophisticated reviews. Although doctoral education is a key means for improving education research, the literature has given short shrift to the dissertation literature review. This article suggests criteria to evaluate the quality of dissertation literature reviews and reports a study that examined dissertations at three universities. Acquiring the skills and knowledge required to be education scholars, able to analyze and synthesize the research in a field of specialization, should be the focal, integrative activity of pre-dissertation doctoral education. Such scholarship is a prerequisite for increased methodological sophistication and for improving the usefulness of education research.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What do you understand by the statement: “Doctoral students must be scholars before they are researchers”?
2. What do you think is the role and purpose of the literature review in educational research?
3. What do you see as the function of the literature review vis-à-vis analysis of findings?

Journal Article 8.1: Pelzang, R., & Hutchinson, A. M. (2018). Establishing cultural integrity in qualitative research: Reflections from a cross-cultural study. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17, 1-9.

Abstract: This article contributes to the growing body of literature on the methods and techniques that can be used to help ensure the cultural integrity and rigor of research that includes a cross-cultural dimension. Drawing upon their research experiences these authors anticipate that the approach described will assist qualitative researchers to understand the importance of recognizing and becoming more responsive to the cultural and linguistic nuances of given research settings to achieve cultural integrity.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How was this study conceptualized and framed around the elements of the Bhutanese traditional cultural values?
2. How were the researchers positioned in this study?
3. How did the intercultural perceptions, representations, languages, and attitudes influence the fieldwork processes?

 

Journal Article 8.2: Woodgate, R. L., Tennent, P., & Zurba, M. (2017). Navigating ethical challenges in qualitative research with children and youth through sustaining mindful presence. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-11.

Abstract: This article explores ethical challenges in qualitative research, making the case that ethical considerations need to extend beyond research ethics boards protocols. The authors present “sustaining mindful presence” as a conceptual frame practical guide for working through ethical challenges in qualitative research. They contend that greater participation of research subjects, including children and youth, is the way forward for developing more holistic and effective approaches to ethics within research institutions.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the ethical challenges of working with children and youth?
2. How can these challenges be addressed?
3. How and in what ways does “mindful presence” address ethical challenges?

 

Journal Article 8.3: Bengtsson, T. T., & Fynbo, L. (2017). Analysing the significance of silence in qualitative interviewing: Questioning and shifting power relations. Qualitative Research, 18(1), 19-35.

Abstract: The authors analyze the significance of silence in qualitative interviews, and describe how silence expresses a dynamic power relationship between interviewer and interviewee. In the analysis, they focus on two different types of silence: “silence of the interviewee” and “silence of the interviewer”. Explanation is offered with regard how silence functions as an interviewee’s resistance against being categorized as “social deviant,” how an interviewer may use silence strategically, and how silence stemming from an interviewer’s perplexity constructs significant data. The authors conclude that silence constitutes possibilities for interviewees and interviewers to handle the complex power at play in qualitative interviewing either by maintaining or by losing control of the situation.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How do these authors explain the significance of silence on the part of interviewees?
2. How do these authors explain the significance of silence on the part of the researcher?
3. Describe the notion of power and positionality in qualitative research.

 

Journal Article 8.4: Lynch, M., & Mah, C. (2017). Using internet data sources to achieve qualitative interviewing purposes: A research note. Qualitative Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1468794117731510

Abstract: These authors examine the function, merits, and challenges of using internet data sources, namely, social media discussion analysis and email interviewing, alongside data collected for the same study from traditional face-to-face interviewing. This comparison opportunity arose from recruitment challenges in their study in which they had planned to use only face-to-face interviewing, but recruitment challenges prompted the use of other data to examine the same research objective. Findings indicate that social media analysis and email interviewing offer complementary benefits to approaches currently available for qualitative researchers.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Describe the two Internet methods that were used to collect data
2. In what ways did these authors compare the data with that from face to face interviews?
3. What were the key conclusions researched?

 

Journal Article 8.5: Schiek, D., & Ullrich, C. G. (2017). Using asynchronous written online communications for qualitative inquiries: A research note. Qualitative Research, 17(5), 589-597.

Abstract: Qualitative online research is increasingly conducted, but its use this far has been little methodologically refined. This is true for a systematic differentiation between asynchronous/synchronous and oral/written varieties of communication and their specific benefits when used as qualitative research instruments. This article focuses on the methodological benefits of asynchronous online communication, discriminating between synchrony and asynchrony in human social interaction.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is known thus far about the Internet as a site for qualitative research?
2. What are some of the challenges and limitations involved?
3. What are the benefits of asynchronous online research?

 

Journal Article 8.6: Hammersley, M. (2014). On the ethics of interviewing for discourse analysis. Qualitative Research, 14(5), 529-541.

Abstract: This article focuses on ethical dilemma that arises in interviews for studies using constructionist forms of discourse analysis. Informants typically assume that researchers are aiming to document their experiences, feelings, perspectives, etc., as features of a collectively shared world. Yet, in such studies, the purpose of interviews is actually to generate displays of discursive practices, rather than to elicit information about the world or about people’s individual subjectivities. From the perspective of some current views about ethics, related to informed consent and doing research “with” rather than “on” people, this would disqualify such research as deceptive. As such, discourse analysis poses important questions about currently accepted views of research ethics.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the ethical standards with regard expectations of interviewees?
2. How might these ethical standards become violated through discourse analysis interviews?
3. How can these ethical challenges be reduced or mitigated?

 

Journal Article 8.7: Hoskins, M. L., & White, J. (2013). Relational inquiries and the research interview: Mentoring future researchers. Qualitative Inquiry, 19(3), 179-188.

Abstract: The article describes some of the challenges and constraints that students face when they engage in qualitative research interviews. The authors begin by identifying what they believe are the main challenges facing novice qualitative researchers. Issues of professional identities, objectivity, relational engagement, and inherited understandings of what counts as research are highlighted. This article will be useful for graduate students engaged in narrative, ethnographic, and auto-ethnographic methodologies as well as other inquiries that require deeply relational processes. Included are recommendations for supervisory conversations.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the challenges and constraints to be aware of in embarking on qualitative research interviews?
2. Describe issues regarding subjectivity.
3. Describe issues regarding relational engagement.

Journal Article 8.8: Fielding, N. G. (2019). New data and old dilemmas: Changes and continuities in online social research. Qualitative Inquiry, 25(8) 761-772.

 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077800418809130

This article traces the development of online research according to four domains: Collaborative and Online Working, Citizen Research & Opening Up Research, Analyzing Online Materials, and Merged Methods. Despite being published prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this article reveals important developments which can be built upon going forward as the online research world expands exponentially.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Explain the research challenges that have come about due to the pandemic?
2. As a result of these challenges, what new approaches to qualitative research are advisable?

Journal Article 8.9: Gray, L. M., Wong-Wylie, G., Rempel, G. R., & Cook, K. (2020). Expanding qualitative research interviewing strategies: Zoom video communications. The Qualitative Report, 25(5) 1292-1301. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol25/iss5/9

The proliferation of new video conferencing tools offers unique data generation opportunities for qualitative researchers. The uses and advantages of face-to-face interviewing are well documented; however, utilizing video conferencing as a method of data generation has not been well examined. The purpose of this paper is to examine the specific attributes of Zoom that contribute to high quality and in-depth qualitative interviews when in person interviewing is not feasible.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. What are the benefits of using online interviewing strategies?
2. What might be some of the limitations of using these online strategies?

Journal Article 8.10: Lynch, M., & Mah, C. (2018). Using internet data sources to achieve qualitative interviewing purposes: A research note. Qualitative Research, 18(6) 741–752.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468794117731510

This article examines and compares the function, merits, and challenges of using internet data sources, namely, social media discussion analysis and email interviewing, alongside data collected from traditional face-to-face interviewing. The focuses is on practical and practice-based aspects for qualitative researchers who are seeking alternative research methods to collect rich data.

Questions that apply to this article:

1. Explain the benefit and usefulness of internet data sources
2. In what ways might these sources be flawed or limited? Why?

Journal Article 8.11: Hennink, M., & Kaiser, B. N. (2022). Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests. Social Science & Medicine, 292.

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114523

Future empirical research is needed to explore how various parameters affect sample sizes for saturation. These authors' findings offer guidance regarding effective sample sizes for qualitative research, which can be used in conjunction with the characteristics of individual studies to estimate an appropriate sample size prior to data collection. This synthesis is a useful resource for researchers, academic journals, journal reviewers, ethical review boards, and funding agencies to facilitate greater transparency in justifying and reporting sample sizes in qualitative research.

Journal Article 8.12: Graham, D. & Bryan, J. (2022).  How Many Focus Groups are Enough: Focus Groups for Dissertation Research. Faculty Focus, Magna Publications.

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/academic-leadership/how-many-focus-groups-are-enough-focus-groups-for-dissertation-research/?st=FFdaily%3Bsc%3DFF220907%3Butm_term%3DFF220907

This article presents an overview of the use of focus groups as a source of data collection for dissertation research by proposing a structured focus group protocol. Sufficient data can be extracted from a focus group if that discussion is structured and moderated appropriately. Effective moderation of a focus group requires skills that that include leading inclusive group discussions, keeping the discussion focused, knowing when to move on to a new topic, and ensuring that all members can equitably participate in the discussion.

Journal Article 8.13: Sarfo, J., Pritchard, T., Newton, D., Gbordzoe, I., Afful, T., and Obeng, P. (2021). Qualitative Research Designs, Sample Size and Saturation: Is Enough Always Enough?   Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education. 8(3), 60-65

This article reports the respective sample size ranges that supported their data adequacy points for the five key qualitative designs (case study, narrative inquiry, ethnography, phenomenology, and grounded theory). These authors posit that concerns regarding sample size for qualitative designs revolve around their extensiveness and appropriateness. Therefore, qualitative researchers’ judgement for data adequacy for a particular qualitative research design should not only rely on data saturation or a rule-of-thumb. Instead, they should also be guided by their research goals, sampling approach, and research participants.

Journal Article 9.1: Kinchin, I. M., Streatfield, D., & Hay, B. D. (2010). Using concept mapping to enhance the research interview. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi: 10.1177/160940691000900106

Abstract: In this article the authors discuss the application of concept mapping to analysis of interview transcripts. Concept mapping differs from traditional methods of textual coding for interview analysis by making underlying cognitive structures transparent and giving a focus to the sets of propositions by which individuals construct meaning. Concept map structure provides easy-to-view summaries of the interview quality and may help to identify topics for further probing in order to elicit new information. The authors illustrate how rich interviews provide complex concept map structures, whereas less successful interviews provide simpler, spoke structures. Issues in using concept maps with research interviews are discussed, including use as a retrospective interview probe, as a check on evidence saturation, as a form of data display, or as a form of creative coding.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is the purpose of concepts maps vis-à-vis interview transcripts?
2. How does concept mapping differ from traditional qualitative analysis?
3. How and in what ways could you potentially apply concept maps to the analysis of other forms of qualitative data?

 

Journal Article 9.2: Watkins, D. C. (2017). Rapid and rigorous qualitative data analysis: The “RADaR” technique for applied research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-9.

Abstract: This article introduces a quick and comprehensive qualitative analysis strategy called the rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) technique that involves using tables, spreadsheets, and word processing software to develop all-inclusive data tables that undergo several revisions. These revisions, called “data reduction,” help produce shorter, more concise data tables. The RADaR technique converts raw, textual data into a more manageable and user-friendly format. This technique is rigorous because of the systematic analysis that occurs during each step of the process, and it is accelerated because the time required to review and reduce each phase of the data table becomes shorter as the user produces more concise presentations of the textual data.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Describe the RADaR analytic technique
2. What are the limitations of this technique?
3. What conclusions do these authors draw?

 

Journal Article 9.3: Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-13.

Abstract: To be considered trustworthy, qualitative researchers must demonstrate that data analysis has been conducted in a credible manner through recording, systematizing, and disclosing the methods of analysis in comprehensive detail. The purpose of this article is to guide researchers using thematic analysis as a research method. The process of conducting a thematic analysis is illustrated through the presentation of an auditable decision trail, guiding interpreting and representing textual data, with researcher reflexivity remaining a central concept.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is thematic analysis?
2. What are the advantages of this analytic approach?
3. What are the disadvantages of this approach?

 

Journal Article 9.4: Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Dickinson, W. B., Leech, N. L., & Zoran, A. G. (2009). A qualitative framework for collecting and analyzing data in focus group research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi: 10.1177/160940690900800301

Abstract: This article provides a framework for collecting and analyzing focus group data. First, the authors identify types of data that can be collected during focus groups. Second, they point to the qualitative data analysis techniques best suited for analyzing these data. Third, they introduce what they term “micro-interlocutor analysis”. These authors conceptualize how conversation analysis offers potential for analyzing focus group data by going beyond analyzing only the verbal communication of focus group participants, thereby increasing the rigor of focus group analyses in social science research.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How are focus group data analyzed by way of qualitative methods?
2. What new analytic method do these authors introduce and what do they see as its value?
3. What do you see as the key strengths and limitations of this proposed analytic method?

 

Journal Article 9.5: Constantinou, C. S., Georgiou, M., & Perdikogianni, M. (2017). A comparative method for themes saturation (CoMeTS) in qualitative interviews. Qualitative Research, 17(5), 571-588.

Abstract: Saturation of data has been acknowledged as evidence of rigor in qualitative research. Though there is a consensus about its definition and usefulness in qualitative research, the methods for achieving saturation are often unclear. This paper describes a new method for achieving saturation in studies that use interviews, called Comparative Method for Themes Saturation (CoMeTS). First, all themes from all interviews are compared with each other. Second, the sequence of interviews is reordered multiple times in order to check saturation again because the sequence of interviews during the check makes saturation vary and, therefore, reordering helps confirming saturation. This paper concludes that CoMeTS is a holistic method for achieving saturation that it can be used in qualitative studies.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is the relevance of data saturation in qualitative analysis?
2. What are some existing methods for achieving saturation?
3. Describe the study’s analytic process and the methods used for achieving saturation.

 

Journal Article 9.6: DeCuir, J. T., & Dixson A. D. (2004). “So when it comes out, they aren’t that surprised that it is there”: Using critical race theory as a tool of analysis of race and racism in education. Educational Researcher, 33(5), 26-31.

Abstract: This article explores critical race theory as a tool of analysis in qualitative research with marginalized groups.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Implicit in critical race theory is the notion of social change. Explain.
2. In what ways does CRT promote social justice?

 

Journal Article 9.7: Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2014). Use of content analysis to conduct knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Qualitative Research, 14(3), 341-352.

Abstract: Findings from knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews have the potential to help guide policy formation and practice in many disciplines. Unfortunately, this potential is currently hindered by the fact that rigorous data analysis methods have not been consistently used and/or articulated for purposes of conducting these types of reviews. Content analysis is a flexible data analysis method that can be used to conduct qualitative systematic reviews; however, its application in this context has not been fully explicated. Qualitative systematic reviewers who aim to build knowledge and generate theory are urged to adapt content analysis methods to accommodate data that are, by nature, highly organized and contextualized. In addition, they are encouraged to use reflective memo and diagramming to ensure credible integration, interpretation, and synthesis of findings across studies. Finally, reviewers are advised to clearly and fully explain their data analysis methods in research reports.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How does content analysis differ from qualitative data analysis?
2. How does the author describe the process of qualitative content analysis?
3. What does this author suggest are the potential difficulties in using content analysis in qualitative research?
4. How can these difficulties be addressed and overcome?

 

Journal Article 9.8: Brinkmann, S. (2014). Doing without data. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(6), 720-725.

Abstract: Coding and data are conceptual twins. This article focuses on the latter concept in particular and opens with a dilemma: We can either follow the root meaning of “data” and say that they are the “givens” that we “collect” and code. In this case, however, data turn out to be mythological, for they are always produced, constructed, or “taken” as the pragmatists said. Or we can say, like some qualitative researchers, that “everything is data,” which rests on a more sophisticated philosophical position but which easily renders the concept empty. The article describes a way out of this dilemma by presenting a way to think about (and teach) qualitative analysis that is neither data-driven (induction) nor hypothesis-driven (deduction) but driven by astonishment, mystery, and breakdowns in one’s understanding (abduction).

Questions that apply to this article

1. The author states “Coding and data are conceptual twins”. Explain.
2. Can we do qualitative data analysis without coding? Why or why not? Explain.
3. Explain inductive, deductive, and abductive forms of analysis.

 

Journal Article 9.9: Maxwell, J. A. (2010). Using numbers in qualitative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(6), 475-482.

Abstract: The use of numerical/quantitative data in qualitative research studies and reports has been controversial. Prominent qualitative researchers such as Howard Becker and Martyn Hammersley have supported the inclusion of what Becker called “quasi-statistics”; simple counts of things to make statements such as “some,” “usually,” and “most” more precise. However, others have resisted such uses. This paper presents both the advantages of integrating quantitative information in qualitative data collection, analysis, and reporting, and the potential problems created by such uses and how these can be dealt with. It also addresses the definition of mixed methods research, arguing that the use of numbers by itself doesn’t make a study “mixed methods.”

Questions that apply to this article

1. What, according to Maxwell, are the benefits of integrating quantitative information in qualitative studies?
2. How does the author define Mixed Methods Research?
3. What is the author’s rationale for negating the claim that the use of numbers makes a study “Mixed Methods”. What are your thoughts on this issue?

 

Journal Article 9.10: St. Pierre, E. A., & Jackson, A. Y. (2014). Qualitative data analysis after coding. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(6), 715–719.

Abstract: Data analysis has often been referred to as “the ‘black hole’ of qualitative research”. These authors are concerned about analysis that treats words (e.g., participants’ words in interview transcripts) as brute data waiting to be coded, labeled with other brute words (and even counted), perhaps entered into statistical programs to be manipulated by computers, and so on. Moreover, in many cases, words are reduced to numbers. There are several problems in equating qualitative data analysis with coding, and these authors briefly discuss some of these. They have identified at least two interlocking problems with what counts as data and how those data are collected. The first is that using presence as a criterion for quality, it is assumed that data collected face-to-face from participants are of high quality and worthy of collection and analysis, thereby counting some words as data but not others. Second, it is assumed that an empirical reality in which those words exist as brute data is independent of the interpretive desires of the data “collector.” The authors point to numerous theoretical perspectives that problematize not only what constitutes qualitative data analysis but also where and when it happens.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Collecting data presumes we’ve already determined what counts as data. What are your views on this?
2. These authors state: “To code data, then one must assume that words textualized in interview transcripts and field notes are not only data but also brute data that can be broken apart and decontextualized by coding—even using existing coding schemes from others’ research projects. Once coded, words can be sorted into categories and then organized into “themes” that somehow naturally and miraculously “emerge” as if anyone could see them.” Do you agree? What are your views on this?
3. Which of the many theoretical perspectives mentioned in this paper resonate with you? Why?

Journal Article 10.1: Choi, J., Kushner, K. E., Mill, J., & Lai, D. W. L. (2012). Understanding the language, the culture, and the experience: Translation in cross-cultural research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi:10.1177/160940691201100508

Abstract: Achieving conceptual equivalence between two languages is a challenge in cross-cultural, cross-language research, as the research is conducted in a language that is not the researcher’s or research team’s first language. Therefore, translation provides an additional challenge in cross-cultural research. The comprehension and interpretation of the meaning of data is central in cross-cultural qualitative analysis. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the translation process and explore some of the challenges, such as difficulties in finding a suitable translator, and the importance of communication between the researcher and the translator.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What is the design and methods used in the study that these researchers present?
2. What are the key translation challenges in conducting cross-cultural research?
3. What conclusions are proposed by these authors?

 

Journal Article 10.2: Yeh, C., & Inman, A. G. (2007). Qualitative data analysis and interpretation in counseling psychology: Strategies for best practices. The Counseling Psychologist, 35(3), 369-403.

Abstract: This article presents an overview of various strategies and methods of engaging in qualitative data interpretation and analysis in counseling psychology. The authors explore the themes of self, culture, collaboration, circularity, trustworthiness, and evidence deconstruction from multiple qualitative methodologies. Commonalities and differences that span different approaches are explored. Implications for how researchers address qualitative data analysis and interpretation in counseling psychology training and research are explored.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the basic tenets of qualitative analysis?
2. What are some of the key challenges of qualitative analysis?
3. What are the main conclusions reached by these authors?

 

Journal Article 10.3: Greckhamer, T., & Cilesiz, S. (2014). Rigor, transparency, evidence, and representation in discourse analysis: Challenges and recommendations. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi:10.1177/160940691401300123

Abstract: Discourse analysis is a qualitative research methodology used across the social sciences for analyzing (and challenging) how reality in organizational and institutional arenas is constructed. In this article, the authors identify four key challenges involved in conducting discourse analysis and recommend several “tools” derived from empirical practice to address these challenges. Recommendations are provided to facilitate conducting and writing up discourse analyses.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the challenges in conducting discourse analysis, and what do these authors recommend with regard addressing and resolving these challenges?
2. How do these authors define systematic and rigorous analysis?
3. What are the characteristics of a transparent analysis?

 

Journal Article 10.4: Gerstenblatt, P. (2013). Collage portraits as a method of analysis in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. doi:10.1177/160940691301200114

Abstract: This article presents a method of creating collage portraits to support a narrative thematic analysis that explored the impact of participation in an art installation construction. Collage portraits provide the opportunity to include marginalized voices and encourage a range of linguistic and non-linguistic representations to articulate authentic lived experiences. Other potential benefits to qualitative research are cross-disciplinary study and collaboration, innovative ways to engage and facilitate dialogue, and building and dissemination of knowledge.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Describe and illustrate how collage portraiture can be a useful method in qualitative analysis
2. How does a researcher go about creating collage portraits?
3. What are presented as future directions for qualitative research?

 

Journal Article 10.5: Soilemezi, D., & Linceviciute, S. (2018). Synthesizing qualitative research: Reflections and lessons learnt by two new reviewers. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17, 1-14.

Abstract: Systematic synthesis of qualitative studies is widely used in health and social care. Regardless of the topic area, researchers need to consider several decisions when it comes to the planning and implementation of qualitative synthesis. These reviewers reflect on potential challenges in planning and conducting a synthesis of qualitative data, and elaborate on a number of key issues to provide insights and options on how to avoid or minimize the challenges involved. The implications of different issues and challenges are examined and potential directions are offered.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How do these authors define synthesis in qualitative studies?
2. What are the key findings of this study?
3. What are the implications of this study’s findings vis-à-vis qualitative research?

 

Journal Article 10.6: Carrera-Fernández, M., Guàrdia-Olmos, J., & Peró-Cebollero, M. (2014). Qualitative methods of data analysis in psychology: An analysis of the literature. Qualitative Research, 14(1), 20-36.

Abstract: In this article, the authors present a general overview of the state of qualitative research in psychology by analyzing publications found in the Institute for Scientific Information’s Web of Science database. The objective is to provide a global perspective on the use of qualitative methods in data analysis and the frequency with which they are used in the journals. In total, 4840 articles were analyzed. The authors used bibliometrics methods to describe the publication patterns, and found a considerable increase throughout the 1990s in the number of publications using qualitative methods. Specifically, content analysis, grounded theory and discourse analysis steadily increased. The data obtained seem to indicate that qualitative research publications will continue increasing in the coming years.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Describe the historical development of qualitative data analysis.
2. What are the major influences involved in this development?
3. What, currently, are the key methods of qualitative data analysis?

Journal Article 11.1: Donmoyer, R. (2012). Can qualitative researchers answer policymakers’ what-works question? Qualitative Inquiry, 18(8), 662-673.

Abstract: The article calls into question whether constructivist qualitative researchers have anything to offer policymakers who expect researchers to tell them what works. The first part of the article addresses philosophical objections to characterizing the social world in cause/effect terms. Specifically, it considers whether it is legitimate for qualitative researchers who claim to be employing a constructivist research paradigm to even attempt to provide the sort of simplified causal explanations that policy makers normally expect. The second part of the article takes a more empirical tack by focusing on three recent evaluation studies in which funders wanted to learn what types of programs they should support to produce desired results. The underlying question in this part of the article is pragmatic: Even if there is no paradigmatic prohibition against attempting to answer policymakers’ what-works question, are constructivist qualitative researchers able to answer policymakers’ bottom-line question in a defensible way?

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are the implications of recommendations for policy?
2. How does the concept of causality fit with the overall recommendations of a qualitative study?
3. How does the concept of causality fit with policy recommendations in particular?

 

Journal Article 11.2: Halkier, B. (2011). Methodological practicalities in analytical generalization. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(9), 787-797.

Abstract: This author argues that the existing literature on qualitative methodologies tend to discuss analytical generalization at a relatively abstract and general theoretical level. It is, however, not particularly straightforward to “translate” such abstract epistemological principles into more operative methodological strategies for producing analytical generalizations in research practices. The aim of the article is thus to contribute to the discussions among qualitatively working researchers about generalizing by way of exemplifying some of the methodological practicalities in analytical generalization. Theoretically, the argumentation in the article is based on practice theory, describing three different examples of ways of generalizing on the basis of the same qualitative data material. There is a particular focus on describing the methodological strategies and processes in producing the three different ways of generalizing: ideal typologizing, category zooming, and positioning.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How do you understand the concept of generalizability in qualitative research?
2. Explain the concept of transferability.
3. What new insights have you come away with?

Journal Article 12.1: Badley, G. F. (2014). Un-doing a title. Qualitative Inquiry, 20(3), 287-295.

Abstract: A complicated title may put some readers off. Others may be intrigued by the complexities that a messy title suggests. “Undoing a title” is an essay that focuses on unraveling the threads of Hanna Guttorm’s messy article “Becoming-(a)-Paper, or an Article Undone.” The essay, first, introduces titology and titles and subtitles as paratexts. Second, it examines the title’s main concepts, namely, Becoming, Paper, Article, Undone, (Post-). Knowing, Writing (Again), Nomadic, and Messy, which structure the article. It concludes with brief comments on topics raised in the main text including that of academic texts as love letters.

Questions that apply to this article

1. The title of a research study is important for various reasons. Explain.
2. What factors should you consider when crafting your study’s title?
3. What are some of the limitations regarding an ineffective or “bad” title?

Journal Article 13.1: MacKenzie, C. A., Christensen, J., & Turner, S. (2015). Advocating beyond the academy: Dilemmas of communicating relevant research results. Qualitative Research, 15(1), 105-121.

Abstract: Drawing from experiences in Northern Indigenous Canada, Uganda, and Vietnam, the authors discuss the challenges encountered while trying to communicate relevant results to local communities with whom we work. Wavering between participatory and advocacy research, they explore how the grappled with finding the right audience with whom to share results, their attempts to craft communication to be relevant within specific contexts, and dilemmas over self-censorship. The article documents the authors’ struggles to manage their own expectations and those of the communities with whom they work regarding the ability of their research to broker change. This article emerged from the authors’ frustration of wanting to be accountable to their interviewee communities, but finding few academic articles that go beyond ideals to examine how researchers often struggle to meet these expectations. While participatory approaches are increasingly mainstreamed in social science work, these authors argue that advocacy research can be a more appropriate response to community needs in certain cases.

Questions that apply to this article

1. How do we choose the most appropriate audiences to disseminate our research findings, and overcome dilemmas regarding self-censorship?
2. What factors need to be taken into account in sharing findings and crafting communication within specific contexts?
3. How, and to what extent do we remain accountable to our research participants?

 

Journal Article 13.2: Broadhurst, K. (2014). Academic publishing and the doctoral student: Lessons from Sweden. Qualitative Social Work, 13(5), 595-601.

Abstract: The journey from doctoral student to published author is not without challenges. In condensing a qualitative dissertation one risks the possibility of losing the integrity of the data. How to avoid this and other challenges including coauthoring, and convincing reviewers that a paper is worth publishing, are discussed at length. The authors conclude that whether students can easily write short articles after being steeped in the production of a far lengthier dissertation, is debatable.

Questions that apply to this article

1. What are some of the challenges of moving from doctoral student to published author?
2. What are some of the most useful pieces of information you take away from this article?
3. What, if at all, was surprising to you about this article?

 

Journal Article 13.3: Morse, J. M., & Coulehan, J. (2015). Maintaining confidentiality in qualitative publications. Qualitative Health Research, 25(2), 151-152.

Abstract: Protecting the privacy of study participants is a core tenet of research ethics. It is usual practice to change the names of study participants when publishing qualitative research, but for a number of years, Qualitative Health Research (QHR) has maintained that this procedure in itself is inadequate to disguise a participant’s identity. The number of demographic tags, or identifiers, linked to the person in the article may compromise confidentiality—the greater the number of tags that are included, the easier it is to identify the person. To minimize the risk of violating confidentiality, QHR will not publish a table that lists participants’ demographic information. Such information, especially because of the small samples that are used in qualitative research, could enable an interested party to identify a specific person, and to scan the article for what was reported about that individual, tracing what that person said throughout the article.

Questions that apply to this article

1. Protecting the privacy of study participants is critical. What strategies can be employed to ensure confidentiality?
2. How can you, as the researcher and writer, develop your analysis to the level of an abstract concept as this author suggests?
3. Should IRB approval be required in autoethnograhic research? Why or why not? Explain.

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