Abstract
(C) Posters
Beliefs about Qualitative Research: What Constitutes Cutting Edge Research?
Institute of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia E-mail:
This paper examines the constructions of cutting edge qualitative research in terms of technology, epistemology and methodology. Three studies in the health arena are used as exemplars as well as the preliminary results of a key informant study of qualitative and quantitative researchers. These constructions are critically analysed in relation to the concepts of innovation, advancement of the status of qualitative methods and consolidation of these methods in the research process.
Palliative Care and Autoethnography—Innovative Partners in Nursing Research
* University of South Australia and Mary Potter Hospice, North Adelaide, SA, Australia
** School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia E-mail:
Caring for terminally ill patients is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding nursing specialities. Yet there are nursing clinicians who choose to go down that career path and find the work not only challenging but also emotionally satisfying. Daily human contact with pain and emotional suffering has the capacity to develop special attributes in the nurse who is proficient enough to work with an open mind and a broad knowledge and insight into the human condition.
This paper aims to discuss a research project that highlights qualities essential for hospice work and is not necessarily found in all fields of nursing (O'Rawe- Amenta, 1986). The study will use an Autoethnographic Methodology that is better known in Sociological and Communication research activities. This approach was chosen for its suitability in nursing research as it both values and utilises the roles of personal experience in human relationship narratives (Ellis, 1994,2000, Ellis & Bochner, 1992, 2000, Behar, 2004, Goodall, 2000, Richardson, 1997). In Autoethnography the researcher works on multiple levels of culture and consciousness initiating a trusting level of communication. The relationship then will encourage an open connectedness of patient and nurse, which in turn could ease the final passage in death (Byock, 1997, Benner, 2004, Barbato, 2002, Johns, 2004, Lugton, 2003, Jenkins, 2002, Nortvedt, 1998).
References available from the first author on request.
The Facilitation of Management of Aggression in Secondary Schools
University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Learners in South-African secondary schools face challenges of becoming mature, responsible and healthy human beings amidst all the changes and societal challenges in schools. There are many problems (referred to as the mental health crisis) that confront learners in South Africa, such as: poverty, violence, crime, suicide, involvement in gangs, teenage pregnancies, participation in sexual activities, drugs, family conflict, single parents and the Aids epidemic in the South African society as a result of socio-political circumstances. A need has arisen for the facilitation of management of aggression for secondary school learners. A Psycho-Educational Programme will be implemented which includes new skills that are necessary for successful living and learning, to assist learners in coping with emotions such as aggression and managing anger.
A qualitative research design with a contextual, descriptive and exploratory focus was followed. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of secondary school learners. Guba's model of trustworthiness strategies: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were applied. Each interview was audiotaped and then transcribed. The data was analysed according to Tesch's descriptive, qualitative and systematic approach to data reduction. According to data analysis four themes were identified:
Learners experience aggression as part of their life; Aggression encompasses interpersonal relationships; Learners describe aggression as a negative experience and Learners articulate measures to manage aggression.
A literature control was conducted to verify the findings and support the findings. Ethical principles such as: voluntary participation (informed assent and consent); confidentiality and anonymity were complied with as it served to safeguard the dignity, rights, safety and well-being of all the participants in this research study. The researcher did not engage in any form of deception regarding the aim, content or nature of this research study.
Utilising the Critical Incident Technique to Explore the Meaning of Empowerment for Student Nurses
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Studies, University of Wales Bangor, UK E-mail:
The nursing literature is replete with research about power and empowerment, however researchers tend to concern themselves with the experiences of registered, rather than student nurses. There is a distinct paucity of research that considers empowerment as an issue for student nurses, with the lack of research most evident in relation to empowerment within the healthcare practice setting.
The current body of nursing knowledge in relation to empowerment therefore, appears to pay insufficient attention to the clinical experiences of student nurses and to address this deficit, this study aimed to explore student nurses' experiences of empowerment in healthcare practice. A qualitative approach was adopted, utilising the critical incident technique, described by Flanagan (1954). A purposive sample of student nurses submitted two written narratives in the form of critical incidents. The incidents related to their experiences of empowering and disempowering situations in healthcare practice. Themes and categories arising from the data were revealed through a process of content analysis. Influenced by other researchers who have used the critical incident technique (Redfern and Norman, 1999), the unit of analysis for this study was the “critical happening” (the observed events revealed by the incident), rather than the incident per se.
I will show that the findings offer new insight into empowerment as an issue for student nurses. I will suggest ways in which healthcare practice environments can be developed so that they empower rather than disempower and how education forms the cornerstone of all attempts to empower students.
The presentation will share the methodological and analytical approaches adopted in the study in a manner that will appeal to the diverse conference audience. The critical incident technique as a relatively underutilised qualitative research method will be discussed, in terms of its appropriateness for use across a range of disciplines.
University Preparation for Specialist Practice: Views of Specialist Nurse Practitioners
Department of Nursing Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Educational change in South Africa has prompted a rethink around the educational preparation of nurses. Part of this change is the gradual transition of nursing education into universities. Current educational preparation is mainly college-based. The viewpoint of the profession through its professional nurses is critical in determining appropriate educational preparation of nurses. This paper reports, in part, on a qualitative study which explored the views of specialist nurse practitioners in academic hospitals in Johannesburg. Focus group interviews were conducted to determine their understanding of issues in university education for specialist nurses in particular, and how these might impact on specialist nursing practice in South Africa.
Data generated from focus group interviews were recorded and transcribed. Analysis of data led to the emergence of three broad themes and nine sub-themes. Broad themes related to the clinical practicum, the theory-practice gap and the university as context. The functional dichotomy between theoretical and clinical teaching which creates theory-practice dissonance is flagged as a potential concern. Understandings of how the clinical practicum may contribute to minimizing theory-practice dissonance and to enhance the development of specialist practice are explored. It is argued that the preparation of competent and appropriately qualified specialist nurses requires greater involvement of specialist nurse practitioners and the provincial government—they are important partners through a process of collaboration. The clinical practicum is proposed as the preferred learning environment due to a common understanding of the collaborative involvement of specialist nurse practitioners in the education process.
Play Therapy: A Holistic Approach to Treatment of Mothers Suffering Postnatal Depression
School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
A holistic approach to treatments is a growing phenomenon. Play therapy is a non-pharmacologic nursing intervention that can be used as a complementary adjunct in the road to recovery of mothers suffering postnatal depression. This paper presents findings from a study with a group of women who are currently rehabilitating from postnatal depression at Northpark Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The play therapy was conducted through self-help groups. Women were interviewed prior to and after joining a play therapy. While the mothers spoke highly of play therapy, two strong themes emerged. First, play therapy was said to help build the bond between mother and baby and second these groups were found to help with the mother's recovery from postnatal depression.
What is ME? Role Reversals: Reconceptualizing the Role of Patient as Qualitative Researcher in the Conduct of Research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
Virtual Institute of Research in Healthcare Practice, The Royal College of Nursing Institute. Oxford, UK E-mail:
This study set out to gain a patient's-eye view of what a qualitative researcher with no clinical qualifications or formal knowledge of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/ chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) might be able to locate in the informal or popular literature available in the public domain. The aim was to find out as much as possible about the condition (causes, diagnosis, treatment, etc) and what it is like to have the condition. By switching between both roles throughout the study, the researcher initially developed a set of 20 questions that a patient recently diagnosed with ME/CFS might have on their personal information “checklist.” Firstly, the researcher consulted the scholarly literature on patient information needs and use of the internet to access such information. Secondly, available examples of patient literature available within the local hospital, in which the researcher also worked, were collected to identify what type of patient literature is produced by patient organisations. Over a period of 5 days, the researcher (in the role of patient) scoured local bookshops, the public library and the internet to locate as much print information as possible. The “trawl” was considerable across the various sites and the 20 questions were able to be addressed relatively easily and with little “cost” (monetary or disclosure) other than time. A narrative of how the search was conducted, the type of material found, and the themes identified was then produced. A recurrent theme was that patients, in their personal quests for information and support, appear to take on various researcher roles, such as bricoleur or quilt maker as described by Denzin and Lincoln (2000). Additionally, patients appeared to utilise a range of theoretical stances in their investigative attempts to make sense of what still remains a contested and problematic area. These ranged through phenomenological, ethnographic and critical theory perspectives.
Life Chapters and Parental Separation
Psychology Clinic, Dept of Psychology, the University of Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail:
Life-story interviews were conducted with 40 young adults who had experienced parental separation during their childhood or adolescence. Participants were asked to divide their life-stories into a number of chapters and to talk about what was happening for them in each of these chapters. This paper presents an analysis of the different ways that participants talked about their parents' separation and the relationship between the experience of this family process and the constitution of chapters. For almost half of the participants, the parents' separation is associated with the end of a life-chapter or the beginning of a new one. Approximately a third of participants emphasise change in place of living, although this change is often associated with the separation. Finally, a small group place the parents' separation in the middle of a chapter. These different methods of chapter construction are examined in order to understand more about the meanings that participants give to the experience of parental separation within their life stories.
The Experience for Women of a Pelvic Examination in Taiwan
* School of Nursing, Hung Kuang University, Taiwan
** Griffith University, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
Background: A pelvic examination (PE) involves the inspection and palpitation of a woman's vagina, uterus, and a breast examination. These parts of her body are considered to be the most private. Women have different mental reactions depending on their socio-cultural backgrounds. Some studies are based on Western attitudes towards a PE. However, they are of little relevance to a health care provider seeking to understand the experience of a PE for women from Eastern Asian countries such as Taiwan. For this reason, it was necessary to conduct a study to gain a better understanding of the experience of Taiwanese women during a PE.
Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a better understanding of the experience of Taiwanese women undergoing the procedure of a PE.
Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted to explore the Taiwanese women's experiences during a PE. Purposive sampling was conducted to recruit eligible participants from the Medical Centre in Middle Taiwan. Data were collected from October 2004 to March 2005. Data gathered reached saturation after interviewing 20 participants.
Findings: The women ranged from 25–43 years old. Their experience with PE's ranged from the first time, several times or regular examinations. The Taiwanese women's experiences were classified by the following six themes: (1) uneasiness in the waiting room, (2) exposing sexual experiences and semi-naked body to doctor, (3) an expectation of finishing the examination quickly, (4) anxious and uncomfortable during examination, (5) adopted strategies to decrease helplessness, and (6) a variety of emotions after the examination.
Conclusion: Health care professionals should use a standard procedure to treat women during a PE. Also it is better to ask the patient if they prefer a drape to be used during a PE. A clear explanation of the procedure is not only a health care professionals' duty but it also creates a safer environment for the patient.
Dementia and Residential Placement: A View from the Carers Perspective
North Western Aged Person's Mental Health Services, Bundoora Extended Care Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia E-mail:
The purpose of this research is to discover dementia carers' lived experience when they have relinquished full-time care. It is assumed that once family members make a decision to relinquish full-time care, the stresses of day-to-day caregiving will be eliminated.
Twenty primary caregivers from Aged Care/Aged Psychiatry Units in Melbourne were recruited through a consecutive sampling procedure to participate in the study.
The Stress Process Model was utilised to explain why dementia caregiving is so stressful. A mixed-method research approach that consisted of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was utilised.
In-depth interviews with caregivers revealed the difficult and stressful aspects of dementia caregiving while waiting for residential care. A majority of dementia caregivers had experienced both complex and traumatic admissions to the Aged / Psychiatric Inpatient Units. Carers felt alone in making the “most difficult” decision to relinquish full time care, and these carers experienced loss, sadness and resignation after having made this decision.
Carers of Non-English Speaking Background had a compromised life satisfaction and poor psychological health. One-half of all caregivers who participated in the study were seen to be “at risk” of depression that would warrant professional intervention. Results that have not previously been reported in the dementia caregiving literature were the compromised life satisfaction and poor psychological health of carers from Non-English Speaking Background.
The study concludes that health care professionals need to become aware of the consequences of placement so that increased support can be offered to dementia caregivers during this difficult phase of caregiving. The practice implications includes the identification of “at risk” carer groups and the need for appropriate supports for dementia caregivers at all stages of the caring process.
The Elderly Residents' Care Needs in a Taiwanese Nursing Home: An Ethnographic Study
* School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia, and Department of Nursing, Chung Hwa College of Medical Technology, Taiwan
** School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, and The Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*** Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia E-mail:
Background: In August 2005 the elderly population in Taiwan has made up 9.62% of the total population. This group is likely to have chronic illness and physical and mental disability. The number of nursing homes is increasing each year due to the demands of the society and the quality of care within nursing homes has become an important issue to study. The need to meet an individual's needs has been a significant element within this increased emphasis on quality of care. However, after reviewing the literature, it was revealed that the care needs of elderly residents in Taiwanese nursing homes are poorly understood.
Aim: This study aims to explore Taiwanese nursing home culture in order to describe and interpret the care needs of elderly nursing home residents. This paper will report on preliminary investigations into this area of care.
Methodology and methods: A focused ethnographic approach has been applied in this study. Participant observation, semistructured interviews and review of documents are the methods being used to collect the data. The key participants are elderly residents who are 65 years old and over, have no cognitive impairment and have lived in the nursing home for at least six months. The staff or other significant persons are also invited to participate in the study based upon the data from the observation and interviews with the key participants. All data are transcribed and coded for emerging themes. The rigour of the study is ensured by several strategies. The data collection has commenced since July, 2005 and will be expected to cease in January, 2006.
Significance of research: The expected outcomes of this study will contribute to nursing knowledge, provide relevant related information to nursing practice, education and future long-term care policy–making, and provide a sound basis for future residential care studies.
A Phenomenological Study on the Noise Exposure of Industrial Workers
* Department of Nursing, Chungju National University, Korea
** Department of Environmental Engineering, Sunmoon University, Korea E-mail:
This study is to understand the noise exposure experience of industrial workers by signifying the meaning and essence of their experience. The research question of this study is “What is the experience of noise exposure in the industrial workers?”
10 male workers who have worked in a concrete manufactory were recruited by snowball sampling. Data were collected from unstructured, in-depth interviews, mainly, observation and brief notes. The data were analyzed by Giorgi's suggestion of the four concrete steps for scientific phenomenology.
The constituents and the sub-constituents as a result of analysis were <Moving on me as a harmful sound>: sign and symptoms of ear and hearing loss, disturbance of attention, irritability, disturbance of sleep, and interference with speech communications, <Coping with noise for themselves>: applying earplugs, utilizing other safety stuffs, realizing necessity of safety stuffs, and need for invention of new safety stuffs, and <Recognizing noise to be a part of their lives>.
The study is significant because it provides viewpoints for understanding noise exposure experience of industrial workers in depth, in the context of nursing aspect.
Fast-Tracking to Expert: Challenges in the Wake of Doing “Sensitive” Qualitative Nursing Research
School of Nursing, Universal College of Learning, Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail:
The precautions nurse researchers need to take to maintain their safety when undertaking qualitative research in areas considered sensitive has been reasonably well addressed in the research literature. However, little attention has been paid to the subsequent challenges for these researchers once the research has been completed and published.
In 1999, I completed research into lesbian women's sense of safety when accessing health care using a participatory approach, informed by critical social and feminist methods. When that research was published (Clear, 2000), my professional and personal perspective became a matter of public record. Almost overnight, I found that I had apparently been metamorphosed into an “expert” on other “sensitive” issues, such as deviance and sexuality, even though they had little direct relevance to the completed research.
The professional challenges for researchers associated with topics that mainstream society may consider “sensitive” ust be explicitly articulated. If we are to encourage qualitative research into sensitive topics, we need to ensure that these researchers can learn from the challenges others faced. In this paper, I address some of the issues, based on my own experiences of completing research into a topic that has generated some fierce debate within New Zealand nursing in recent years.
Raising Their Voice; Young Women with Breast Cancer
* School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University Logan Campus, Qld, Australia
** Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Qld, Australia E-mail:
While breast cancer is often associated with older women, in the year 2000, 25 per cent of new breast cancer diagnoses in Australia were in young women. This study explores the experiences of breast cancer from an interpretive perspective to fill the gap in our understanding. Living through a diagnosis of breast cancer is extremely traumatic, emotional responses are intense and the experience is profoundly personal. To explore this experience through a feminist perspective allows for rich and in depth data to be gathered. This paper reports the findings of an interpretive research project that explored the experiences of younger women with breast cancer highlighting the unique concerns for this age group. The six Queensland women who participated in the study told personal stories of their struggle with issues that relate specifically to being young with breast cancer. These issues were young family, sexuality, early clinically induced menopause and resultant infertility. They described the positives and negatives of this life changing experience as they tried to maintain their roles of mother and partner within the family. This research has provided a valuable insight into the experience of breast cancer for young women and their individual emotional concerns. The results can serve to sensitise and influence health professionals in relation to the care of younger women with a breast cancer diagnosis.
Critiquing Phenomenology of Practice
University of Sydney, NSW, Australia E-mail:
A critique of the value of phenomenology of practice as a research strategy for investigating collaboration within rehabilitation teams provides the focus for this presentation. The research project aims to articulate participants' meanings of the practice of collaboration, and through this to illuminate the phenomenon of collaboration in rehabilitation teams. The research project was designed to explore the question, “How do rehabilitation team members collaborate with other members of their team?” In the first phase of this project 9 rehabilitation team case conferences were observed and 40 health professionals were interviewed throughout regional and metropolitan areas within a NSW Health Area. The interpretation and implementation of phenomenology of practice concepts in the research design were critiqued during this phase. Concepts critiqued included: understanding the nature of the phenomenon; acknowledging researcher assumptions and understandings; undertaking interpretive dialogue, phrasing questions in non-abstract terms and using conversational terms during interviews; considering interpretive dialogue and data analysis as being concurrent and interrelated; aiming to determine the essence of the phenomenon, while acknowledging the uniqueness of individual experiences; and creating “lifeworld sensitive texts” reflecting the participants' meaning and experience of the phenomenon (van Manen 1997). The “space, time, body and human relation” parameters of phenomenology of practice (van Manen, 2002) informed the parameters of collaboration explored with participants in interviews of Phase 1 in the research. The value of these parameters was also reviewed. Finally the extent to which phenomenology of practice will be used in the next phase of research was determined.
Assessing Needs and Wants of Patients in the Terminal Phase of Palliative Care
* Saxion Hogescholen, Academie Gezondheidszorg, Deventer, The Netherlands
** University of Central England, UK E-mail:
There is a wealth of research into palliative and terminal care, however whilst much of this work focuses on quality of life, and/or quality of care, there is little research into patients expressed needs and wants. This qualitative study was designed to determine whether formalising and standardising measures to assess needs and wants is feasible and appropriate for patients in receipt of terminal care.
The study utilised semistructured individual interviews to explore and probe issues relating to needs and wants. Three groups of participants were included in the study, patients, their closest relatives, and healthcare professionals. Prior to interview patients and their relatives were each asked to independently complete a needs assessment measure (Osse et al 2004). Therefore, interviews with these two groups included reflection on the appropriateness of the assessment measure, and the relevance of factors included. Interviews with healthcare professionals focused on how they assessed patients' needs and the possible role of a standardised measure in care planning and implementation.
The interviews revealed insights and information not only regarding patients needs, but also of the dilemmas faced by relatives as they tried to support their loved one through this final stage of life, and the problems encountered by healthcare professionals. The depth and range of data gained in this study demonstrates how a standardised/quantifiable measure can be used to support in-depth qualitative methods. The findings have been used as the basis for a much larger regionally based study, to improve the responsiveness of terminal care to patients' and relatives' needs.
Waiting for the Magic: Reflections on a Grounded Theory Study
School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
Doctoral candidates embark on a journey that takes them through a maze of different theoretical and practical challenges. One such challenge involves engaging with and understanding theoretical concepts in order to produce a piece of research that is theoretically rich and useful. In addition to this, many qualitative researchers are adopting grounded theory methodologies in their research and in doing so are often involved in developing theory that will be used by others. Embarking on a grounded theory study requires that the researcher has a sound understanding of both the method and the process. One of the central tenets of grounded theory is that the theory should emerge from the data collected during data analysis. This emergence is often depicted as if it happens quite magically. This paper reflects on the journey of a doctoral student as she grappled with epistemology and ontology, searched for a paradigm, grasped methodology and waited for the magic in her grounded theory study to appear. It details her experiences as she moved from being “theory shy” to “theory smart.”
Ethical Issues in E-mail-Facilitated Qualitative Interviews with Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia E-mail:
This study trials the method of e-mail-facilitated qualitative interviewing (EFQI) with 20 traumatic brain injury survivors. Findings indicate that it is possible to establish rapport with participants in the absence of audio-visual cues. In addition, results indicate that this method facilitates the communication of brain injury survivors and participants report advantages such as increased time for reflection, expression and a greater control of the interview setting. However, the management of ethical issues was challenging. Major issues were (1) the participants' capacity to give informed consent due to cognitive-linguistic impairments affecting comprehension and memory and organisational ability (2) the emotional protection of vulnerable participants in the event of distress relating to research questions, which required the involvement of a support person (3) the use of appropriate boundaries with participants who are often lonely and needing support (4) termination of contact with vulnerable participants after a prolonged e-mail interview in which rapport has been established (5) responding to the participants' reactions to the ethical requirement of a support person. Ethical guidelines for conducting the e-mail-facilitated qualitative interview with vulnerable groups will be recommended.
Engagement with the Disenfranchised Voice: The Ethics of Research with Ex-prisoners with Intellectual Disability
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia E-mail:
This paper examines the core ethical issues in the context of life story research with ex-prisoners with intellectual disability. People with “intellectual disability” have long been regarded as the “poor relations” in the research family. The exclusion of their voice from traditional research has been legitimated by assumptions that people with intellectual disability are socially and interactionally incompetent to provide their views. Consequently, research that seeks to engage such views may not be regarded as credible. In addition, the management of ethical issues may be a disincentive to researchers. This paper will address the following ethical issues of conducting qualitative research with this vulnerable group: (1) gaining informed and voluntary consent (2) the protection of participants who may be unaware of the implications of self-disclosure e.g. incrimination of themselves or others (3) the potential for blurring of researcher-participant boundaries arising from prolonged engagement (4) ensuring researchers' agendas do not predominate over those of participants and (5) providing research outcomes that are both beneficial and accessible to participants. It will be argued that despite the associated ethical challenges in engaging in life story research with ex-prisoners with intellectual disability, such endeavours can make a worthy contribution to the field of criminological research and to research design involving people with intellectual disability.
Understanding Grounded Theory: Making Theoretical Connections
School of Health University New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
This paper presents the challenges involved in applying a theoretical framework to the analysis of data using the principles of grounded theory. It will highlight the evident gap that exists between the descriptions of the use of qualitative methods and the application of theory to those methods. Although there is much written about grounded theory methods, the process of applying a theoretical framework is not always clearly expressed. This then raises a number of questions such as how do I know what theory to use and how do I apply that to the data analysis.
Theoretical sensitivity is discussed in the literature as the ability to see the data in a different light and that analysis is a creative process that requires researchers to be sensitive not only to the emerging themes but how they might fit with the theoretical literature. The challenge then is to know how the emerging themes suggest what theory to use.
This paper will walk the audience through a framework that has helped bridge the identified gaps between theoretical framework and data analysis for research. This framework has been applied to a study that aimed to identify the factors involved and experiences of people as they relate to access to services for sexual health.
Rethinking the Gap: The Theory Practice Relationship in Nursing Education from the Perspective of Student Nurses
Universal College of Learning, Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail:
For nursing education, theory and practice are commonly construed as discrete entities separated by a metaphorical void; usually referred to as the “gap between theory and practice.” This particular conceptualisation, although widespread, was considered incomplete and for a more comprehensive understanding a grounded theory approach was taken to the collection and analysis of data from two phases of data gathering. In the data participants referred to different types of theory relevant and central to effective nursing care. The first was private theory held by each participant. The second was formal theory associated with classrooms, lecturers and textbooks. The third was situational theory, acquired in the performance or observation of nursing care. More specifically, the student nurses who participated in the study recalled critical moments when the different types of theory conflicted with the strongly held key values that each participant used as the standards against which they evaluated each type of theory. For the students it was a conflict that produced uncomfortable emotions, distrust of others and personal self doubt. In an effort to reduce the discomfort the students sought an explanation for the differences between theory and practice, some of which challenged their key personal values. However, the most emotionally neutral explanation that also preserved the integrity of their key values was that there was a gap between the theory and the practice of nursing. The implications for nursing education are that personal knowledge and experiences must be incorporated into a programme, that the feelings evoked by learning must be acknowledged as a catalyst that enhances learning, that the different forms of theory to which a student is exposed must be made explicit and that students must be involved as an active partner in the mapping of a personal educational programme.
A Qualitative Methodology and a Feminist Analysis: A Fruitful Partnership?
University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia E-mail:
This paper represents part of a larger research project on “The moral dimensions of care of a person with a profound intellectual disability from the perspective of the carer.” The research thus far involves interviewing caregivers who have a son/daughter with a severe intellectual disability aged eighteen years or more. I am focussing on the difficulties and complexities of ethical decision-making for this group.
A brief outline of my methodology using a Grounded Theory approach is included, along with a summary of the data which includes in depth interviews of parents of a person with a profound intellectual disability, a case study and some written and audiovisual material. An early analysis of the data has already enabled me to identify some emerging themes and to articulate some methodological issues that have arisen.
These include:
The difference between Grounded Theory and a Grounded Theory approach. Theoretical sensitivity-the tension between knowledge and experience and coming to the data with “an open mind.” Researcher versus clinician -grappling with a new and unfamiliar role. Difficulties of the in-depth, semistructured interview.
It is apparent in the 21st century parents/carers face new and complex issues in their caring for a person with a profound intellectual disability. Rather than using a traditional ethical analysis of the moral problems they describe, I explore what a feminist ethic of care has to offer using Joan Tronto's ethic of care framework.
In conclusion I will look at the partnership of a qualitative methodology and a feminist analysis as a fruitful combination that takes us beyond the positivistic notions of the 20th century to a post modern world desperately grappling with the ethical challenges of our dependency on one another.
He Arorangi Whakamua– An Indigenous Tobacco Intervention Research Approach from Aotearoa (New Zealand) Using Tribal Development Principles, Indigenous Health Promotion Frameworks and Evidence-Based Practice to Curb Uptake. Lessons from Year Two of the Intervention
Whakauae Research Services- Ngâti Hauiti Research Unit, Whanganui, New Zealand E-mail:
Whakauae Research Services wish to present the results of a research programme aimed at the collection and analysis of data on the historical, social, economic and cultural context of smoking for Ng?ti Hauiti (M?ori Tribal grouping in New Zealand) tamariki (children), rangatahi (adolescents) and wh?nau (family). The data, combined with information about the context for the intervention and substantial reviews of the literature, was used to develop a comprehensive framework for the progress of tobacco control research and intervention activities within Ng?ti Hauiti.
The qualitative research project has produced an intervention strategy using five separate data sources. A Tobacco Uptake Intervention Strategy has been outlined incorporating the contexts for the intervention, the wh?nau constructions around tobacco uptake, Ng?ti Hauiti research principles, and best practice evidence.
The study concludes that M?ori health promotion principles were consistent with iwi development principles, therefore aligning the tobacco control intervention with a wider wh?nau hap? (collections of families) iwi (tribe) development role was seen as advantageous to both goals; the context for the intervention is clearly able to be identified as a distinctive community setting with a range of strengths that will enable effective implementation of the tobacco control intervention; and, it is clear from qualitative data and evidence that a comprehensive approach that targets multiple sites and multiple levels, and uses complementary components from each intervention approach studied may result in positive changes in tobacco smoking attitudes and behaviours.
The intervention research is currently in year two of a three- year programme. The researchers would like to share not only the research approach taken in the intervention but also share some of the early findings about the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. In particular; using community members as field researchers, research partnerships to ensure sustainability, the evaluation framework and early results, and finally exploring the interface between western qualitative methods and indigenous research.
Sexuality and Old Age: Does It Really Matter?
* School of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
** Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia E-mail:
The ageing population and spiralling health care costs have conspired to create an environment where there is an increased focus on healthy ageing and wellness. This focus arises at a time when many myths about older age sexuality persist and that influence societal stereotyping that depicts the older person as an asexual being.
The researcher's clinical experience has established that some older people in the community are willing to discuss their sexuality but that barriers exist in communicating experiences and concerns to their health professional.
A phenomenological qualitative method was used to investigate older age sexuality as an aspect of total health care. The study is exploring the meaning of sexuality and sexual desire and the impact on wellbeing from the older person's perspective. This aspect is significant in that it has previously been unexplored.
To date the findings from the qualitative study demonstrate that there is an astonishing diversity in how some older people adapt to changes in their health and relationship status and in how they enact their own sexual identity. The data explicated through a qualitative phenomenological approach can be applied to theories of ageing and sexuality that provides greater insight into older age sexuality.
The implications are that with increased knowledge about older age sexuality, health professionals may give more consideration to the sexual needs of the older person within the delivery of total health care.
(1) The paper will discuss background to the research, research questions, significance of the study, the linkage between method and theory, and preliminary results. (2) The poster outlines the background to the research, the methodology used and preliminary findings.
Obtaining Insights into Livelihoods with Participatory Photography
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropicale, Kampala, and Institute of Organic Farming, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria E-mail:
Opinions of farmers in rural Africa are often neither seen nor heard, despite their contribution to food security and the rural economy. Surveys or interview guidelines, developed in headquarters, far from the field, are still a common approach in gathering information about rural livelihoods. In recent years, participatory methods and visual tools have received increasing popularity and been taken up into qualitative research enriching and complementing classic approaches.
The poster will demonstrate how participatory camera can be used to overcome cultural or linguistic barriers that researchers encounter when accessing a new field. The tool has been applied with farmer groups in Mozambique in 2005.
Putting one-way cameras in the hands of the researched changes the subject-object relation between the researcher and the researched. Handing over the tool the researcher passes over power and control to the researched. While the researcher can roughly determine the area of interest, the concrete topics are being brought up from “within.” Taking pictures farmers enable insights into their priorities, areas of interest and concerns and hence enables researchers to close the gaps of previously unconscious dimensions. Using the pictures as “interview guidelines” both, the researcher and the researched, can benefit from visualization during discussions. Visual support of interviews, linking with pictures to concrete livelihood of the interviewees facilitates discussions and avoids talk about abstract or distant worlds.
Meta-discussions with farmers on the research process reveal that participatory camera enables them to reflect their lives and triggers discussions within the community. However, a number of ethical issues challenge the researcher to carefully use and employ the tool.
The combination of participatory camera and other qualitative research instruments (interviews, observation…) opens new insights for the researcher. However, ethical difficulties of whom to hand over the camera, how to handle the pictures or concerns of how to present the results can be difficulties a researcher needs to deal with.
Experiences of HIV/AIDS Stigma of Plwa and Nurses from Five African Countries
Potchefstroom campus, North-West University, South Africa
National University of Lesotho, Lesotho.
University of Swaziland, Swaziland.
University of California, USA.
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Muhimbili University, Tanzania
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
University of Malawi, Malawi.
E-mail:
The concept of stigma has received significant attention in recent years in the HIV/AIDS literature. Although there is some change towards the positive, AIDS still remains a significant stigmatized condition. AIDS stigma and discrimination continue to influence people living with and affected by HIV (PLWA) as well as their health-care providers. Unless stigma is conquered, the illness will not be defeated. Due to the burden that HIV/AIDS place on people living in Africa, a five year project entitled Perceived AIDS Stigma: A Multinational African study was undertaken. The focus of the first phase of this project was on exploring the meaning of stigma from the perspectives of PLWA and the nurses involved in their care in five African countries through describing incidents of stigma and how this had affected PLWA. A descriptive, qualitative research design was used to explore the experience. Forty-three focus group discussions were held with respondents to relate incidences which they themselves observed as well as those that they themselves experienced in the community and in families. The study was conducted in five African countries: Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania. The transcribed data was analyzed through the technique of open coding using the NVivo 2.0 analysis package. Three types of stigma (received stigma, internal stigma and associated stigma) and several dimensions of each of these types of stigma were identified. Recommendations to further these findings were made.
Experiences of Health Service Delivery (Home Based Care) by the University to a Disadvantaged Community
Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University, South Africa E-mail:
For several years now the School of Nursing Science and the School of Psycho Social Behaviour Science have been offering health services in various forms to the greater Potchefstroom community through the learners as part of their experiential learning. This was an extensive process of gaining entry into the community and building trust over several years. Valuable health services were thus offered to the community over the years but no feedback system evaluated the true worth and quality of this services. The objectives of this research was to explore the experience of nursing and social work learners in providing health services to the disadvantaged community; the experience of the disadvantaged community members receiving health services; the experience of service delivery organisations receiving help to provide health services to the disadvantaged community by learners; and to investigate what channels of communication are being used to link the needs of the disadvantaged community with the provision of health services through learners as part of their experiential learning. A descriptive, qualitative research design was used. Focus group discussions were held with the nursing and social work learners and service delivery organizations and in depth individual interviews with disadvantaged community members. Field notes were taken at the end of each group or interview. Transcripts were studied by the research team to determine themes and sub-themes using the open coding technique. The results showed that although learners feel uncertain about entering a strange community and not always understanding the culture, they are positive to render the service to this community. Language was a big problem but empathy transcended it. The health service delivery organizations and the community felt extremely positive towards the learners and what they offer to them. They were seen as bringing light and hope. A conceptual model to enhance multidisciplinary home based care by learners of the University to the greater Potchefstroom community was formulated.
Conscious Body Management: The Experience of Choosing Surgery for Breath-LESS-ness
Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia E-mail:
Two surgical approaches have been developed to reduce the hyperinflation associated with the debilitating condition of emphysema. Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS) and Endo-Bronchial Valveä Insertion (EBV™) have unknown outcomes from the perspective of the person, and thus, no guidelines are available for specialist nursing practice or patient education.
This interpretive study applies Merleau-Ponty's existential philosophy of the body as a philosophical framework. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the mode of inquiry used to gain understanding by engaging 10 people having EBV™ insertion, 5 people having LVRS, and 14 close family members in a total of 58 in-depth interviews. This sample was drawn from three teaching hospitals and comprised the entire available population of people having a lung volume reduction procedure in NSW over a 2-year period.
People with severe emphysema experienced a shrinking life-world shaped by breath-LESS-ness. Breath-LESS-ness was established as a family situation, and close family members were at risk of a narrowing of their own life-world. People and families explored a number of strategies centring on processes of conscious body management, including volume reduction procedures and pulmonary rehabilitation to ease the shrinking of their existence and to make the best of their changed life situation. For some, these choices led to an expanding of their life-world as they regained some of the losses of the taken-for-granted body. Regardless of the post-operative outcome, 28 of 29 participants felt that a lung volume reduction procedure was worth the risk of associated illness or death. In contrast to the trepidation with which health professionals and government bodies view lung volume reduction procedures, people who choose LVRS or EBV™ insertion are willing to pursue every possibility for an expanding life-world. They are far more likely to accept the risks associated with surgery in the hope of successfully managing their breath-LESS bodies, than has previously realised.
The Lived Experience of Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer During Long-term Chemotherapy: A Study by Using Phenomenological Approach
* Division of Nursing, Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan
** Adult Nursing, St. Luke's College of Nursing, Japan E-mail:
Advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been a life-threatening illness in Japan. With recent advances in technology of cancer treatment, patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer have been able to live slightly longer. However, they are confronted with continuing stressors during long-term therapy for life extension.
This study, which explores the meaning of the lived experience of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer during long-term chemotherapy in the outlook toward self, is unique. It was conducted by the patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer during long-term chemotherapy.
Unstructured interviews were conducted with five co-researchers (four women and one man). Date from each interview were analyzed using phenomenological approach based on Colaizzi's method. The following themes were identified from data analysis,
“Life -oriented with their life because of raising awareness of the end of their life,” “Being as what they are because of knowing what they were for themselves,” “Taking care of themselves by them or with others,” “Appraising for themselves beyond the responsibility,” “Being not isolated because they was isolated”
The common meanings in their experiences are the following:
Searching for meaning of own self with their own life Appraising for themselves in relation to others Being connected with others Restoring own body as the subjective worked on living Being opened at each other with new criterion
In this poster, four of the common meanings that emerged from a married woman are focused on.
Changes in Interaction between Elderly Health Service Facility Residents and Their Caregivers through Life Story Interviews
* School of Nursing, Shimane University, Japan
** Kobe City College of Nursing, Japan
*** Kobe Social Insurance Geriatric Health Service Facility, Kobe, Japan E-mail:
[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to clarify how interaction between elderly residents and their caregivers change in the course of life story interviews.
[Outline of Life Story Interviews] Elderly were interviewed on a one-to-one basis by their caregivers (one pair). In the interviews, the elderly were encouraged to recall and talk freely about their past life.
[Method] Target for analysis: Among nine pairs that underwent interviews, the pair of Mr. A (90 years old; male) and his caregiver, Ms. B (23 years old; female) was selected for analysis.
Analysis method: The contents of their three interviews were recorded and transcribed, and the transcripts for individual sessions were closely examined to extract the characteristics of the dialogue in each session, and to determine whether Mr. A repeated the same topic, whether he brought up new topics and whether he made changes/additions to what he had said in previous sessions.
Ethical considerations: Informed consent to participate in the study was obtained from the elderly and their caregivers.
[Results] Characteristics of dialogue: <1st Interview> Ms. B asked many questions, using the word “why” repeatedly. Many of Mr. A's answers were “I don't know.” <2nd Interview> Both participants repeated each other's words. <3rd Interview> Ms. B listened to Mr. A's stories, making many “listening” sounds. Mr. A put some questions to Ms. B that indicated his interest.
Evolution of topics: <1st> Mr. A talked mainly about (1) “Business achievements of his brothers and father.” <2nd> In addition to topic (1), he talked about five new topics: (2) “Management of factory,”?(6). <3rd> He made some additions to topic (2): “Shortage of workers.” He also talked about a new topic (7): “Escaping bomb in Hiroshima by chance.”
[Discussion] As their conversation flowed smoothly, the contents of his storytelling were expanded and deepened.
Doing Grounded Research Manually: A Lonely Journey of Pain and Joy
Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, Perth, WA, Australia E-mail:
There are some computer software have been used by qualitative researcher for data analysis. However, it is also must be noted that there is no package that can substitute for the interpretive skills of qualitative researcher. Many of them can alleviate much of the clerical task of sorting words, concepts and passages contained in the transcripts; but the identification of significant themes, patterns and categories still has to be done by the researcher.
In this paper, the whole dynamic and complicated process of manual data analysis will be discussed; including reasons why researcher prefer to use manual analysis rather than computer software, transcribing data, coding data, and generating theory. Issues relating to validity, reliability, and credibility also will be discussed since the researcher takes a central place as a prominent actor in this qualitative research.
All of discussions in this paper based on a grounded research entitled “The Role of Strategic Human Resource Management in Indonesia.” Data in this research came from in dept interview with 63 human resource managers from four type different industries (hotel, hospital, textile, and agriculture) from eight provinces in Indonesia with different local cultural background (Central Java, Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bali, West Sumatra, North Sumatra, South Kalimantan, and South Sulawesi).
The Value and Limitations of Generalisability in Qualitative Research
Homerton School of Health Studies, Cambridge, England E-mail:
This paper arises from experience where the concept of generalisability in qualitative research was rejected from a perspective which appeared to see it as an attack on qualitative methods; as a believer in debate rather than dogma I feel I must address this issue. Three routes to generalisability will be discussed. Starting with concepts a consideration will be given to concept maturity and whether this should lead to quantitative approaches and measuring tools. A move will then be made to qualitative metasynthesis the value of which has already been debated in the literature; the focus here will therefore be the extension of this method to generate theory and whether this enhances or devalues the uniqueness of experience of individual concepts. Finally the argument will be extended to consider the extension of substantive grounded theory to formal theory and whether increasing abstraction may detach theory from the complexity of life processes
Teaching Qualitative Research Methods: It is Harder than You Think
School of Nursing and Midwifery; Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia E-mail:
I have been teaching qualitative research methods to postgraduate nursing students for a considerable length of time. Each time I take a new class, it never ceases to amaze me the number of students who demonstrate difficulty in understanding the concepts underpinning qualitative research. For some students, qualitative research seems to be another data collection method. By that I mean the students perceive that as long as they are conducting in-depth interviews or participant observation, they are doing qualitative research. Others seem to have difficulty coming to grips with the language of qualitative research and insist on using quantitative research terms with qualitative research. Still others cannot seem to appreciate the subtle nuances that exist between the various qualitative approaches. These students prefer to overlook the differences and primarily concentrate on data collection. After much thought and reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the ability to think critically is a must have for students learning to do qualitative research. Students need to understand the science of qualitative research within its philosophical, empirical and epistemological contexts before they can move on to data collection. Students also need to understand the role of literature, how to write the research questions and analyse the narrative texts. I often come across students who are disappointed when I inform them that software programs like NUDIST is not going to do the analysis for them and that they have to do the analysis in their heads. In this paper I share my experiences of the many difficulties students face when learning about qualitative research methods including excerpts from student feedback about these difficulties. I include interactive teaching strategies I have used with reasonable success with students to help them learn about how to appreciate and do a piece of qualitative research.
Developing Inductive Models from Qualitative Data
Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA E-mail:
A common misconception in many social science disciplines is that qualitative data can only provide descriptive, case study or anecdotal information, often in conjunction with quantitative survey data. Qualitative research, however, can provide valuable information for health service delivery and policy development. This presentation describes the development of “inductive models” from qualitative data which provide a clearer understanding of specific health issues and the policy and programmatic implications of the data.
A powerful approach to textual data analysis is to use the data to develop “inductive models.” Developing an inductive model involves identifying the issues of the research population (using an inductive or grounded approach), and then to link the issues into a theory, explanatory framework or model, which can be visually displayed. Both the issues and the links between issues in the conceptual framework are inductive and embedded in the textual data itself. The inductive model approach enables the qualitative data to be used to refine health service delivery, identify health interventions and formulate policy that is more reflective of the real situation.
This presentation will demonstrate the development of inductive models from textual data through three case study examples from the author's public health and social science research. These examples include; “targeting strategies to reduce trafficking in Nepal,” “young people's health needs in Pakistan” and the “sexual health of seasonal workers in the United Kingdom.” These international case studies show the clear health applications of inductive models. The case studies demonstrate the strength of inductive models in developing and re-aligning health policy and provision to actual public health needs. The case studies also show that using inductive models can more clearly identify how to deliver health services, by refining specific service delivery approaches for a particular target population.
Negotiating the Emotions of Change: Research, Restructuring and the Doctoral Student
Department of Education Management and Policy Studies, The University of Pretoria, South Africa E-mail:
This paper is a reflective account of the emotions generated by my research journey as a doctoral student, and the challenges these pose particularly when researching a controversial and emotional process of change. The paper raises two main issues: first, how do emotions constrain and strengthen qualitative research; and second, how could researchers—especially doctoral students—deal with their emotions in the process of studying educational change, and how they may be supported.
The paper identifies a host of emotions that are generated by the ideological, epistemological or methodological facets of the research and occur and at every stage of the process: from choosing the topic, throughout the research journey, to dissemination of the findings and publication. It argues that the doctoral students are often preoccupied with the technical competencies of managing research and tend to ignore or control their emotions. This, however, reduces their ability to engage with the process, limits the data that could be collected and may result in unresolved emotional dilemmas. Based on this reflective account and the research literature, the paper suggests strategies that novice researchers may use to deal with their emotions and calls for an increased awareness to the emotional aspects of qualitative research.
Being Creative, Critical and Ethical in Research Practice
* Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
** IE Coaching E-mail:
The combination of creativity in research approaches and products with a critical frame of reference enables us as qualitative researchers to challenge the status quo and support the development of practice in “real” world situations. Such research acknowledges and explores the complexity of human experience, framing research as a performance that embraces an eclectic blend of theoretical perspectives and research approaches. Thus the theory and practice of research becomes a space for critical and creative conversations in which notions of the moral and sacred can be explored and different knowledges and different cultures can be seen, heard and experienced. In this paper such conversations will explore the challenge of being creative, critical and ethical in translating theory to practice as well as being authentic to self in research practice.
Useful Free Software Tools for Analysing Project Evaluations
Hunter New England Health, New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
Program evaluations require making sense of a range of quantitative and qualitative data such as interviews, focus groups and surveys. Software that assist the collation, categorising (i.e., Thematic coding), clustering, and summating of data can enable easier interpretation. Excellent commercial packages exist for analysing qualitative data, however, as they are rather specialised in nature and expensive. Further, many have proprietary data-file formats that prevent interchange with other software.
If the data manipulation is centred on a standardised document format, we can then seek a range of free-to-use data manipulation packages. A useful standard is the Extensible Markup Language (XML). It is a special-purpose mark-up language that is capable of describing many different kinds of data. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the sharing of data across software packages (e.g. databases, word processors and spreadsheets).
Useful packages for qualitative research that utilise the standard of XML are: Transcriber, Open XML Editor, Perl, and Calc. Transcriber is a tool for assisting the annotation of speech signals, which enables the segmentation of long speech recordings into speck turns and topic changes.
Additional tools are accessible such as “normalize” which can convert capital letters to small letters, remove punctuations, and convert digits to words.<trans.sourceforge.net/en/presentation.php>. Open XML Editor enables the correct formatting of XML text although knowledge of XML's conventions is required <www.philo.de/xmledit>. Tags are colour coded for easy reading. Calc is a free all-purpose spreadsheet. Macros can be employed to enable the conversion of chunks of text into separate lines of data for sorting under a range of subheadings. It is part of the Open Office suit <www.openoffice.org>. Perl is a flexible programming language useful in the manipulation of XML files <www.perl.org>.
This range of free software tools provide a means for manipulating and clustering concepts, and recurring themes. Accurate and timely views of complex data facilitate effective interpretation.
The Model as Framework for Nurse Managers to Facilitate Change During the Namibian Health Sector Reforms
* University of Namibia, Namibia
** University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Health services in Namibia were fragmented along ethnic lines and were curatively biased. The Ministry of Health and Social Services embarked on a health sector reform to redress above situation. The meaning and magnitude of change seems to be given little attention. Consequently, the Namibian nurse managers seem not to be able to deal with change. This study aimed to describe a model to be used by the nurse managers to facilitate change during the Namibian health sector reforms. Explorative, descriptive, qualitative, theory generative and contextual designs were used. Four steps of Chinn and Kramer (1991:59–125) for model generating were utilised. Measures to ensure trustworthiness were applied. Ethical principles were adhered to throughout the research process. Data was collected from thirty-nine top, middle and first-line nurse managers. In-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions, as well as field notes, were used for data collection. The identification and conceptual meaning with respect to facilitating a conducive environment were achieved through the results of the empirical data that explored the experiences of the nurse managers and their needs for empowerment, and the results of concept analysis.
This study found that the facilitator of a change process is responsible for empowering the nurse managers to establish an enabling environment to manage change in the health sector. The interactive facilitation was recognised as the dynamic through which an environment conducive to change had to be created. The procedure to facilitate a conducive environment includes, adequately support and interpersonal relations reducing fear of the unknown, and active participation and involvement enhancing confidence and continuous interaction facilitating knowledge and skills development. The guidelines in the model might bring valuable insights for the change process in the country.
What Does it Mean to Live with Osteoporosis?
Faculty of Education, University of Calgary, Al, Canada E-mail:
Rationale: To learn about the experiences of people living with osteoporosis through the narratives of 12 participants who were diagnosed with this chronic condition.
Objectives: The intention of this research was to investigate the lived experiences and meaning associated with living with osteoporosis from the patient's perspective.
Methods: A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach was utilized.
Results: The analysis of this data revealed the illness experience of 12 participants who explicated the meaning of being diagnosed with osteoporosis and their approaches to learning to live with this chronic condition. The lived experiences across the interviews were revealed through three essential themes: the shattering of their life as they knew it, a surrender leading toward a negotiation with their disease, and the acceptance of a new life.
Conclusions/Significance: Lessons on how people presented with life changing information from their physicians respond to and learn to live with fear and apprehension while engaging with a new and confusing condition. The significance of this study is found from the meaning and reactions of people with osteoporosis and their relationship with the health care systems.
A Qualitative Research on Older People's Care Quality in Nursing Home: Conceptual Development of Cherish, Consider, and Care (3C) Model
* Department of Nursing, Meiho Institute of Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
** College of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
*** Department of Business Administration, Meiho Institute of Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan E-mail:
This study aims at to develop an innovative model for application in nursing homes, in order to maximize the quality of care that is delivered and received, using the grounded theoretical approach. Ten qualified nurses, twelve care workers, fourteen residents and eight family members engaged in qualitative interviews over a five months period in this study. The theoretical foundation developed and the proposed Cherish, Consider, and Care model, 3C Model, focus mainly on assisting medical and nursing/care staffs to structure their practices with older people living in nursing homes. The research findings can also proffer instrumental implications for educators who teach nursing students about quality care in nursing home setting. The 3C Model can well serve its purpose and be applied by nursing/care staffs can be refined, elaborated, and corrected as both the art and the science of gerontological nursing practice steadily advance. The results of this study may be adapted to define and develop relevant models to improve the quality of care in residential nursing homes in the future.
Cross-Culture Marriage Foreign Spouse Experience of Life Adaptation and Health Care in Vietnam and Taiwan
Department of Nursing, Meiho Institute of Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan E-mail:
Background. Most foreign spouse is it marry too early to have, early childbirth, fertility rate high, practice contraception low characteristic of implementing etc., also Undertake to bring up the important task of future generation, it bears health care question, has become the topic needing badly being paid attention to. The spouse of Vietnam enters another strange social environment suddenly, face the change of life. How must adjust oneself rightly.
Aim. To explore the experience of cross-cultural life's adaptation and health care of Vietnamese spouses in Vietnam and Taiwan.
Method. There were 36 Vietnamese spouses. In applying the qualitative method, the researcher collected the data mainly by way of in-depth interviews, which is conducted on the basis of a semi-structure interview guide. As for the interpretations, it proceeds with a conception analysis following a series of open-coding work.
Findings. The result of analysis is presented through a variety of aspect inclusive of opinion of marriage, opinion of family, opinion of birth, adaptation of marriage, life of marriage, opinion of raise, adaptation of life, question mother in law and wife, postpartum care.
Conclusion. The result Vietnam spouse opinion of marriage: “lose at sunrise and gain at sunset,” “Life Adaptation must to rule,” “While in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Health Care must to rule “Help-self, Help-other” concept.
Relevance to clinical practice. To face future. Suggestion provide to comfortable health care, To assist life and education tactics, To promote children quality of the family education
The Impact of Stroke on the Emotional Reactions among Older People During Hospitalization
Department of Nursing, Tajen University, Taiwan
Nursing Research and PD, University of Ulster/Royal Hospitals Trust, UK
Institute of Nursing Research, University of Ulster, UK
E-mail:
Background. Stroke patients may have cognitive deficits and physical disturbance that result in burdens on families and society. The impact of stroke on the emotional outcome of patients is large. Physical rehabilitation after stroke is often promoted, while psycho-social factors are often neglected. Therefore, there is a need to explore the impact on the psychological reactions of hospitalised patients following a stroke.
Aim. To understand the psychological reactions of hospitalised patients after stroke.
Method. A qualitative approach was used. A total of 14 patients who had an intracerebral infarction were recruited from four hospitals in the south of Taiwan. Altogether, 28 semistructured interviews were conducted with hospitalised patients. NUD*IST software were used to manage and present findings.
Findings. Qualitative analysis resulted in the identification of patients' reactions which were categorised into two themes: “loss-related psychological reactions”: distress; loss of control; worthlessness; anger; worry; anxiety; and depression; and “gain-related psychological reactions”: feeling valued; feeling of courage; feeling of hope; and feeling of self-confidence.
Conclusion. The psychological reactions to stroke were complex dynamic responses that were impacted by both the personal physical and social environment conditions.
Relevance to clinical practice. These findings could help nurses to understand how stroke patients felt during hospitalisation and help nurses to work effectively with them to enhance stroke nursing care.
Psychosocial Adaptation Following Stroke: Perceptions of Older People in Taiwan
Department of Nursing, Tajen University, Taiwan Nursing Research and PD, University of Ulster/Royal Hospitals Trust, UK
Institute of Nursing Research, University of Ulster, UK E-mail:
Background. The impact of stroke on the emotional and psycho-social status of patients is significant. The theory and knowledge relating to the consequences of a stroke and the psycho-social needs of patients with stroke are becoming increasingly important. To date, there appear to be relatively few qualitative-based studies relating to stroke patients' psycho-social adaptation processes that shed light on this topic.
Aim. The aim of this paper is to understand hospitalised stroke patients and their perceptions of their psycho-social adaptation.
Method. A total of fourteen patients who had an intracerebral infarction were interviewed using semistructured interviews on two occasions. Barrett's power theory was used to help organise and summarise interview data. NUD*IST software and cognitive mapping were used to manage and present findings.
Findings. The central phenomena that emerged from the interviewed data was “Psycho-social adaptation following a stroke.” Other main categories linked to and embraced within this phenomena were: function of social support; perception of family support; nature of awareness; type of choices; degree of freedom; manner of involvement; gain-related psychological reactions; and loss-related psychological reactions.
Conclusion. A meaningful future for stroke patients depends on their psycho-social adaptation, which can be achieved through having them actively involved in their recovery and through the receipt of focused support. The findings support the conceptualisation of psycho-social adaptation of stroke patients based on Barrett's power theory.
Relevance to clinical practice. If nurses have an understanding of patients' psycho-social adaptation processes following a stroke during hospitalisation, they can help to incorporate patients' internal strength and external resources into the plan of care, thus providing effective psycho-social support and person-centred care.
The Experience of Empowerment in Hospitalised Patients Following a Stroke
Department of Nursing, Tajen University, Taiwan
Nursing Research and PD, University of Ulster/Royal Hospitals Trust, UK
Institute of Nursing Research, University of Ulster, UK E-mail:
Background. Hospitalised patients often experienced a disruption of the sense of self and felt powerless. The experience of having a stroke can lead to a re-evaluation of the sense of self as a patient learns to live with powerlessness. Little qualitative-based studies explore stroke patients' empowerment during their recovery processes.
Aim. To understand patients' attributes of power after stroke during their hospitalisation.
Method. A qualitative approach was used. A total of 14 participants who had an intracerebral infarction were recruited from four hospitals in the south of Taiwan. Altogether, 28 semistructured interviews were conducted with hospitalised patients. Barrett's power theory was used to help organise and summarise interview data. NUD*IST software and cognitive mapping were used to manage and present findings.
Findings. Qualitative analysis resulted in the identification of patients' attributes of power which was categorised into four categories: nature of awareness; degree of freedom; type of choices; manner of involvement. The “awareness” category was subsequently reduced to seven subcategories which are: awareness of changes in body function; awareness of changes in social interactions; awareness of changes in lifestyle; awareness of changes in ability; prognostic awareness; awareness of meaning in life; and awareness about karma/fate (ming). The control over patients' freedom is manifested through two subcategories: “constrained freedom” and “facilitated freedom.” Two sub-types of “choice” usually acted by patients were: “passive choice” and “active choice.” Two types of involvement usually made by stroke patients: “detached involvement” and “attached involvement.”
Conclusion. Evidence demonstrated those patients' decisions to act or not was influenced greatly by their perceptions of their own power. This finding suggested that patients' power fluctuates over time. These findings could help nurses to understand how stroke patients empower themselves during hospitalisation and help nurses to work effectively with stroke patients.
The Experience of Caregiving for a Taiwanese Mother of a Child with Cerebral Palsy
* School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia
** School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Qld, Australia E-mail:
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability affecting children. Many caregiving studies have examined the effects of having a child with CP. The majority of these studies have focused upon the rational and functional aspects of caregiving which have been deemed important for predicting the impact of caregiving in terms of lifestyle and well-being. Few studies have aimed to gain a better understanding of the meaning of the caregiving experience for mothers who care for children with CP. No studies have been found that explore the experience of Taiwanese mothers.
This paper explores the experience of caregiving for Taiwanese mothers of children with CP. The study employs a hermeneutic phenomenological approach informed by the philosophical worldview of Heidegger. Five key assumptions about Being human guide and inform the research process: (1) Humans are self-interpreting beings; (2) Human beings are situated and constituted; (3) Human beings are engaged in the world; (4) Human beings are concerned; and (5) Humans are temporal beings.
Purposeful sampling guided the selection of 15 participating mothers who were asked to describe their experience of caring for their child with CP. Audio-taped conversational interviews formed the main data collection source. Journal notes were employed to support and inform data collection, methodological and analytical processes. Hermeneutic analysis was undertaken.
The preliminary findings of this study will be discussed in terms of the positive and negative aspects of caregiving experienced by mothers. The implications of such findings will be analysed in terms of furthering conceptualisation of caregiving and informing new ways of approaching health/nursing care that supports everyday caregiving provided by mothers.
The Needs of Taiwanese Fathers of Children with Developmental Delay
* School of Nursing and Midwifery in Griffith University, Qld, Australia
** School of Nursing, Hung Kuang University, Taiwan E-mail:
Background: When families have children who show slower development than other children, then they have to face a series of challenges, difficulties and demands. Traditionally the fathers have only been seen as the breadwinner, but they also involve themselves as care providers, companions, and protectors.
Purpose: This study aims to explore the needs of fathers raising their children with developmental delay.
Method: A qualitative approach was adopted to interview 15 fathers from the Medical Center Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan. Results: An analysis of the results revealed the following: (1) needs of communication and sharing: the fathers would like to communicate their feelings, thoughts, decision, and inner world with their wives as well as their other family members, friends, and other families in similar situations; (2) needs of improving their children's development: the fathers accessed different resources in order to assist their children in making progress of development, particularly in the first three years; (3) needs of consistent and clear information: especially regarding their children's condition and prognosis; (4) needs of becoming involved with the medical team: they expected the medical staff should respect their rights and inform them fully about their children's treatment and possible choice of treatment; (5) needs of emotional support: this support could encourage them to overcome the difficulties, particularly the stresses and strains of their situation; and (6) needs of educational support: they needed knowledge in order to increase their ability to provide a more effective interaction and stimulation in order to enhance their children's development.
Conclusion: when children were diagnosed with developmental delay, fathers need different kinds of resources, such as information, support, and sharing their experience in order to improve their knowledge and skills to take good care of their children to help them catch up to their age development. Health care professionals should realize their needs in order to reduce and minimize the impact on the family.
The Experience of a Mother of a Child with Suspected SARS
* School of Nursing and Midwifery in Griffith University, Qld, Australia
* School of Nursing, Hung Kuang University, Taiwan E-mail:
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out in 2002. However, there have not been any articles focusing on the patients with SARS, and also parents of a child with SARS in Taiwan. The role of the Taiwanese mother has been regarded as the main caregiver, such as physical care and emotional support to the family members.
Purpose: This report was adopted as a qualitative approach in order to understand the experience of being a Taiwanese mother when her child was diagnosed with SARS and was staying in an isolation ward for 7 days.
Method: The researcher has been involved with the child's care in hospital until he is discharged as well as a follow-up phone call after discharging.
Results: The findings indicated the sources of stress and coping strategies were their main concerns. The sources of stress included: (1) feeling hopeless: when the child was diagnosed with SARS; (2) the uncertainty during the isolation period: as the days feel like year, imagining the medical staff would give up her child's treatment, her child's needs remain unmet, information gained only through the phone or the media; and (3) uneasiness when the media exaggerates the child's condition. The coping strategies were: (1) hiding her sad mood: mother conceals her feelings in order to support her child and her family; (2) denial and concealing when others enquire; (3) asking blessings and reassurance from God and using folk customs; (4) adopting positive thinking to enhance her beliefs; (5) preparing the environment and herself: mother cleaned the house and gained knowledge about SARS in order to cope with the child's requirements; (6) rebuilding the attachment between the child and herself.
Conclusion: Learning from the patient and their family is not only a valuable lesson for nurses, but they can also learn how to give the support and help to the families in order to show caring and high quality of care.
The Meaning of Chronic Sorrow: Working with Latent Content Analyses
Department of Health Science, University of Örebro, Örebro, Sweden E-mail:
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and progressive neurological disease with various symptoms. Living with a progressive disease with an unpredictable course can be emotional distressing. The patients have to manage to live with different kinds of losses. Earlier research has described the concept of chronic sorrow to illustrate this emotional situation in MS-patients. The aim of this study was therefore to map and describe the presence of chronic sorrow in MS-patients, as well as its underlying meaning and significance for this patient group, using latent content analyses. Sixty-one patients were interviewed about the occurrence of chronic sorrow. All interviews were recorded and were then transcribed verbatim, including expressions of emotions. At first the interviews were listened through in order to identify the incidence of chronic sorrow in the patients' narratives. In this study chronic sorrow is being defined by the fulfilment of four out of a total of six chronic sorrow criteria: The patients should have a single loss and ongoing or repeated loss experiences, pervasive or permanent grief and periodic sadness or triggered sadness. In 38 cases (62%) the interviews fulfilled the four criteria for chronic sorrow. The text of these interviews was read to get a sense of the whole and then meaning units were marked for further analysis. The analysis continued with condensation of the text in the meaning units to shorten it while still preserving the essence of the text. Thereafter the condensed meaning units were analyzed with an interpretation of the underlying meaning. The essences of the meaning units were then abstracted to sub-themes and the authors reflected and discussed the sub-themes to create relevant headings, merging them into themes. The analyses are now in the final phase and the results are to be presented at the conference.
From Diabetes to Simultaneous Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation (Tx SPK)
EUE Universitat of Barcelona, Spain
F. Sociología
F. Medicina
Hospital Clínic of Barcelona:
Hospital of Bellvitge;
EUE Universidad of Alicante, Spain
E-mail:
Objective: To know the impact of Tx SPK in a person with diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and his or her family's lives.
Method: Ethnography. Interviews and participant observation are made.
Subjects of study: 20 people with DM1 and terminal renal insufficiency (TRI), 10 caregiving, 6 doctors and 6 nurses. Data Analysis: General Scheme of Qualitative Data Analysis by Miles and Huberman is followed.
Results: Announcing the transplant generates excitement and hope but also uncertainty because, apart from physical risk, the transplant has psychological, ethic and social implications which lead to ambiguous feelings (hope and fear, solidarity and selfishness, gratitude and guilt). After Tx SPK, the person has got a perception of healing although complications in DMI and emotional disorders of different severity remain, and the person must follow a specific treatment and medical control for the rest of his or her life. If the operation is successful, the person experiences physical, psychological and social changes that modify his or her life and philosophy of life. The experience of improvement by the patient's family is less evident.
Conclusion: The adventure of transplants as a ritual to another stage involves a journey of initiation after which the individual will no longer be the same person he or she is or used to be before the transplant. To define the new situation, these people used terms such as miracle, to be born again or to relive.
The Fund of Health Research financed this project. Promotion and encouragement of biomedical and health sciences research Program 2004–2006 (EXPTE: P1041210).
Living Thanks to a Machine
EUE Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Spain
F. Medicina (UB);
Hospital Clínic de Barcelona:
EUE Universidad de Alicante
Hospital de Bellvitge;
F. Sociología (UB).
E-mail:
Objective: To know the experience of people with diabetes (DM1) and diabetic nephropathy with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who need dialysis.
Method: Ethnography. Interviews and participant observation are made.
Subjects: 20 people with DM1 and TRI, 10 relatives, 12 health professionals.
Data analysis: General Scheme of Qualitative Data Analysis by Miles and Huberman is followed.
Results: The dialysis means loss of autonomy and freedom because keeping alive depends not only on insulin but also on a machine that the person can't control. The people feel loss of completeness and functionality. The persona with diabetes is blamed and feels guilty when chronic complications arise. The culture of guilt, where disease is perceived as a divine punishment tends to be replaced by culture of shame, for which the illness is associated to weakness and self?neglect (Acuña, 2001). Renal transplant or simultaneous transplant of kidney and pancreas are the only expectations in the short term that these people link to the chance of modifying their current situation. Meanwhile, they resist the situation they are going through thanks to a powerful ability of adaptation that keeps their strength.
Conclusion: With dialysis machines are joined to the body of the patient through a fistula as a new organ. This requires a process of readjustment in order to rebuild a damaged physical self-image and to create a new identity.
The Fund of Health Research financed this project. Promotion and encouragement of biomedical and health sciences research Program 2004–2006 (EXPTE: P1041210).
“I Think I Always Knew”: Children as Phenomenological Participants
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
Until recent years, a notably absent voice in studies of childhood chronic illness has been that of children, their interests being served by the dominant adult “non-confused” voice. Relegated to the role of passive objects of study, children's unique perspective and insight on their condition have not often been sought, and a valuable source of information and useful data left untapped. It has been assumed by adults who have nominated themselves the interpreters and translators of the child's world, and arbiters of what is best for the child. While adults have had children's best interests at heart, they may have, in their protective altruism, not fully grasped what those interests might be.
What happens when a group of children are asked about their illness experience? In the context of a phenomenological study, young people of various ages with cystic fibrosis share their insights via narrative, poetry and drawings, which at times complements, at others confirms and even contradicts the perspective of the significant adults in their lifeworld.
Such “insider” knowledge enables healthcare professionals to deliver care that is informed and effective for children—and their families; and to cope with the ongoing relationship with them that chronic illness necessitates.
A Way of Making Research Studies More Rigorous, Detailed and In Depth Investigations: Using Qualitative Methods to Analyse Concept Analyses
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia E-mail:
This paper will consider how qualitative methods have been used to gain a clearer understanding of a nebulous concept prior to undertaking research within a specific field. A poorly understood concept that is a critical element of a research question can lead to a weakly constructed literature review and superficial collection and analysis of data.
Published concept analyses are rigorous investigations of particular concepts and can provide very useful insights into those of a nebulous nature. Undertaking a detailed and rigorous qualitative analysis of all available published concept analyses of a concept can contribute to provide a clear definition of the integral elements of that concept. These elements can then be used to inform the research question, analyse critically the depth of investigation undertaken by previous studies exploring the concept, the interview questions and analysis of the data.
We will use our recent experience of investigating the concept of empowerment within a study that sought to explore if patients' with end stage renal disease receiving haemodialysis wished to be empowered. We will endeavour to show how the combination of qualitative methods of analysis and the predominantly quantitative tool of concept analysis can truly enrich a qualitative study. This study sought to understand the nature of empowerment as it is described in the myriad of literature that is written about it. This time consuming but intensely satisfying process meant that the qualitative investigation of all the elements of the concept of empowerment could occur in a simple and clear fashion with patients regularly attending a day unit to receive renal dialysis. The richness of the process and the detail in the findings will be presented.
The Illness Experience and Perceived Quality of Life of Aboriginal Hemodialysis Patients Relocated to an Urban Health Care Facility
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Division of Nephrology, Dept. of Medicine, Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
E-mail:
Many remote Aboriginal communities in Canada are struggling with the impact of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and the provision of life-sustaining hemodialysis (HD) therapy on a social, cultural, and institutional level. Present organization of HD treatment delivery necessitates the relocation of Cree individuals originating from a remote Northern community in the Mushkegowuk Territory to receive their life-sustaining hemodialysis (HD) treatment at an urban health care facility over 1000 km away. The purpose of this investigation was three-fold; first to gain an understanding of the cultural complexity of health beliefs of Cree health beliefs with respect to HD management of renal failure; second, to describe the contemporary challenges of Aboriginal persons from remote communities receiving HD in an urban center as identified by both Cree ESRD patients and their health care providers; and third, to explore options to promote culturally competent HD treatment for all Aboriginal individuals with ESRD. An instrumental case study approach, outlined by Stake (1995), was utilized to investigate the urban context of HD treatment delivery and the impact upon perceived illness experience and quality of life of the HD patients. The perspectives of several stakeholders, specifically, HD patients (n=3); nephrologists (n=3); nephrology nurses (n=3); and Native support worker (n=3). Data sources included individual interviews, direct participant observation, and analytical journalling by the investigator. Themes were identified and meaning was clarified by both member checks and triangulation of multi-source data. QSR-NVIVO software was also used to assist with data management. Specific lapses in the cultural competency in the service and delivery of life sustaining HD treatment to Cree individuals in remote communities were identified. These findings indicate the need for the development of more culturally-sensitive health care service strategies for HD therapy in Aboriginal persons residing in remote communities in Canada.
Application of Grounded Theory Methodology in the Conduct of Clinical Midwifery Research: Issues and Challenges
School of Nursing and Midwifery, St. Albans campus, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
The paper focuses on exploring the issues and challenges the researcher has faced in conducting clinical midwifery research in the birthing room. The research study is being conducted to fulfil requirements of a Doctor of Philosophy and utilises a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The study focuses on clinical decision making processes used by midwives when providing care to women during labour and birth. By directly observing midwives and their decision making practices, this information may provide guidance to how midwives make decisions in care and identify factors that influence decisions made, through the development of a grounded theory model.
The paper addresses the issues of ethical challenges in conducting research in the birthing room and the application of grounded theory methodology in conducting clinical research in midwifery. Ethical issues explored include recruitment of women to the project, gaining informed consent in labour, participant observation, the researcher's role in an emergency care situation and in communicating with women in labour. Qualitative methodological issues explored include the researcher entering the field, developing relationships with midwives to collect data, making the most of data collection opportunities, undertaking participant observation, conducting in-depth interviews and the use of aide memoires, and, the researcher leaving the field. The significance of this is that, at times, the researcher has found applying methods vary from literature on the topic.
Hence, the paper is of significance to midwifery research in the practice domain and also provides the opportunity to inform prospective researchers on the methodology of conducting qualitative research in any clinical arena. The paper emphasises providing knowledge on the “how to” and the contextual experience of applying qualitative research methodology. Future clinical researchers may learn about and overcome challenges in conducting qualitative research, with the potential to impact on client care and outcomes.
Using Mixed Method Inquiry to Understand the Experiences of Canadian Occupational Therapists in Community Development
School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queens' University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada E-mail:
Occupational therapy is a health profession that works with people with disabilities to enable their engagement in meaningful daily activities, including caring for themselves, participating in leisure activities and contributing to society through paid and unpaid activities.
Although many occupational therapists (OTs) work mainly with individuals, recent literature supports the need for OTs to move beyond more traditional one-on-one intervention, to begin working with community groups through community development (CD) to promote wellness at the community level (Townsend, 1999; Wilcock, 1998). Despite this support for OTs to work in CD, there is a paucity of literature that describes the role of OTs in CD and explores their experiences in this work.
In order to explore the experiences of Canadian OTs working in CD, a three phased, mixed-method study was conducted. In the first phase of this research, five key informants were interviewed in order to develop a relevant questionnaire. In phase two, the questionnaires were mailed to 167 OTs working in CD. The questionnaire gathered data on the OTs' demographics and current CD work. Following the analysis of the returned questionnaires (n = 43), purposive sampling was used to identify seven in-depth interviewees for the third and final phase of the study which gathered information about their experiences in CD, including the various roles they assumed and how they developed these roles. Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted using Colaizzi's phenomenological analysis procedure (1978) and key themes were identified. These themes were verified by the research participants and another analyst to ensure the trustworthiness this research (Patton, 2002). Basic descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data gathered in the questionnaire.
The results of this research contribute to our understanding of the experiences of OTs in CD and can assist in the preparation of occupational therapists for this work.
A Phenomenographic Approach to Investigate the Conceptions of Time Around the World
* Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
** School of Professional Development and Leadership, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia E-mail:
This research explores the various conceptions of time around the world. The main focus of this paper is on the phenomenographic approach and the data collection particularly the participants. Phenomenography is a research specialisation developed by a research group in Sweden in the 1970s. According to Gerber (1992), phenomenography is a research method for mapping the qualitative different ways in which people experience, perceive, understand and think about various phenomenon in their world. This approach focuses on the variations in people's experiences and conceptions. Results are represented by Categories of Descriptions (forms of expressing the conceptions by people grouped together) and the outcome space (the structural relationships among the categories). It is non dualistic, contexts and meanings specific, the use of what and how questions, and collective data analysis.
The main source of information includes written response, individual interview, and drawings. Data collection has been started from mid-November 2005. There are 20 countries participating including Africa, Australia (including Aboriginals), Britain, Canada, China, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Japan, Macau, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, and the USA. There are 181 participants (up till 6/6/06) and is still open, with 126 written responses, 52 individual interviews, and 3 phone interviews. There are 102 male participants and 79 female participants, of young, middle, and old ages groups, and 50 % of graphics/drawings obtained. The main ethnic groups include Chinese, Aboriginal Australian, Arabian, British, African, German, Thai, Japanese, and Portuguese.
Belongingness: Does it Make a Difference to Nursing Students' Clinical Placement Experiences?
School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
The concept of belongingness has intuitive appeal. Human beings are social creatures; the need to belong and be accepted is fundamental, and social exclusion can be devastating (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). This poster provides an overview of a mixed-methods study that explored nursing students' experience of belongingness. The participants in this study provided a range of perspectives on belongingness and how it influences their clinical placement experience. Central to this discussion was their strong belief that belonging is a prerequisite for clinical learning. This theme dominated and wound its way through all of the interviews. Given that the primary purpose of clinical placements is for students to learn to nurse, there needs to be a clear understanding of the relationship between belongingness and learning. With reference to excerpts from interview transcripts, this poster demonstrates that reconceptualising clinical learning through a “lens of belongingness” provides a new perspective and reveals some yet unexplored insights.
esearching the Vulnerable: Challenging Issues for Sensitive Researchers
School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Bandoora, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
It will become difficult, or even impossible, for social science researchers to avoid carrying out research regarding vulnerable and marginalized populations within the “moral discourse” of the postmodern world, as it is likely that these population groups will be confronted with more and more problems in their private and public lives as well as their health and well-being. The task of undertaking research with the “vulnerable” presents researchers with unique opportunities, and yet many challenges and dilemmas. To be sensitive to vulnerable people, we have to ask many questions: Who am I researching with? How will I find and reach them? How will I negotiate access? How should I conduct the research which is sensitive to the needs of people I am researching? What ethical considerations do I need to consider? What research method should I apply to ensure a successful research process? What is my role as researcher in relation to the researched? And how will I represent their voices? In this paper, I attempt to bring together some salient issues for the conduct of research within the vulnerable and marginalized groups of people. It will provide some thought-provoking points so that our research may proceed relatively well and yet ethical in our approach.
Personal Interactions with Health Care Providers
Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia E-mail:
Acute trauma can often result in loss of limb(s) function. In this paper loss of limb(s) function relates to amputations or limbs that no longer function appropriately. This can result in physical disability, psychological trauma, financial stress through loss of employment and social isolation. Health care professionals have a central role in the protracted care of this highly vulnerable population and interactions with them have a considerable influence on patients' well-being. Data were obtained from face to face tape recorded interviews with fifteen consenting participants aged between 18–45 years old who had lost limb(s) function. In addition several expert clinicians in the rehabilitation field were interviewed. Data were analysed using the constant comparative technique associated with the Grounded Theory Method. The interaction had both positive and negative effects on the participants. The positive interactions resulted in participants feeling helped and supported at a traumatic time in their life. The negative interaction resulted in the participants feeling uncared for and unheard in the health care system. A common problem identified was that information given to those that had lost lib(s) function was not always accepted and internalised. Examples of negative and positive interactions are discussed and suggestions are made in regard it minimising adverse outcomes for participants.
Challenges in the Use of Qualitative Methodology in Researching Issues Related to HIV/AIDS at Secondary Schools in South Africa
University of Limpopo, South Africa E-mail:
The paper looks at the challenges that researchers are faced with in researching issues related to HIV/AIDS at secondary schools in South Africa. It is based on a study that was conducted looking at the manner in which schools deal with HIV/AIDS issues. Since the study wanted to have an in-depth understanding of the manner in which schools deal with HIV/AIDS issues, a qualitative methodology was used. It is within this methodology that a case study design was adopted where two methods of data collection were used namely; Interviewing and Documents. Three schools (2 schools in rural areas and 1 in a township) were selected as sites for the study by means of a convenient sampling strategy. The selection of the three schools was based on factors such as time, accessibility and resources available for the study. The participants interviewed included principals, heads of departments, teachers, learners, parents and the officials from the department of education. The documents consulted included National Policy on HIV/AIDS and Guidelines for Educators. Minutes of meetings at schools to check issues related to HIV/AIDS could not be used since access was denied. The study found that the schools are faced with various challenges in their attempt to deal with HIV/AIDS issues. Amongst other challenges which the study found, are that there is a lack of policy in schools on how to deal with HIV/AIDS, not knowing what to do, difficulties with regard to communication with departmental offices dealing with HIV/AIDS, etc. Furthermore, the study highlights on some of the challenges which researchers are faced with in researching issues related to HIV/AIDS using qualitative methodology at secondary schools in South Africa.
Supporting Our Learning in Clinical Practice: The Nursing Students' Story
School of Nursing and Midwifery, St. Martin's College, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. UK E-mail:
Action learning sets have been identified as an effective vehicle for facilitating learning and development in management, education and health care fields (Miller, 1995; Pedlar, 1997).
Within our School of Nursing and Midwifery it was decided to take the concept of action learning sets a stage further. We therefore, implemented a Clinical Action Learning Set system to support our students in practice whilst studying the three-year Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) nursing programme.
In order to systematically monitor and evaluate this system we implemented a small-scale study. The study involved volunteers from four pre-registration nursing student cohorts on two centres within our college (24n). Focus group discussions and reflective notes were the main data collection methods with an interpretative approach to analysis.
The aims of the study were to identify the students' perceptions on their learning and development through participating in the clinical action learning sets. The findings suggest that on the whole the students' learning was enhanced through the collaborative nature of the learning sets. In particular, they identified their ability to give and receive constructive feedback, link theoretical principles to practice outcomes and obtain a deeper and wider perspective on professional nursing issues.
This poster will illustrate the students' experiences and development and the frameworks used to guide the learning sets in practice.
Irish Mental Health: Methodological Issues in Researching Appropriate and Culturally-Competent Service Provision in the UK
Academic Enquiry Support Unit, Faculty of Health, University of Central England, Birmingham, UK E-mail:
There are over 600,000 people in the UK who identified themselves as Irish in the 2001 census. This population experiences high levels of morbidity and mortality that exceed that of both other immigrant groups and the host population particularly in terms of mental health. There is also a long history of prejudice and racism directed towards Irish people living in the UK. Little is known about how Irish people experience the mental health services or the degree to which such services are culturally competent in meeting their needs.
This paper is based on a qualitative research project that examined the views and experiences of Irish mental health service users in a large city regarding culturally-competent mental health care. Examples will be drawn from the project to illustrate the three issues addressed:
i) the advantages and disadvantages of the researcher as a cultural insider in a socially marginalised social group. This will include reflections on the use of the self as a research tool with reference to
the expectations and attitudes of participants; the experience of the researcher as a second generation Irish person in recruiting participants and conducting focus groups and interviews. ii) conducting focus groups with first, second and third generation Irish people who use mental health services. This will include dealing with the legacy of racism and oppression, low self esteem among participants, their lack of trust in outsiders as experienced by members of different generations. iii) data analysis and checking understanding. This will include an exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of insider status in analysing and interpreting data within a phenomenological approach.
The paper will close with the main findings of the project regarding the provision of culturally competent mental health care for Irish people.
Genuineness in the Nurse-Patient Relationship: An Exploration of Nurses' Perception in the Context of a Therapeutic Relationship
School of Nursing, The University of Salford, Salford, England E-mail:
Throughout life individuals interact and form relations with fellow humans. Within nursing human interactions find expression through the formation of a therapeutic relationship, which is considered dynamic and reciprocal, and establishing such a relationship is seen as one of the fundamental qualities of registered nurses. However, literature suggests that such relationships develop at varying levels, with nurses giving more or less of themselves, and that there is an implied “genuineness” within the relationship. The question for this study was “what does this genuineness mean for the practicing nurse?”
Completed as part fulfilment of a Masters Degree in Human Relations, this small qualitative study aimed to explore nurses' perceptions of “genuineness” within the context of therapeutic relationships. At the heart of the study is the experience of a nurse-patient relationship and a concern with the nurses' interactions, understanding, feelings and perspectives on “genuineness” in that relationship
Using semi structured interviews the study considered: the relationship between “caring,” “genuineness,” “reciprocity,” meanings of genuineness and behaviours that reflect genuineness in the nurse-patient relationship, and feelings/reactions to non-genuine behaviour.
Thematic analysis identified 5 major themes of: developing trust through honesty, developing friendship, desirable nursing behaviour, personal versus professional genuineness, and the consequences of genuineness.
Nursing Identity—Through the Lens of Shame
Davaar Consultancy Training & Development Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
This presentation will discuss findings from an interpretative phenomenological approach which examined the experience of being shamed in nursing. Shame is a concept that has been extensively theorized within the social sciences as important in the development of individual identity, self esteem and role performance. Acknowledged or healthy shame is seen in humility, maintains conscience and enables moral direction for behavior to be established. Unacknowledged or unhealthy shame results in concealment and defensiveness which may be demonstrated in rage, bullying, grandiosity and anti social behavior.
The term unacknowledged shame refers to the process of denying or ignoring the experience of shame. Ahmed (2005) argues that when individuals are unable to acknowledge their own mistakes, they may displace their shame by blaming others and expressing anger with the world at large. She reports that the combination of the non-acknowledgment of mistakes and high levels of shame displacement gives rise to bullying in schools and in the workplace (Ahmed, 2005).
Guided by the interpretative phenomenological approach as described by van Manen (1997) four major themes emerged from this study: self appraisal, professional identity in conflict, the experience of isolation and recrimination. What emerged from the findings in this study is that nurses who experience shame experience a range of emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses (jolts) that influence how they feel about themselves, their colleagues and about the nursing profession. Relating this work to nursing culture has important implications. It has illuminated new dimensions and thus new solutions to common nursing cultural practices such as bullying, silence, selflessness and subservience.
Explanatory Models (EMs) of Diabetes by a Group of Asian and Caucasian Participants
School of Nursing, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom E-mail:
Without denying the scientific contribution of medical research, it is nevertheless true that biomedicine is primarily interested in the recognition of disease thus disregarding the illness experience and its treatment. This systematic inattention to illness is in part responsible for patients' non-adherence, patient and family dissatisfaction with health care professionals and inadequate clinical care. In today's multicultural society, nurses are in a privileged position to understand how people's cultural beliefs of health and illness affect their experience and actions. According to Kleinman (1980) culturally-based knowledge and beliefs concerning health and illness can be elicited by exploring people's culturally-based explanation of the mechanisms and appropriate treatment of their illness—that is their EMs. The term EMs refers to the cognitive beliefs to recognise, interpret and respond to a specific illness experience thus enabling the individual to cope with and make sense of the illness. This would suggest that EMs are held by both the patients and the practitioners within every health care system. However evidence indicates that often lay EMs differ from those of the health care professionals often resulting in conflicting outcomes. EMs are not consciously formulated. Their tendency to change over time is influenced by such factors as social environments, ethnicity, subjective interpretation of past experience and tacit knowledge. According to Kleinman (1980) EMs are constructed on any one or all 5 aspects of an illness experience. These are aetiology, time and mode of onset, pathophysiology, course of illness and treatment. Using a modified version of this model, this paper to describe the EMs of diabetes as expressed by a group of Asian and Caucasian participants. It will highlight areas where participants' explanations were both similar and dissimilar. In conclusion, this paper will argue the importance of EMs in nursing in order to provide culturally appropriate care.
Journaling Lupus
College of Nursing, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA E-mail:
Symptom journals have long been viewed as a source of data collection in qualitative research. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of symptom journals in a study of women's daily experiences of living with lupus.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune illness characterized by periods of flair and remission predominantly effecting women during their reproductive years. Women with lupus suffer from a myriad of fluctuating symptoms. Very little is known about women's daily experiences of living with and managing the illness. As part of an ethnographic study of women's experiences of symptom management in lupus, women were asked to keep daily symptom journals. The purpose of the journals was to track the daily experiences of symptom management that are missed in episodic interviews, and to document the frequency and fluctuation of symptoms on a daily basis. The journals included a daily checklist of symptoms common to lupus along with a daily worksheet in which the women recorded appetite, sleep, level of fatigue, daily activities, the specifics of symptom experience, health care visits, and medication changes. A space for narrative journaling was also included.
The symptom journals provided valuable insight into the details of the daily lives of women living with lupus and how life is influenced by symptom experience and symptom management. However, maintaining a journal for an extended time period is difficult. Of the 21 women recruited into the study, 15 women maintained the journal for at least 6 weeks, and 10 women successfully maintained the journal for the full year. Five women never submitted journals. Strategies to encourage participants to journal will be discussed as well as reasons why participants were not able to maintain the journal throughout the study.
The research discussed in this paper was supported by NIH/NINR 1 R15 NR008887-01.
Team Leaders Intervention to Improve Team Effectiveness
National Institute of Occupational Health, Copenhagen, Denmark E-mail:
Transformational leadership has been linked to team effectiveness and employee health and well-being (Druskat & Pescosolodi, 2002). The transformational leader leads by means of communicating a clear vision, inspires followers to take responsibility and develop new ideas at the same time as he/she takes into consideration individual needs (Bass, 1999). As a result followers experience greater levels of self-efficacy, team climate and cohesiveness (Pillai & Williams, 2004). Transformational leadership can be trained and effects are found regardless of it being public or private sector, managers' in-house training or part of a public programme (Parry & Sinha, 2005).
This paper presents a multiple case study with 12 managers from the public health sector and their teams. A triangulation strategy is used. Observations, internal referencing, action plans, essays and questionnaires are used to explore which interventions and strategies leaders use to improve team functioning, leadership style, employee health and well-being. Managers participate in a six-day training course over a period of six months. As part of their course they plan and implement interventions in their teams. It is assumed that the leaders' participation and perception of the course will influence their choice of intervention.
The aims are twofold: To explore how leaders' mental models influence their choice of intervention, how they evaluate their learning processes and, finally, how they use their gained knowledge in practice.
I expect to find that actively participating leaders will gain an increased knowledge of transformational leadership, implementation, support of team design and processes and that this knowledge will influence their choice of intervention. This will also influence commitment to implement changes in their teams.
A Mental Health Approach to Facilitate Adolescents Exposed to Violence in a Semi Rural Secondary School in Mafikeng Promote their Mental Health
North West University (Mafikeng Campus), North West Province, South Africa; Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa (DENOSA) E-mail:
Violence directed at adolescents and educators in the school environment is alarmingly on the increase. The phenomenon of violence is worldwide and South Africa is not an exception. Various researchers indicate that the use of harsh and punitive disciplinary measures has been found to aggravate the potential for violence rather than control it (Alexander Curtis, 1994:75). On the contrary Myles and Simpson (1994:40) indicate that the application of more humane interventions in schools does bring about positive results in the long run. These authors are of the opinion that aggression and violence do not occur without warning. The understanding here is that carefully planned measures can be put in to place so as to reduce violence in semi-rural schools. This is what the adolescents who participated in this study would like to see the Department of Education implementing.
According to the adolescents in the study, violence has negative psychological effect on them, as one adolescent in his naïve sketch said, “It is unfortunate that we learn how to become violent from our educators as well.” Compounding issues is that violence in this situation is perpetrated from not only the school environment in the opinion of these adolescents. Gangsterism, lawlessness, joblessness, family factors and criminality existing in the larger South African context aggravate violence in schools. Hence a multi-sectoral approach with the aim to reinstate acceptable human values is suggested by adolescents.
Primary institutions nominated by adolescents include the Department of Education, the school, Department of Safety and Security, Department of Health, Department of Social Services and other community related resources. The purpose of this programme is to provide operational guidelines for addressing violence in a semi-rural secondary school.
Central concepts for the programme were derived from the analysed data obtained from adolescents' focused group discussion and their naïve sketches. Responsible communication is the main concept of the programme. Approaches for defining this concept are those recommended by Wandelt and Stewart (1975:64–69), Chin and Kramer (1991:84) and Gopi (1968:169). The objectives for the programme are as follows:
to foster trusting relationships between learners and educators; to enable learners and educators to acquire socially approved boundaries; facilitate and mobilize learners to become conscientious about the needs of others; encourage positive behaviour patterns; and enforce a secure teaching and learning environment.
Conducting a Meta-Ethnography of Qualitative Tuberculosis Treatment Adherence Studies: A Reflection on the Process
* Primary Health Care Directorate, University of Cape Town, South Africa
** Health Systems Research Unit, Medical Research Council of South Africa, and Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
*** International Health Research Group, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK
**** Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services, Oslo, Norway E-mail:
A synthesis of qualitative research may facilitate a better understanding of the state of knowledge in a particular field and promote the more effective use of this research evidence. Meta-ethnography is a systematic method for synthesising qualitative research, through the mutual translation and transfer of ideas, concepts and metaphors across different studies. It is the most developed and promising of several methods proposed for synthesising qualitative research. The process involves, firstly, identifying, through systematic searching, studies relevant to a particular review question; secondly, the identification of themes in existing studies; and, thirdly, the “translation” of these themes into one another.
Conducting a meta-ethnography, however, is not without its challenges. Worked examples exist in the literature, but little has been published on the challenges of applying this method. We detail the issues encountered while conducting a meta-ethnography of stakeholder perceptions of tuberculosis treatment adherence. The challenges include, amongst others, locating relevant qualitative literature from within the very large body of published work on tuberculosis; ascertaining the relevance of these studies, and finally assessing the quality of qualitative studies. The secondary interpretation of data also presents a unique challenge to a research synthesis. We conclude with suggestions on how these challenges can be addressed.
Sexual Restraint in Practice: Images of Moral Conduct in Physiotherapy Texts
School of Physiotherapy, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand E-mail:
Images of physiotherapists engaging in massage and manipulation have never been explored for their ability to expose our attitudes towards appropriate and inappropriate touch. These images would be familiar to most health professionals; the uniformed therapist, the semi-naked patient—a passive subject of medical gaze. And yet we have paid little attention to the ways these images reveal the problematic nature of human (sensual) contact.
Drawing on work conducted as part of a PhD study into the disciplinary basis of physiotherapy practice, this paper explores some of the questions of moral conduct facing the profession. Using images from a wide range of current and archive physiotherapy texts, I explore how physiotherapy first dealt with questions of appropriate touch and the relevance of these questions today.
In concluding I argue that the sterilised nature of touch for physiotherapists has been a double-edged sword—allowing it to acquire social status at a time of high morality, but robbing it of the possibility of exploring the aesthetics of healing. This argument is then used to problematise the future of physiotherapy practice.
Researching Midwifery Professionalisation and the Search for Rigour: What Constitutes Rigour in DA?
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia E-mail:
This poster presents our deliberations on what constitutes rigour in a discourse analysis. The particular research examines professional transition in midwifery in Australia, with the introduction of new “direct entry” educational routes for entry to practice, where nurse preparation is no longer a pre-requisite. The theoretical frame that informs this work is the “professional project” as described by Witz (1992), which aims at an understanding of the construction of a profession at a time of transition and professional boundary skirmishes.
Discourse analysis offers a particularly helpful research approach for examining this transition, as a range of “discursive strategies” can be identified in this process. A diversity of views and needs are expressed in rhetoric and polemic, codified in text. The texts identified for the analysis consist of documents in the public domain, including: government publications, policy documents, newsletters, university publications and documents dealing with direct entry initiatives; midwifery, nursing and medical professional journals; lay and consumer lobbying newsletters and publications. Publicly-produced documents have been chosen for their rich potential for analyzing and highlighting the role of actors in the constitution of public and professional discourses about midwifery.
An examination of the literature on rigour in qualitative research was found to be not that helpful in terms of defining a framework for rigour for discourse analysis.
This poster will prepare a framework for rigour in DA using the following concepts:
Clear definition of discourse Clear research question Effective use of theoretical framework Clarity in selection of talk/texts Transparency in analysis methods & application of theory to the analysis
An Analysis of Researcher Action to Facilitate the Professional Development of Public Health Nurses on Action Research in Japan
Faculty of Health Sciences, Kobe University of Medicine, Kobe, Japan
National Institute of Public Health, Japan
E-mail:
The purpose of this study was to analyse researcher action to facilitate the professional development of public health nurses (PHNs) on two years action research.
The participants of action research were 6 PHNs of different districts who had motives for changing their practices. Qualitative data source was each PHN's activity records, meeting records and researcher's field notes. The data was classified and refined according to contents such as 1) what was researcher's intention/goal?, 2) what was their action taken toward? and 3) what did they do actually?
The results of analysis about 130 items which were abstracted from data source showed that researchers did the action below to achieve 14 kinds of goal; (abbreviate the detail of results 1)) Results 2); Researcher's action was taken toward PHNs included: “raising the awareness,” “starting the action,” “making the best of the process/results,” “accounting the results of the action,” “acquiring knowledge/skill/technique” and “setting opportunities/places,” “demonstrating the opinion/assessment of researchers,” “sharing experiences/advantage” and “raising financial resources with mutual efforts.” Results 3); Three categories of researcher action were classified: “empowering alongside PHNs,” “empowering as guiding PHNs,” “empowering as inspiring PHNs.”
It is required hereafter of researchers to develop a suitable education methodology putting the results of this study to account for facilitating PHNs' continuous professional development.
Needs and Stages for Support for Families with People with Young Dementia
Faculty of Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Japan
Faculty of Health Science, Kobe University of Medicine, Japan
E-mail:
Caring for people with young dementia has more difficulties than for old people with dementia: more violent behaviors as reactions to dementia; more serious financial problems because of the losses of jobs; fewer social resources available. Therefore special and technical support is necessary for the families of people with young dementia. This article details when families need support and what kinds of support they need.
In order to understand their problems, we interviewed six partners of people with young dementia who were diagnosed when they were under sixty-five. After inductively analyzing the interviews, we asked the interviewees in writing to check if the results precisely reflect their thoughts and experiences.
The stages when they need support can be divided into the following: until, at, and after diagnosis; until starting and while using home care services; until going into and while being in nursing homes or hospitals. The support which should be provided is opportunities to deepen understanding of young dementia; counselling and consultations for people with young dementia and their families; support for keeping and resigning from jobs; chances to involve themselves in the community; social resources for people with young dementia; medical treatment system appropriate for people with young dementia; meetings about young dementia.
Learning to Listen: Reflections of Interviewing
School of Nursing and Health Studies, Faculty Arts, Health and Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Qld, Australia E-mail:
One strength found in qualitative research methods is the richness of data generated from the open style or unstructured interview. Interviewing requires talent. The ability to conduct an open interview can be learnt with practice, reflection and a little help from techniques found in complementary therapies. In fact I used simple visualisation exercises to help me centre not only on what is being said, but how the spoken words are connected to the interviewee's body, thoughts, and feelings as well as the social structures surrounding the topic context. By actively focusing my attention in a visual sense enabled me to direct my wandering mind.
As a novice researcher embarking on a PhD I found it difficult to focus my mind in the first interviews. I found that my mind wandered, leaping into thoughts about my unskilled interviewing technique, the recording equipment, the next question or my own experiences as the themes emerged. I struggled to find a space that freed my mind to be present with the valuable input a research participant offers and indeed the participant as a person. That was until I consciously reflected and integrated visualisation techniques to focus my attention.
This paper describes a reflective experience of learning to actively listen when using an open style interview for qualitative research. It reviews the struggles of the novice researcher and reflects upon to purpose of placing the participant person within the interview.
Harmonizing Core Competencies: What OT, PT, Nursing and Medicine Share
* Occupational Therapy Program, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Postgraduate Medical Education, University of Toronto, Ont, Canada
*** School of Nursing, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
**** Departments of Oncology & Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada E-mail:
Introduction
This poster describes one aspect of an action research project currently being carried out at a Canadian university as a partnership between three schools in the Faculty of Health Sciences: the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, and the School of Rehabilitation Therapy (Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy). The goal of the project is to create an inter-professional educational environment that enhances the ability of learners and educators to provide patient-centred care that recognizes the contribution of the health care team within a respectful and collaborative framework. A barrier to the success of interprofessional education has been the lack of understanding of shared competencies and common language among health professionals that can be used interchangeably for teaching and evaluation. In this study, as a starting point for promoting inter-professional education, the core competencies of each school were examined to determine where overlaps existed.
Purpose
The purpose of this aspect of the study was to amalgamate the core competencies identified for medicine, nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy and attempt to “harmonize” these competencies into a framework for interprofessional education.
Design and Methods
A systematic review of the literature was conducted of MEDLINE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature), AMED (Allied & Complementary Medicine), and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The yield from this search was limited leading to document analysis of the core competencies proposed by each regulatory body of the four disciplines. From that, a “harmonized” framework was developed.
Conclusions
The belief that health professionals' competencies exist as independent silos in each discipline has led to barriers for inter-professional education. The “harmonized” framework illustrates overlaps in core competencies across and within the disciplines examined. “Harmonizing” core competencies into a framework supports inter-professional curriculum design and educational opportunities for learners and practicing health professionals.
A Qualitative Study of the Barriers Faced by Overweight Children and Their Families in Increasing Physical Activity and Decreasing Sedentary Behaviours
Child Obesity Research Centre, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia E-mail:
Objective: Previous research has consistently shown that time spent in physical activity and sedentary activities are key behaviours associated with child obesity. However, to our knowledge, no studies have sought to examine qualitatively why families find it difficult to adopt or restrict these behaviours. The purpose of this study was to gain an insight into the barriers overweight children face in increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behaviours through exploring the lives of these children and their families.
Research methods and procedures: Nine overweight children (age range from 5 to 12) and their families were recruited to take part in the study. Parents completed CLASS questionnaires related to the time their child spent in physical and sedentary activities in a typical week. Parents participated in focus group interviews followed by individual interviews to gain an insight into their perception of barriers affecting their child's adoption of healthy behaviours. Children took part in pair interviews to identify their attitudes towards physical activity and sedentary activities. This presentation reports the findings from both parent and child interviews, relating to barriers to increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behaviours among overweight children.
Results: There are a wide range of barriers to increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behaviours among overweight children. Barriers identified by parents and children were family dynamics, a lack of social support, the physical environment and a number of individual factors. Parents were unable to identify strategies to overcome these barriers.
Discussion: This study has shown that both parents and children perceive there to be many barriers to increasing physical activity and decreasing sedentary behaviours among overweight children. Parents have exposed that they know what they have to do to overcome many of these barriers but they are unaware of how to do this.
The Study of the Particular—Applying Case Study Research Method to Organisational Research in Palliative Care
School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology E-mail:
Case study research is a methodological approach that focuses on a particular case—whether an individual, collective or phenomenon. It is the “study of the particular” (Stake, 2000: 438) and has an established place in the social sciences. Not to be confused with the clinical case study, this approach draws from a broad range of research designs and typically utilises multiple sources of data to obtain an in-depth understanding of the case in question.
The methodological pluralism inherent in case study research has been favoured as a way to holistic understanding of the multidimensional and complex nature of human experience, which demands more diverse means of enquiry that neither quantitative nor qualitative approaches can fulfil alone.
In this poster presentation, I illustrate the application of case study research method to an investigation of the phenomenon of change in a selected palliative care organisation, which comprises the PhD study I am currently undertaking under an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council scholarship.
Further, the poster examines the issue of rigour in case study research design and describes the research design processes, including identification of the case, selection of multiple sources of data, data collection and analysis, and the drawing and verifying of conclusions.
The Ethnographic Interview and Critical Discourse Analysis: Possibilities and Constraints
Postgraduate Programme Division, Universidad de La Salle, Bogotá, Colombia E-mail:
Based on two ethnographic studies carried out in Colombia, one referred to high school teachers' conceptions on moral education and another related to subjective experiences concerning autonomous learning in higher education, some reflections on possibilities and constraints when using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) are presented. On the one hand, it is stated that the use of discourse analysis to work on ethnographic interviews should be assessed according to (1) its approach, (2) the analyst's participation in the research process, and (3) the type of questioning being promoted in the interview, among other factors. On the other hand, the integration of CDA to broader social research should be assessed taking into consideration (1) the compatibility between the researcher's orientation and the epistemological basis of the research approach, and (2) the coherence between ACD methodology and that of the research process in which the former is integrated.
Exploring the Tensions and the Possibilities of Weaving Qualitative Methodologies Together
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
Examining the processes of inquiry is fundamental to building the future of qualitative research. It is through both reasoned critique, and imaginative use of methodologies and methods within the context of a changing world, that future possibilities are created. It is well recognised that we have entered a global age. Living in such a world that has both a diversifying population and a degree of interconnectedness previously unseen increases the complexity and multidimensionality of human life. Researchers in healthcare and human sciences, education, and business, already provide much valuable understanding from many diverse perspectives. Increasingly, some researchers seek to add to the contributions qualitative research makes to social life through combining methodologies in both individual studies and programs of research.
It is contended here that qualitative methodologies can be combined in ways that maximise the richness of the findings. However, there is also a need for meaningful differentiation between methodologies, and importantly, attention must be paid to the issues and challenges of combining methodologies and methods. Considering the philosophical, methodological, epistemological, and pragmatic tensions underlying combined methodologies, allows researchers to subsequently weave varying methodologies into inquiries that produce findings that are both rich and valuable. In healthcare inquiry, and research in fields such as education or business, questions of differentiation and combination must not only be asked and answered philosophically, but pragmatically. This means also asking questions such as: How is combining methodologies and methods meaningful for the purpose of an inquiry? In what ways is it useful for guiding action and supporting decision-making? Opportunities, challenges, and issues in combining qualitative methodologies are presented in this poster.
Hy Vong Moi (New Hope) Project: An Action Research Study
Australian Catholic University National, Mary of the Cross and the Cyrene Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia E-mail:
This presentation reports on an action research study the purpose of which was to evaluate a 12 months funded project (April 2005 to April 2006) aimed at supporting young Vietnamese mothers with newborns who are experiencing problematic drug and/or alcohol use within their families. The project is situated in the greater Dandenong area of Melbourne Australia and the objectives are to:
Provide support to the young mothers by establishing a playgroup Liaise with existing services to provide effective maternal and child care. Link participants and families into effective treatment by provision of accessible information and assistance on issues relating to drug and alcohol use. Provide continuing therapeutic support to participants and their families to assist in meeting their emotional, psychological and cultural needs
Six young Vietnamese mothers are participating in the project and assist in ongoing evaluation and development of the program by responding to questionnaires and participating in focus groups. The facilitators meet monthly and Tuyet, the outreach worker, keeps a journal of her activities. Five of the women have arrived in Australia as brides of young Australian men of Vietnamese background. Their stories are poignant and tell of isolation, drug use by their husbands and, in some instances, the extended family. As well as regular contact with Tuyet, attendance at the mothers group is particularly valued as a focal point for information sharing, support and regular contact.
Research Thinking: Exposing the Taken-For-Granted
Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand E-mail:
This paper draws on phenomenological research that asked experienced researchers who work in a variety of different paradigms to talk about the “thinking” component of doing research. The philosophical writings of Heidegger inform both the methodology of the study and the analysis of data. Some participants talked enthusiastically about the thinking that arises in the discussion of the research team, while others indicated a more solitary approach. Are there different thinking styles for different methodological approaches? How does thinking “come” in the midst of a research project? Are there ways of “being” that facilitate thinking? When Heidegger talks of making the interpretive leap, what does he mean? A playful question of this study asked participants, “If you could draw a picture of your mind, what would it look like?” Insights from this metaphorical data will also be explored. The intent of this paper is not to offer answers but rather to open a discussion about the mystery of thinking that is taken for granted in the everyday world of research.
Implementing a Prescribing Practicum within a New Zealand Masters Programme in Advanced Nursing Practice
Division of Health Care Practice, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand E-mail:
The potential for nursing to contribute more effectively to health care in New Zealand has been significantly enhanced by recent legislation that enables Nurse Practitioners to prescribe within their scope of practice. Auckland University of Technology and Eastern Institute of Technology are 2 of 5 institutions accredited by the Nursing Council of New Zealand to offer Masters level practicums in prescribing. This paper will provide an overview of an action research project undertaken to monitor and report the processes, experiences and outcomes relating to the first time implementation of their respective prescribing practicums.
The Study of Student Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Lesson Planning and Teaching Practice
National Ping-Tung University of Education, Department of Primary Education, Taiwan, R.O.C E-mail:
The aim of this study was to explore the essential characteristics of student teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) during the period of their fifth year teaching practice. The data were collected using qualitative methods which included classroom observations, lesson plans and semistructured interviews.
It was found that when writing the lesson plan, 50% of student teachers looked at subject content first. One third of them invented teaching strategies first while only two of them considered children's experiences first. Inventing teaching strategies was a common difficulty experienced by 50% of the student teachers in designing lesson plans, while one third of them admitted that they found it hard to understand pupils' learning experiences.
By observing student teachers' teaching, it was found that knowledge of children's learning traits was the weakest part of their teaching knowledge. They tended to adopt strategies such as play, story-telling and team work when teaching. However, due to a lack of understanding of pupils' learning and classroom context, it was hard for them to grasp the effectiveness and purpose of teaching methods.
The study suggested that PCK is an amalgam of subject content, experience with children, effective teaching strategies and the classroom context. Through teaching practice and the accumulation of experience, student teachers can develop an enriched PCK.
Ethical Dilemmas in Researching Children and Schools
Department of Educational Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa E-mail:
There has been an growing demand for children's voices to be heard in matters affecting their lives. Children are increasingly acknowledged as social actors with views and understanding that we might learn from. However, adults as researchers should balance respect for their voices with responsibility for their best interest. The principles of good practice provided by ethical codes offer a good starting point, but involving children in research often leads to unanticipated consequences and unexpected outcomes. This paper reviews some of the ethical dilemmas related to psycho-educational research with children in South Africa by reflecting on the conceptualization of childhood, relevant legislation and codes of practice that frame and guide decisions when researching with children. Issues related to gaining access, seeking consent, monitoring power, building relationships, using appropriate communication strategies, and ensuring anonymity and confidentiality will be illustrated with examples from case studies.
A Coaching Supervision Model to Facilitate the Mental Health of Business Coaches in Practice
University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Modern-day business coaches need guidance to develop their professional practice. This is to ensure their work is professional and ethical, and serves, as a lifelong learning experience.
In South Africa, representative bodies for coaches are limited or non-existent. Coaches depend on European representative bodies to regulate their own practices. There are no set standards of supervision in coaching training programmes. Mentor & Athene (1999:283) agree that while supervision is well established in some areas, it is far from universal practice within the fast-growing field of business coaching. For this reason, regular supervision should be recognized as good practice for professional coaches in order to maintain the highest ethical standards and practices.
The purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate a coaching supervision model to facilitate the mental health of business coaches in practice. A theory-generative qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was followed.
Data was gathered by conducting focus groups, naïve sketches and qualitative interviews with business coaches in practice. Data was analyzed using the Tesch descriptive method of qualitative data analysis. A literature review was conducted in order to recontextualise data. Strategies utilized to ensure trustworthiness were credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. Ethical principles were applied right through the research. Based on the results and the literature review, a coaching supervision model was developed and evaluated for the facilitation of mental health of business coaches.
Consideration of Survey on Actual Conditions of Elderly Person Using Self-Esteem Scale (Comparison of Elderly Persons Who Are Brought Over with Local Elderly Persons)
* Department of Health Science, Gumma Paz College, Japan
** Sunny—Care Home Care Support Office E-mail:
In Japan, the aging society has arrived rapidly due to the improvement of the life environment based on the economic development, the improvement of the medical technology and others. And also, the composition of population is changing due to declining birth-rate. Especially, the aging rate of Japan rises at an unprecedented accelerating pace, so the rapid response such as actual facilities and services as well as the legislative preparations are required.
Based on the review of Gold Plan and New Gold Plan that have decided the direction of the policy, the nursing care insurance program started in 2000 and now the reform is being advanced through a trial and error process. We can say that the consideration of the contents based on the legislative preparations is significant.
In the future, the aging society is expected to advance furthermore. We conducted a survey to understand the actual condition of the elderly persons in Japan: whether they feel that they live their own lives prosperously. The society with fewer children reflects the increase of the elderly persons brought over by the children who work in urban areas. In that case, there was fear that the elderly persons who left their hometowns were hard to adapt to the new environment and the situation made it difficult for them to live their own lives and age richly.
This time, we surveyed the self-esteem of the 120 elderly persons in total who lived in new residential areas of T city and I city in 2000 and 2005. As a result, we found that the “elderly persons who were brought over” had less self-esteem than the “local elderly persons.” In the comparison of the results of 2000 with those of 2005, we found that the self-esteem of the “elderly persons who were brought over” recovered.
The report says that they become anxious and may lose the self-esteem as they get older 1). In this interview investigation, it has become apparent that aging healthily, the presence of friends and having a certain role support the self-esteem though there are many types of elderly persons.
The Perception of Filial Among Taiwan Young Generation
* School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
** School of Nursing, Yuan Pei Institute of Science and Technology, Hsin- Chu, Taiwan
*** Tzu-Ai General Hospital, Yun-Lin, Taiwan E-mail:
Background: Negative perceptions of filial adherent on young generation are explored in Chinese population. However, few empirical data were revealed about the perception of filial in Taiwan.
Aims: The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of filial among young generation in Taiwan.
Methods: Four focus groups and in-depth interviews were undertaken in the universities. The sample consisted of 40 student participants (37 females, and 3 males with average age of 21.3 years and range from 19 to 26 years old.) Thematic analyses were conducted on all texts and on the highlighted sections of those texts.
Results: The thematic data analysis revealed that the young generation still believes that filial is their duty. However, five major perceptions of filial are emerged from the interviews: the perception to follow Taiwan culture, the perception to reciprocate their parents, the perception to deliver love and care to their parents, the perception to achieve intergenerational well-beings, and the perception to take the changeable situations into consideration. Fourteen sub themes construct their meaning of filial as a result of changing social-cultural environments and the result of modernization.
Implications: The primary contribution of this study is to open the dialogue of filial from young generation. This will help the society to understand that different ways to show filial duty only means people have different perceptions of filial and it does not mean that one is more filial than the other. Furthermore, this study will assist medical team to know the meanings and possible reasons of the different ways to show filial duty, so that they can take these as references when they would like to help families to make plans of taking care of the elderly.
The Loss of Soulfulness: One Nervous Researcher's Application of Rigour Criterion
The University of Queensland-Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Qld, Australia E-mail:
Rigour in qualitative research is as much situated and linked to the politics and particularities of centres of research as it is to following established methods and practices. This reality provided for a nervous time as the only “single method” researcher investigating the phenomenon of truth-telling in aged care, in a research centre containing other researchers “reflecting a wide range of backgrounds including strengths in biostatistics and epidemiology.” This poster describes the consequent strategies and the operational techniques used to attain rigour, relying on Guba and Lincoln's trustworthiness criterion, and supports the proposition that in this climate, all soulfulness was lost.
Subtextual Phenomenology: A Radical Methodology Towards Transcendental Phenomenology
LaTrobe University, Victoria. E-mail:
The poster would introduce the methodology that I call Subtextual Phenomenology. The methods evolved during my PhD research, alongside my inquiry into play directing. My initial question, What counts as play directing?, was superseded by the big, epistemological question, How do I know?. Informed by the theoretical perspective of Transcendental Phenomenology, Subtextual Phenomenology is a methodology towards uncovering the universal object of inquiry, relating to the particular research phenomenon.
The reference to subtext is relevant in two ways. Firstly, the meaning behind the lines that the actor speaks is called the subtext of the script. The actor must find the subtext in order to play the part authentically. Also, this methodology seeks meaning beyond popular hermeneutical approaches to phenomenology, attempting instead to reach the whole phenomenon apodictically, through gathering the meanings beyond culture and language.
Performance text is used throughout this model as a means to understanding the data through writing. It is feasible that other arts genres may be deemed more appropriate for future Subtextual Phenomenological topics of inquiry.
Here is the methodological framework of Subtextual Phenomenology:
Are we now ready to appreciate the genius of Husserl, evident in his Transcendental Phenomenology and for which he was so maligned during the twentieth century, autocratic reign of modernism? Subtextual Phenomenology aims to apply the philosophy of Transcendental Phenomenology.
Strategies for the Facilitation of the Mental Health of Married Couples after the Birth of Their Baby
University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Having a baby is a life-changing event in a couple's life and it is normal to experience positive and negative feelings about this change. To have a baby is often a celebratory experience for couples, but it can also be a strenuous time. A new child alters / changes the dynamics of a couple's relationship, which can lead to stress, pressure and negative patterns if not handled properly. Expectant parents spend months preparing for the arrival of the new baby. But even with all the preparation, the reality of caring for a new baby can be overwhelming.
The overall goal of the study is to develop and describe strategies in order to facilitate the mental health of married couples after the birth of their baby.
The researcher will utilize a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design. The research will be carried out in three phases. The first phase will be to explore and describe the story of new parents after the birth of their baby. During this phase the researcher will collect data through interviews and naïve sketches (diaries) and the interpretation of drawings about new parents' stories. Different methods will be used to triangulate the data. Data analysis will be done by means of open coding. Results will be re-contextualized within the literature.
Trends in the results will be utilized as basis for the description of a conceptual framework (phase 2).
The third phase will be the formulation and description of strategies to facilitate the mental health of a married couple after the birth of their baby. Measures to ensure trustworthiness will be utilized and ethical principles will be adhered to right through the research process.
The uniqueness of this study will be to promote the mental health of married couples after the birth of their baby. This will enrich the new parents' relationship and also their relationship with their child.
Career and Educational Practice Experiences of the Master of Educational Management Programme Presented by the University of Johannesburg
University of Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
“The M Ed. has got me bum-humming, meaning over enthusiastic about changing education.” (Former learner, University of Johannesburg: 2002)
The above quotation of a former learner of the Master of Educational Management Programme presented by the Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg (UJ), confirms the important role that higher education institutions play to produce graduates that will act as change agents in a democratic society. In order to achieve this goal, educational offerings should be of an outstanding quality. Consistent with the increasing quest for world class best practices in the educational arena, the Faculty of Education views quality control and improved service delivery in education to be a high priority and is committed to ongoing quality assurance processes. The Faculty selected the Master of Educational Management (M Ed.) Programme as one of the focus areas of an internal quality assessment process. Contract research that was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual and evaluative in nature was conducted as part of the quality assessment process. The purpose of the research was an in-depth study of the experiences of former learners of the M Ed. Management Programme on their career and educational practice in order to arrive at a thick description of these experiences, as well as to make recommendations for programme improvements. Participants who completed the M Ed. Management qualification during the time period 2002 till 2004 were purposively selected. Data was gathered by means of qualitative interviews, naïve sketches and field notes. Data analysis entailed Tech's descriptive method of open coding. Results obtained indicate that the interactive educational process of the M Ed. Management Programme facilitated holistic learner empowerment and transformation. Based on the results of the research and the literature control, recommendations were described for educators aimed at programme improvement. A point of attention will be ethical obligations of contract research.
Family Caregiver's Needs When Caring for Young People with a Psychotic or Affective Disorder in Taiwan: A Qualitative Study
Research Centre for Clinical Practice Innovation, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Nathan campus, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
The onset of mental illness in young people is a time of crisis and places burden on the family. Most family members experience the massive responsibility attached to becoming a primary caregiver and are unprepared for this demanding role. This paper describes a qualitative study of the experiences and needs of family caregivers when caring for a mentally ill young relative, aged less than 20 years in Taiwanese society.
This study involved 5 focus group interviews, with 3–4 family caregivers in each group. Each focus group interview took around one and half hours. Participants were invited and spoke openly about their lives following the onset of mental illness in their teenage children. Content analysis was used to capture the important themes elicited during the interviews. A number of key themes emerged. Most caregivers were shocked when they first received their child's diagnosis child from a doctor, and the day-to-day experience of caring for their teenager mentally ill relative was daunting and difficult. The carers' main concerns were their child's uncertain future, and impact of care giving on their own and family's quality of life. This research is ongoing. The findings of this study to date will be presented.
The outcomes of this study may provide nurses with an understanding of family carers' experiences. A greater awareness of caregivers' needs may also enable and encourage nurses to develop more cooperative and ongoing relationships with family caregivers.
Co-Operative Inquiry and Phenomenology: Opportunities for Exploring Transition and Change
School of Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
In this paper we discuss the use of co-operative inquiry and phenomenological research methods as an opportunity for exploring transition and change. Firstly, we provide a brief overview of these research methods. Secondly, we discuss the shared assumptions of these methods. These are the inclusion of participants' experience as knowledge, the researcher-researched relationship, reflexivity, and the temporal nature of change.
Thirdly, we present the application of these methods in our doctoral field work. Jan's study explored the lived experience of cancer survival with 15 cancer survivors living in rural communities. She used in-depth interviews to access accounts of lived experience. Deb's research investigated journalling undertaken by women with depression. Six action-reflection cycles, with an additional beginning reflection phase, of a co-operative inquiry process were completed.
By way of conclusion, we share our reflections of the research process and the ways in which these methods enhanced our theoretical, professional and personal understandings of these significant life experiences. We have found these methods particularly suited to the discipline of social work research, with its emphasis on self determination, client participation, collaboration, and personal and structural transformation. Equally, we suggest these methods have application for other practice based disciplines.
The Art of Occupational Therapy in Professional Expertise: Expanding the “Evidence” Using a Phenomenological Inquiry
Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada E-mail:
Background: Occupational Therapy as a profession claims an “art” and a “science” of practice. However, the literature on this subject has been limited. If the scientific basis of practice is “what” we know, the art of practice may be “how” we practice. This “how” or artistry is essential to the clinical decision making process. Evidence-based practice (EBP) (Sackett et al., 1996) emphasizes the use of research evidence, professional expertise and judgment as components of good evidence-based decision making. Research indicates that professional expertise and judgment are comprised of both the science and art of practice (Higgs, Titchen & Neville, 2001); however, the emphasis of EBP has been on scientific research evidence. Only by making the art of practice explicit can we foster this skill in new practitioners, become experts and meet the expectations for evidence. Qualitative research methods provide the tools to explore this unique component of practice and contribute essential “evidence” to our professional literature.
Purpose: This study explored the meaning of the art of occupational therapy to expert clinicians using a phenomenological approach.
Summary: Three clinicians were interviewed to explore the meaning of this artistry in their clinical practice. Clinical reflection and reasoning were an essential component to data collection. Data analysis illuminated the “art” of practice, how it is expressed, how it develops and what it means to clinicians. Making the artistry inherent in our practice explicit is essential for good evidence-based practice. This research has implications for expanding the concept of “evidence” in health care to include qualitative methods, and ongoing professional development and clinical education for health care professionals at all levels.
Hermeneutic Photography: Similarities and Differences in Information Elicited from Interviews With and Without Photographs
* Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
** Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest
*** Choices for Change E-mail:
Photography has been described as ethnography with recording equipment. Hermeneutic photography is a qualitative data collection tool that allows participants to control more of the data collection process, thus potentially providing information not otherwise accessible via more traditional interview and questionnaire techniques. While hermeneutic photography has demonstrated usefulness in learning more about individuals' experiences, it may be helpful to know how information obtained via a hermeneutic photography technique differs from information obtained via traditional interview techniques.
Health maintenance organization members (93 women, 85 men) with serious mental illness completed multiple in-depth interviews detailing personal, mental health, and recovery histories; all were offered the opportunity to participate in a hermeneutic photography exercise; 51% chose to do so. Participants were instructed to take pictures of the things they found important to their life and their recovery—bad and good. Photos were developed; interviewers provided copies of the photos to participants and asked them to describe the meaning and importance of each photo. We analyzed all text related to personal growth, identity and personal development and compared text from discussions about photos to non-photo-related text addressing similar topics.
Preliminary analyses suggest that photos may to be more likely to elicit complete mini-stories that allow individuals to describe and explain turning points in their lives than were responses to questions in an interview-only context. These mini-stories often illustrated complex patterns of common themes found in analyses of extended interview-based text. The photos also appeared more likely to bring out complexities and ambivalence in a person's relationships. In addition, photos and related discussion appeared to allow more opportunities to discuss positive aspects of experience, including detailed discussions of freedom, hope, and personal strength.
Ethical Challenges in a Grounded Theory Study of Appetite in Frail, Community-Living Seniors
* School of Nutrition, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
** University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada E-mail:
Ethical considerations in qualitative research of frail seniors warrant increased attention, particularly in the nutrition and health research field. This paper reflects on ethical issues in a grounded theory study of appetite in frail community-living seniors. Frail seniors are a notably vulnerable population because of their illness, dependence on functional and emotional support, and common need for financial and social support to live at their home. Ethical challenges were experienced at many stages of the study. Key issues identified are the participant-researcher relationship, researcher sensitivity, role clarity particularly when the researcher is also identifiable as a health care professional outside of the study, and the juxtaposition of informed consent and reimbursement for research. To ensure trustworthiness of data, the researcher needs to build an honest, sensitive, and nonhierarchical relationship with the study participants. Some of the participants' stories on appetite conjured up memories of difficult life situations, such as recall of periods of war, poverty, and starvation. The researcher has to conduct interviews with tact and awareness of participants' reactions to the emergent direction of the questions, manage any participant emotional distress, be perceptive of participant fatigue, and renegotiate consent as necessary throughout data collection. Upfront researcher disclosure is important to minimize the potential participant-researcher power differential and clarify roles. In the study context, the researcher was not a dietician nor was the participant a client. Participants were ensured that any data they provided in the study would not impact the nutrition or health care they were receiving outside of the study. Many seniors live with financial constraints; thus, the offer of reimbursement for research needs to be made in such a way that remuneration does not constitute coercion. Issues discussed in this paper, especially researcher sensitivity, can provide guidance for the ethical conduct of qualitative research in frail seniors.
How Do Interviewers Ask Questions in Unstructured Interviews? A Micro-Analysis of Narrative Process by Looking at Forms of Inquiry
Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan E-mail.
Given that active interactions between the interviewer and the interviewee constitute the narrative process of unstructured interviews, the techniques involved in making inquiries are especially important for understanding the production of generative narratives. I constructed the models for examining interview processes, focused on “forms of inquiry.” The model constructions were based on observations in the field and techniques derived from qualitative psychology. The interview processes that take place in consultant and professional interviews were micro-analyzed. It was found that effective forms of inquiry included “turns, expansions, and changing the position of self and others.” The micro analyses of interview processes undertaken in this study will be useful for developing qualitative method reflexivity and for skill training in interviewers.
Families of Intensive Care Unit Patients in Korea: A Mixed Methods Study
Division of Public Administration and Social Welfare, College of Social Science, Chosun University, South Korea E-mail:
It is one of the most stressful events for a family member to be in the Intensive Care Unit. Korea National Statistical Office (2004) reported that the number one place of death is hospital ICU, and the number is increasing every year. This information means, in a family life cycle, more and more Korean people are supposed to take a caregiver role for their family members in ICU.
The purpose of the present research is, using triangulation mixed methods design based on pragmatism, to explore the experiences of ICU families. In terms of the process of qualitative method, microethnography was used for observation and interview data. The data analysis followed ethnographic theme analysis method. For the process of quantitative method, Molter & Leske's Critical Care Family Need Inventory was used for survey. A matrix was developed to compare qualitative themes with quantitative factors in order to integrate both results.
The essence of ICU experience from 145 participants was described as “Being frozen.” There were several main themes confirmed by the quantitative factors. The first theme was about difficulties. Participants suffered from hospital expenses, and no improvement of the patient. There were relationship issues with the patient, with medical staffs, and with other family members. Participants expressed guilty feeling and regrets when they think of the patient. However, they complained the medical staffs did not give enough care and information to the families. Participants also experienced family conflicts, especially when they made an important decision such as an artificial respiratory machine. They claimed they needed support form the intra and extended family systems, from the hospital system, and from the medical policy system. The present study would be helpful to give new ideas to the qualitative researchers methodologically, to develop supporting programs for the families in ICU, and to improve medical policies.
(D) Round Table Discussions
Rediscovering the Spirit of Ethics
School of Nursing, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
In over 20 years experience as a qualitative researcher I have noticed an increasingly pedantic response of ethics committees and institutional review boards. One example of this was when a postgraduate student was refused ethical approval because she had not addressed the special needs of any Aboriginal participants she might interview in her phenomenological study. This “special population” proportionally represented 0.38 of one person.
However, it seems to me that the broader area of beneficence is an area that receives little or no attention by research supervisors and review committees. For example, I know several researchers who have experienced episodes in which qualitative interviews have uncovered important issues unrelated to the research topic. These were issues which would benefit the class of people who were the focus of the research if it were fed back to the relevant institutions. However, the institutions decided not to receive to the feedback, even though participants' consent was, or could have been, gained. As a result, disempowerment of the class of people who were sampled continues.
As a qualitative researcher I believe that the spirit of ethical standards is not valued as much as the letter of the ethical guidelines is. I would like to explore this issue with other researchers and share experiences, insights and suggestions.
Rigour in Qualitative Research: The Value and Meaning of “Member Checking”
Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia E-mail:
This paper arises from my reading of research studies and observations of presentations of research findings in which there is often an apparent passive acceptance of “member checking” as a means of increasing the rigour in qualitative research approaches. The intention in this paper is to explore “member checking” as an unquestioned practice/action for satisfying a particular standard with respect to rigour in qualitative studies. The appropriateness of “member checking” for the different qualitative research approaches will also be examined/debated in this paper.
Feminist Epistemology: Qualitative Ways of Doing Doctoral Research.
School of Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
Our discussion aims to explore the many ways feminism has led us to choosing qualitative research methods for our doctoral research projects. This has occurred because the epistemology of feminism is compatible with qualitative methods as well as the social work discipline.
Grace will begin this discussion at the start of her doctoral journey by exploring questions and theoretical frameworks guiding the research. Her research will investigate educating social workers for rural practice. We then move on to the middle stages where Deb will outline the challenges of fieldwork and remaining on track. Deb's research investigates women's journalling at times of depression and the ways in which journalling contributes to recovery. Finally, Jan will discuss the closing stages of writing her thesis and publication. Jan's thesis presents a phenomenological exploration of cancer survival.
By way of conclusion we reflect upon being women based at a regional university, where feminist ideology is not necessarily part of the academic or broader cultural context. We will share with you our everyday experience of the structural context in which we are situated. The challenges of this have inspired us to encourage other rural students, particularly women, to undertake postgraduate study. Modelling feminist principles throughout this round table discussion, we welcome full participation of those in attendance.
Ethical Challenges in Qualitative Research: A Virtue Ethics Approach
* School of Health, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
** University of New England & Come In Youth Resource Centre E-mail:
When a qualitative research project is conducted at a university, proposals are scrutinised by an ethics committee: a diverse group of professionals and lay people that may include researchers, academics, lawyers, ethicists and members of the public. Each research proposal is judged against principles and standards to determine the benefits of the research to society and the capacity of the research to adhere to ethical standards. Great care is taken to examine the potential for harm to participants and the university.
Despite this approach to ethical issues, dilemmas invariably arise. This is particularly the case when researching sensitive areas involving complex human experience. Notwithstanding the emotion and turmoil that such dilemmas can evoke between all those involved in the research, the issues need to be discussed and analysed in a calm and rational manner. This requires the use of a systematic approach to explore the complexity of the dilemma, with the aim being to seek a resolution that satisfies the need to adhere to ethical standards and protect interested parties while maintaining the integrity of the research. It is a balancing act that commands careful and thoughtful consideration, a situation that may only occur if the parties involved have a clear understanding of ethical reasoning.
The authors have both encountered ethical challenges in the course of conducting psychosocial PhD research into sexual abuse and street-based male sex work. Against a theoretical backdrop of virtue ethics, this workshop will present an ethical dilemma involving historical criminality, premature sexualisation and adolescent sexual exploration. The workshop will be a forum for discussion of this ethical dilemma and other ethical challenges.
Witnessing Our Supervision Practices: Questions and Learning Edges
School of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand E-mail:
In this roundtable discussion we raise questions, about the practice of research supervision, that arise when students' research projects are at the cutting edge of our own knowledge or experiences, in terms of method or focus.
We conceive of the supervisor student-researcher relationship as a particular community of practice. In this discussion we are interested to bring this community of practice into the foreground. This round table claims a space to pause, ask some questions, and witness to our own supervision practices.
The discussion will be organised around three particular themes that come out of our work supervising student-researchers in professional counsellor education programmes at masters and doctoral level.
Co-production of research practice and processes How do we co-create a communicative space for supervisor and student-researcher in supervision? What reciprocal position calls are available for student-researchers and supervisors and how might we respond to these? How do we listen to students' particular research interests and their lived histories so that students' own knowledges might be expressed in the methods their projects employ? Working for a non-colonising practice What might a non-colonising supervision practice call for? What does it mean to supervise in ways that are non-colonising—personally, culturally, academically—of students or of research participants? How can research be represented in a non-colonising way? How do we go beyond the canonical forms for presenting academic social science research without disadvantaging students who seek an academic credential? Self of the supervisor How do we witness our own lived histories in the approaches we take in research-supervision? How do we remain accountable for our own positionings as persons, supervisors, and counselling professionals? What are the ethics of co-authoring publications with student-researchers after completion of their degrees?
Accessing Vulnerable Populations for Research Purposes
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
We work in an age of increasing scrutiny and accountability. Within this context, qualitative researchers may find hospital staff and consumers of mental health services reluctant to assist or participate in research due to a previous experience of difficulties without benefit. The research context has largely been set by quantitative researchers. Participants of quantitative research may be asked a range of questions which participants: find difficult to answer; do not wish to answer; are not interested in; and due to prior experience, worry about being tested and potentially negative repercussions. These participants may also find the context of participation has been unfriendly, uncomfortable, demanding, or threatening. As a result of potential negative experiences with quantitative research, hospital staff are protective of their consumers, and consumers may protect themselves, by resisting future participation in research of any kind, which in turn impacts upon qualitative research.
We wish to argue that participants of qualitative research have an entirely different experience. Participants involved in phenomenological or other semi structured interviews, which seek the participants experience as opposed to facts, reported that they found the interview experience rewarding. With phenomenological researchers looking for salient aspects of the participant's experience, discussion with participants is: focussed on the participant's knowledge and interests as opposed to symptoms, and is not experienced as a test which may have negative repercussions. Based on a pilot study, participants report that they appreciated the phenomenological researcher's empathy, thus felt accepted and understood, and have expressed thanks for being given the opportunity to discuss issues which they have not previously been able to.
This round table discussion will be focussed on how qualitative researchers can inform and excite hospital staff and participants about the personal satisfaction often experienced from participation in qualitative research, in an attempt to decrease unnecessary resistance, and increase both participation, and the quality of qualitative research.
Transformative and Critical Social Theory Approaches to Researching Solution Focused Nursing
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Nathan campus, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
Solution Focused Nursing is a philosophy for nursing that assumes that nursing work is, and can be, more than problem focused. It involves working with and for clients, so that health and wellbeing, meaning and life adaptation are promoted.
Whilst this model for practice is itself transformative, ways of teaching and learning Solution Focused Nursing are assisted by incorporating the pedagogical principles of transformative learning—examining and revising social injustices that operate within health, remembering histories that shape nursing, client and health identities, and inspiring students to become committed to actions (praxis) which will move beyond reactive problem solving towards proactive solution-work. Now that the SFN model has been theorised and applied educationally, it now can be extended to the clinical context.
Because SFN and its implementation is understood to be a cultural act—emphasizing and exploring the nature of understanding, the nurse's role in facilitating meaning making and envisioning and enacting social change, a transformative and critical social theory perspective seems illuminating and relevant.
In this roundtable discussion, Merten's (1999) inclusive evaluation framework is proposed as one fitting overarching theoretical framework to guide ongoing research into Solution Focused Nursing. Participants are invited to explore and respond to frameworks and tensions raised in order to design research that will effectively represent the diverse experiences of SFN in clinical and educational practice, to develop the SFN model so that it achieves its aims, and to convincingly advance the theory using rigorous methods.
Unproblematic Access? Troubling the Notion of “Ease of Access” in Field Research in the Clinical Arena
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia E-mail:
Qualitative nursing research located in clinical areas is often undertaken with its terms of access set by positivist clinical research. This form of research does not usually include field work or observational and interview studies. Much of nursing research literature does not provide detail as to how this access occurs or indeed infers that gaining such access is anything other than unproblematic. Moreover, ease of access to nurses and nursing is implicitly assumed within the “neutral,” crossover position of nurse researcher. In this round table, the authors present vignettes detailing various issues about access for field research to a particular clinical area, and the problems these issues raise as the research study progresses. The discussants at this round table wish to go beyond much debated insider status accorded to nurse researchers. Instead, they want to trouble this position as facilitating ease of access to research subjects, be this a group of nurses, a health care population or an area in which to research. The authors firstly question what ease of access may mean, and then will analyse issues such as gate-keeping; gaining access to an area where field research methods are unfamiliar; navigating organisational dilemmas; and “putting yourself on new footing.” The discussion at this round table hopes to problematise the assumed ease of researcher comportment for nurses and to explore the impact that eschewing such a position might have on the carriage of field research. In discussing these finer details it is hoped to uncover a range of “discomforts” left un-remarked in the final write-up of many studies.
Inspiration for Qualitative Research: A Model for Involved, Reflective and Methodical Professional Acting
Noordelijke Hogeschool Leeuwarden/Clickadvies Consultants and Researchers, The Netherlands E-mail:
This contribution is presented to challenge the discussion about a qualitative model for development and innovation for involved professionals in Education and Care.
We live in an information society in which the rendering of significance of life, work and doing research is gaining importance. A type of research, which contributes to the development of knowledge as well as of people, is needed: qualitative methods are required.
Current research practice is reserved to a relatively small number of scientists.
With the future in focus, continuing development of knowledge and people on a large scale is important. Therefore, qualitative methods for research in the daily activities of professionals are necessary: work, development and research should coincide and be executed in an involved, reflective and methodological manner.
To handle this in a systematic and reflective manner, we need a model that can use existing knowledge and information that is already available in the context.
For this model for creative, value-oriented development, three characteristics are essential:
personal development systematic handling of information and knowledge: productivity of knowledge collective development (learning network of mutually involved people).
Then, research will be the continuing and joint process of learning and development: an optimum match of innovative development and communal motive of everybody involved.
This may be in the shape of innovative design projects that result in productivity in knowledge, and development of people and organizations qualitative research.
The strength of this model is the integration of the three characteristics. It has been developed for the curriculum of a Master of Education and Care in the Netherlands. Reflective practitioners use this model in research projects in order to get their master degree.
Translation in Qualitative Research: What is Evidence?
* School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
** School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and Chang Gung Institute of Nursing, Taiwan E-mail:
Australian universities have accelerated their transformation from domestic academies to global business institutions and as a result have attracted increasing numbers of international research students. A similar situation also exists in comparable international student destinations such as the UK, Canada and New Zealand. Many higher degree international research students conduct research studies in their mother countries. In many instances, therefore, a first language is used for data collection and translation into English occurs at the point of analysis. The purpose of this paper is to address issues of both methodology and method related to translation of qualitative research data when the source language differs from the target language. Data translation poses particular challenges in qualitative research studies such as differing sentence structures, untranslatability and the role of the researcher. In exploring these themes, the paper draws on data collected in Taiwan for two phenomenographic studies and one grounded theory study and examines the processes of translation and data analysis engaged in by the researchers. In so doing, the paper explores the implications for study trustworthiness of adopting an approach to translation that emphasises meaning as opposed to word and sentence structure. The use of interpretation in data translation overcomes the problem of untranslatability but raises issues about the role of the researcher and what constitutes “evidence” in qualitative research.
(E) Symposia
Symposium 1
Insiderness in Qualitative Research: Three Perspectives
Introduction
Increasingly qualitative researchers approach enquiry from an insider perspective, that is, the researcher and research participants share certain characteristics, experiences or identities. This is often expressed as a dichotomy of insider/outsider status where the outsider is perceived as objective and detached and the insider as immersed and subjective. We argue that this is problematic and concur with Christensen and Dahl's notion (1997) that insiderness can better be understood as a continuum and Landsman (1998) that degrees of insiderness occur across participants and researchers alike. Three perspectives on insiderness in research are presented in order to explore the advantages, challenges and dilemmas of this process.
Paper 1: Insider Research with Families who have a Member Living with Rare Cancer
University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
This study will explore the nature of insiderness in relation to the experiences of family members when a loved one is diagnosed with a rare cancer. The researcher's own experience influences pre-understandings (feelings, assumptions, knowledge) about the research topic, and as such the author's PhD research is undertaken using an “insider epistemology.” The research is based on phenomenological theoretical and methodological frameworks. Three realms in which the “insider research” issue comes to the fore are (1) the ethical realm, including issues of “fitness” to undertake the research, (2) the methodological realm, e.g. how data is obtained and used and (3) the trustworthiness realm e.g. the issue of rigour. These three realms will be considered in an exploration of the “insiderness” experiences of the researcher. These included (1) the researcher's personal challenges in relation to continually facing emotionally charged experiences similar to her own, (2) the insights gained as a result of the researchers insider status and (3) the perceived ability to “join” with the participants in ways that may not have been possible from an “outside” perspective. The paper will challenge previously taken-for-granted research assumptions about the trustworthiness of data being assured only from the position of an “objective” researcher, and places knowledge as constituted and contextualised.
Paper 2: Insider Research with People with Chronic Pain
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
This paper will discuss my experience as an insider researcher with people living with chronic pain. The aim of my research is to explore and describe chronic pain sufferers' experiences of living with chronic pain, using a narrative methodology based on Wengraf's (2001; 2005) Biographic-Narrative Interpretation Method (BNIM). The study is the basis of my doctoral thesis. My interest in chronic pain stems from my personal experience over the last ten years. The fact that I am an “insider researcher” was raised as an issue during the development of my research proposal, and is something I have been mindful of throughout the research process. The possibility of increased bias within insider research is suggested in the research literature (Denz-Penhey 1997; Hewitt-Taylor 2002). While I do think being an insider researcher has affected my research, I do not think this has always been in a negative way. This paper will focus on the impact my insider status has had on the research process. This includes (1) the physical and emotional impact of having a chronic illness and maintaining the research timeline, (2) the methodological impact with regard to ensuring rigour in order to dispel any doubts about the credibility of the research due to my insider status and (3) what I believe to be the benefits of insider status in establishing trust and rapport with the target group.
Paper 3: Inside Insider Research
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
In order for traditional research to be considered successful and “valid” it is required that it be free of bias, that it be “objective,” and that researchers remain detached from their “subjects.” Such assertions fail to take into consideration that no research is bias-free; choices of topic, theoretical background, methods of data collection and analysis are all value-laden in both quantitative and qualitative research. One benefit of “insider” research is that from the outset it acknowledges and explicates the researcher's biases, thus removing any pretence of unrealistic or unattainable goals. Insider researchers are ethically bound to the rigours inherent in a genuine process of self-reflection. Using my experience doing insider research about societal treatment of legally blind people, this paper examines how reflexivity actually worked throughout the course of the study. I describe how the original research design evolved in response to the needs of the participants. The paper also examines the consequences of placing my self as deeply into the study as I could by taking on the dual role of researcher and participant, which necessitated multiple layers of reflexive praxis.
Symposium 2
Deny the Political—Blame the Individual: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Psychologising of Responsibility
IHCS, University of Bournemouth, UK E-mail:
Introduction
The papers presented here critically examine discourses which in their various ways shift focus away from a consideration of political and social processes to that which is considered the responsibility of the individual in an imagined moral order. Central to this moral order is a psychological discourse which—with its firm focus on the individual, its claims to objectivity, and its resonances with the sovereign consumer of late capitalism- constructs social problems in psychological space, and relies on an assumption that professionals by virtue of their training (clinicians and researchers) can apprehend the social problems in which others find themselves embedded, as “psychological” problems amenable to “psychological” solutions.
The papers in their various ways argue for a critical appraisal of these narrow views of the problem of being a person in the twenty first century and for an expansion of the paradigms used to educate health care professionals and research health care. Drawing on critical social theory the papers re-introduce elided topics in professional discourse including the social construction of identity; non-psychiatric understandings of human suffering and importantly the challenges and opportunities that the psychologising of responsibility in undertaking qualitative research presents to health care researchers. Each paper utilizes practical examples of contemporary research to illustrate how dominant discourses replete with political agenda's serve to blame the individual.
Paper 1: Analyze This
IHCS, Bournemouth University, UK E-mail:
Discourse analysis has become of the fastest growing areas of research within the human sciences. Drawing upon philosophical ideas originating in social constructionism discourse analysis provides an alternative way of viewing the use of, amongst others, clinical material in professional research/writing. Critical discourse analysis is a sub-field of discourse analysis, combining resources and concepts from linguistics with ideas from critical theory. Critical discourse analysts usually examine texts which communicate either a covertly concealed or overtly explicit message; which it to say any piece of text or dialogue that can be used to advance a political argument. To this end much has been written, using critical discourse analysis, to explore some of the implicit political messages underpinning the dominant discourse of evidence based practice.
Less attention has been given to the overt and covert political messages that are being used to advance the acceptance and appropriation of research skills and methods that emphasize reflexivity, participation, responsibility and agency. What then is the message of the emerging advances in qualitative research methods? This paper will introduce the symposium by focussing on what it means to be a qualitative researcher in the emergent moral order specified in contemporary research texts.
Paper 2: Case Files (elves): Whose Reading and for What Purpose?
University of Canberra, ACT, Australia E-mail:
The second paper scrutinises the routine readings of case files in health and welfare agencies where file managers have a case management role. The research examines the way files are read and interpreted and the consequences of such readings for the young people so described. Two discursive registers are identified- one drawing on a clinical/psychiatric constellation of human suffering and the other construing human suffering in terms drawing on an ordinary and non-specialist language register. The conflict between these two discourses is examined in terms of institutional legitimation, the increasing psychologisation of everyday life, and the proliferation of North American media constructions of the psychological. Ways of engaging with ordinary readings of case files and their consequences are articulated.
Paper 3: What's Wrong With You and How Can I Help? A Critical Analysis of Dominant Approaches to Nursing Practice and Education
Griffith University E-mail:
The third paper examines hegemonic cultural practices within clinical nursing, critiquing what may happen in health-care when beliefs, values, habits and media messages go unnoticed and moves on to explore hegemonic educational practices. It illustrates an alternative approach informed by the change agenda and critical social theory, suggesting tentative new practices that emerge when students develop the consciousness, commitment and skills to critique the status quo.
Symposium 3
The Evolution of the E-Interview: Making Qualitative Interviewing More Accessible
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
Introduction
Numerous factors can impede recruitment and participation in the traditional qualitative face-to-face interview. For example, recruitment barriers can include work and family commitments, distance from research settings, chronic health issues and physical and cognitive-linguistic impairments. Participation barriers during an interview might include lack of anonymity and a limited time frame to produce responses. Qualitative enquiry using new technologies is considered expedient, economical and yet fraught with ethical considerations. This symposium reports the findings of three studies using e-mail-facilitated qualitative interviews. These studies suggest that the qualitative E-interview may advance research opportunities for people and groups who have been previously marginalized because of the inadequacy of traditional interviewing methods.
Paper 1: Challenging Methodological Traditions: E-mail-facilitated Reflective Dialogues
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
This study heralded the emergence of the qualitative E-interview. Twenty front-line human service practitioners participated in e-mail interviews, trialing a method called “E-mail facilitated reflective dialogue” (EFRD). Participants answered questions regarding sensitive ethical issues arising in the workplace. Initial concerns included whether it would be possible to establish rapport, accurately convey meaning and offer adequate support using an online medium. Findings indicated it was possible to establish rapport. In addition, participants identified benefits such as flexibility, anonymity and convenience. These factors allowed for greater reflection, more honest disclosure and a greater sense of control of the interview process. This method also assisted the researcher to interview effectively, with more time for reflection and formulation of questions; the need for time-consuming transcription was also eliminated. Although this method was very successful, caution is advised for those who view E-interviews as a potentially easier alternative for conducting qualitative interviews.
Paper 2: E-mail Facilitated Qualitative Interviews (EFQI) with Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors: Using New Technologies to Access the Voices of the Excluded
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
This study conducted qualitative E-interviews with 20 traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors regarding the role of the Internet in their lives. TBI survivors have been underrepresented in qualitative research due to the presence of cognitive-linguistic impairments affecting information processing, response formulation, memory and intolerance to multiple stimuli. Findings indicate that this method facilitates the communication of brain injury survivors. Participants report advantages such as increased time for reflection, expression and a greater control of the interview setting. In addition, the quality of the data indicates that TBI survivors are capable of reflection and humour and insight; these findings challenge previous research findings regarding the communication ability of TBI survivors. Guidelines for conducting e-mail-facilitated qualitative interviews with people who have cognitive-linguistic impairments will be suggested.
Paper 3: Gathering Qualitative Data From a Larger Sample: Does The E-Interview Offer a Solution?
The School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:
This study sought the views about welfare reform and the consequent change to practice of social workers employed in large national organisations. The potential population was more than 500 practitioners spread across Australia. We wished to explore their reflections and ideas about their past and current practice. The project budget did not allow for travel to undertake face to face interviews or expensive transcription costs. We therefore used an internet based tool Survey Said to recruit participants. This tool is usually used for surveying large samples of dispersed respondents who respond to set questions which can then be analysed quantitatively. Drawing on the experiences of the two previous authors, we have piloted the use of this technology to gather qualitative data in the form of text and then analyse it using NVivo. The paper presents our findings about the usefulness of this approach as a means of gathering qualitative data from large dispersed populations and streamlining analysis of text and our reflections on the further evolution of E-Interviews.
Symposium 4
“Doing Death and Dying”: Theories, Methods and Practices in Researching Deathly Matters
School of Communication, Information and Media Studies, University of South Australia
Paper 1: Survival AIDS, Stately Bodies and Precarious Life: Methodologies in the Theatre of HIV/AIDS
School of Communication, Information and New Media, University of @BG = South Australia, Adelaide E-mail:
The description on the back cover of Pieter-Dirk Uys's video Survival AIDS (2003) is as emphatic as it is enticing. It asserts that, “HIV/AIDS is a terrible reality in South Africa. It kills. But it doesn't have to end lives if there is education about protection and information about confronting the virus as part of life.” In this production and in his play Foreign AIDS (2002) Uys takes a satirical journey into the heart of a pandemic that was once “the gay disease” of the west but in his home country of the new South Africa, now directly involves over one third of the population. Recently, Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben explained contemporary philosophical inquiry as a practice that attempts to make intelligible a wider set of problems and draws on metaphors as a paradigmatic approach to philosophical problems and issues. Agamben described this approach as being “tensional,” attending to tensions rather than dichotomies and seeing elements as having “zones of indecidability or indifference” (2004, p. 3). This paper is acutely interested in methodologies in which the life-death, living-dying nexus is mobilized beyond oppositions and where death is a matter of life for the very young, just as it is to the entire population. With an eye on the “tensional” this paper will approach the work of Pieter Dirk-Uys to appraise questions of theatre, and death, as being very much about issues of methodology where methodology is fluid and responsive rather than a finite and fixed disciplinary practice.
Paper 2: Exploring What Dying Does…
Centre for Research into Sustainable Health Care, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia E-mail:
My theoretical paper builds on the writings by Zygmunt Bauman. Bauman writes: “our times are marked by an obsessive preoccupation with the body. Body and community are the last defensive outposts on the increasingly deserted battlefield on which the war for certainty, security and safety is waged daily with little, if any, respite.” My aim is to address the question: How do health promotion and wellness approaches provide for certainty, security and safety and with what impact on the lives of people? Health promotion and wellness approaches not only blur the boundaries between wellness practitioners and health professionals and create new tensions for health professionals in their professional roles that they need to learn how to deal with, they also create confusion for people in terms of who best to listen to. In addition, I will argue they attract people's attention by inferring that survival as surviving (death) is possible if people conform to practices promoted and if they are obedient and follow a series of tasks to be performed so that assumed fixed points can be achieved. Yet, being made to be obedient and conform creates the conditions for non-confidence and a lack of self-awareness—the very conditions that can make people NOT take responsibility for their own lives. And these approaches through a focus on survival: surviving (death), set up the conditions for separating death as being part of life.
Paper 3: Attitude/s to Reading Death in Writing
School of Communication, Information and Media Studies, University of South Australia E-mail:
The challenge facing all writers writing on death is the question of representation and language. It is a difficult one to negotiate, since the relationship between what is expressible and inexpressible within the limits of language, is stretched beyond the structure of signs and symbols which death, is both a part of, and apart from, within socio-cultural exchanges.
Attitude/s to Reading Death in Writing will tease out the practice of feminine writing, developed through the work of contemporary philosophers such as Cixous and Derrida, as one possibility for engaging the undecidability of death and its effects on human relationships.
Playing with genres such as ficto-critical writing, poetics, prose and philosophy, provides a platform for engaging with death in ways that manage to reflect upon possibilities otherwise disguised through dominant discourses, such as those constructed through religion.
The possibilities associated with de-naturalising the signification language constructs within specific cultural contexts, which in turn displaces the fixivity traditionally afforded meaning are far-reaching when considering death as a poetical space. The importance in subverting linguistically formed meanings through analyzing death, as an unrepresentable thing, or a “thing without a thingness” as Derrida suggests in On The Name (1995, p.1) cannot be underestimated, because what it challenges are ready-made meanings that attempt to position signs as though unshakeable.
In the context of war and terrorism, where the stranger has come to be feared with vengeance, the need to embrace the strange and the unknown is urgent. By considering the strangeness of one's own mortality through the writing of stories that disturb the foundations of identities and subjectivities outside of ready-made categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality etc. is a fundamental theme this work in progress is exploring.
Paper 4: “Writing as Doing”: An Enquiry into the Gendered Knowing of Suicide
School of Communication, Information and Media Studies, University of South Australia E-mail:
As an area of social research, suicide has been traditionally examined through the lens of quantitative methodologies. In recent years, however, qualitative approaches have made their mark. As something that is unavoidably part of either framework, writing as a method rarely receives any direct discussion. It is something that simply happens, a neutral, natural and mechanical practice carried out by various researchers within the broad spectrum of humanities and social sciences. Drawing on Richardson and St Pierre's (2005) qualitative notion of writing as a method of inquiry, this paper turns to its significance in the context of researching the question and position of gender in suicide. The paper contends that in suicide, writing is a performative doing where it becomes constitutive rather than reflective in generating research into its existence. At the same time, such doing is intertwined with discourse analysis and its emphasis on analysing norms, values, assumptions, ideas and how they shape the research argument and its analytical contours. To pursue this, the paper begins by sketching the scope of research and the layered manner in which writing as doing shapes its production. Following this, the analysis considers how writing is informed by critique as an embodied practice of ethics. In doing so, the paper attempts to show that writing as a method of knowing not only articulates the researcher's voice but also becomes a mode of making critical interventions into the production of suicide as a gendered discourse.
(F) Workshops
A Progressive Approach to Visual Data
Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia E-mail:
A picture is worth 1,000 words and an image can represent an array of responses that are often complex and difficult to untangle. This workshop will take researchers through a process that, will not only give them a way of exploring and analysing images, but also, and importantly, offer them a way of gathering visual data in a stepwise progression that facilitates comparisons across different participants.
Ours is an intensely visual culture that expresses a wide range of ideas through pictures with images from multiple sources presented to us throughout our day. Images are useful to research from two different directions. Firstly, the way in which images are perceived is valuable to many kinds of research questions. Being able to record and analyse respondents' perceptions of images is an important data source. However, there is also the participants' understanding of a research issue expressed in images. While this means of expression has been used in psychology for quite some time, this workshop moves into quite a different research space. Supporting the development of a collage based around images selected by the participants is a multi-stepped progression that enables the researcher to bring structure to the data gathering process. Through this structure the visual data remains rich and complex. These images build to form a collage of visual impressions around an issue and offer an in-depth view. The collages of various informants can be gathered and then further analysed by the researcher. The workshop will take researchers through the stepwise progression and give them a framework for analysis that allows the vibrancy and complexity of visual data to be utilised.
Qualitative Synthesis and Meta-ethnography
* Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK
** School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Southampton, UK
The necessarily focused, case-based, and often smaller scale of qualitative research often militates against developing a cumulative evidence base of the findings of qualitative research. Research synthesis is an emerging approach to integrating and fusing the findings of research to provide such cumulative view. This workshop will explore the synthesis of qualitative research, drawing on a technique called mete-ethnography developed by Noblit and Hare (1988). The workshop will adopt an interactive learning format based on small group working and group discussion.
Participants will each work with 4 of eight previously selected and circulated papers to identifying key concepts and begin the process of “reciprocal translation”—comparing and developing the analytical concepts. The workshop will then explore how to push the analysis forward by using mapping and charting techniques to display and reconsider the emerging findings. The final part of the workshop will consider different approaches to presentation of the results of synthesis and provide an opportunity to reflect on the process of synthesis.
The workshop will be facilitated by Professor Nicky Britten and Catherine Pope, who will also be addressing the conference on the subject of research synthesis. Nicky and Catherine have over two decades' experience of teaching research methods and running workshops of this type. They have been involved in a number of research projects looking at developing method for synthesis in the past two years.
Critical Hermeneutic-Reconstructive Analysis: Basic Principles and Methods
School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
This will be a three hour workshop designed to introduce participants to fundamentals of critical qualitative data analysis. The version of critical qualitative data analysis to be presented here intersects a great deal with methods used by other methodological schools, but it has distinctive features relating both to the overall framework that guides interpretations and to several specific analytic techniques. The distinction between systems analysis and hermeneutic-constructive analysis will be explained succinctly, along with the way in which both types of general analysis are linked together in a full critical ethnography. The bulk of the workshop will then be focused on hermeneutic-reconstructive analysis. A number of concepts will be introduced and illustrated to this end, including those of the meaning field, the validity horizon, power and how to analyze it, the interactive sequence, performative roles, functional roles, pragmatic allusions, pragmatic metaphors, inferential semantics, and critical semiotics. Exercises will be given to practice use of these concepts in the analysis of qualitative data, coding tips will be provided, and group discussions will be facilitated at key points during the allotted time.
Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorisation Analysis
* School of English, Media Studies and Art History, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
** Centre for Literacy Language and Communication Studies, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
Conversation Analysis (CA) and Membership Categorisation Analysis (MCA) are methods of analysis that developed from the philosophical tenets of ethnomethodology (EM).
The work of Harvey Sacks and his colleagues during the 60s and 70s (1972, 1992a,b) established the foundations of methods of analysis that focus on the local production of social activities. Emerging from the pioneering work of Harold Garfinkel's ethnomethodology, CA and MCA have now become well established methods of analysis for understanding the detailed means used by members in accomplishing various routine tasks in both institutional and non-institutional settings; including contexts in health, medicine, social work, education, media, work places, legal setting and ordinary conversation.
With CA's focus on the sequential aspects of talk and MCA's focus on the way social knowledge is used by members, these methods, in combination, provide a valuable methodological tool in revealing the way participants structure their interaction through social knowledge. These methods orientate the analysis to the particular context and task and also explicate how features of sequential organization are reflexively related to social order; that is, features of sequential organization are a resource that underpin sense making and are constitutive of the local social order.
This workshop will firstly outline the distinctive tenets of Ethnomethodology and how these tenets are lived in the analytics of CA and MCA. Participants will work with transcript and text data to gain practical experience of the basic analytic moves in both CA and MCA and will gain an understanding of the depth of insight available through the rigorous and sophisticated rendering of these tools.
The presenters have extensive experience in developing and applying the methods of CA and MCA in their research and teaching and have published in the areas of Education (Austin, 1997; Austin, Dwyer & Freebody 2003; Austin & Freebody 2001), Methods (Austin, Freebody & Dwyer 2002; Housley & Fitzgerald 2001, 2002a, 2003; Fitzgerald & Housley 2006), and social Identity in media Interaction (Fitzgerald & Housley 2002; Hester & Fitzgerald 1999; Housley & Fitzgerald 2002b).
Running Successful Focus Groups
Centre for Program Evaluation, Department EPM, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia E-mail:
The first part of the workshop will deal with: how focus groups differ from group interviews; when to use focus groups; how questions are constructed; and major characteristic of such interviews.
During the second part a focus group will be run to show how the theory applies in practice. Supporting material will be supplied.
The Play's the Thing: Dramatistic Genres in Qualitative Research
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand*
The theatrical metaphor is one of the oldest and most persistent ways of thinking and talking about social life. This interactive workshop will provide a wide-ranging overview of dramatism, a transdisciplinary genre of qualitative research that has made the theatrical metaphor a central motif. It describes and contrasts the four most influential sub-genres of dramatism: Kenneth Burke's system of dramatism; Erving Goffman's dramaturgy; Victor Turner's social drama analysis and Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis. Each sub-genre will be illuminated by a discussion of the empirical work it has inspired across a diverse range of organizational settings. Workshop participants will be encouraged to explore ways in which they might apply one of these dramatistic genres to their current or planned research projects.
(* at the time of the conference—now, School of Business, University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Figurative Positioning: A Qualitative Method for the Analysis of Institutional Troubled Talk
Levinsky College, Israel E-mail:
The workshop will focus on a qualitative method entitled figurative positioning. The method was developed for the analysis of institutional troubled talk. It will consist of the presentation of the theoretical and methodological frameworks (60 minutes), a guided hand-on analysis of troubled talk (90 minutes) and participants' discussion relating to the relevance of the method in the context of their respective studies (30 minutes).
Troubled talk is defined as the presentation of problems and the negotiation of possible solutions by troubled lay persons who address their problems to professionals and para-professionals (e.g., psychologists, social workers, media representatives, counsellors, lawyers, doctors, educators and hotline volunteers). Troubled talk is rich in narrative discourse and figurative language.
To study how meaning is constructed at micro levels by participants in troubled talk and how these levels are related to broader macro levels of analysis in an interpretive interface, a heuristic process entitled the four-world model will be described. The construction of the model is inspired by a constructivist framework including functional approaches to discourse (i.e., narrative inquiry, anthropological linguistics and institutional conversation analysis), and by the author's research which has explored the contribution of organizing figurative phenomena (OFP) and positioning in the search for meaning. OFP constitutes the nucleus of the troubled narrative, it is conducive to problem presentation and it often enhances the negotiation of possible solutions in troubled communication (Kupferberg & Green, 2005).
The methodological framework will focus on a detailed description of the method procedures (i.e., the identification and interpretation of organizing figurative forms such as metaphors and similes) in terms of the four-world model with illustrative examples. It will also focus on guiding criteria for quality (Lincoln, 2002) and advantages and limitations of the method.
Action Research
* St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, City University, London, UK
** Institute of Health and Social Care, Anglia Polytechnic University, UK
*** Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia
Depending on the interests and wishes of participants, this workshop will potentially explore:
the principles of action research common models of working with action research the role of the researcher in action research different methods of data collection used the idea of research as an agent of change ethical issues in action research criteria to judge the quality of action research the advantages and disadvantages of action research
Participants who have extensive experience of action research will be encouraged to attend, alongside those who have limited or no knowledge of the methodology. The workshop will focus on generating learning through discussion and sharing experiences of research.
Advances in Mixed Methods Design
Faculty of Nursing and International Institute of Qualitative Methodology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
In this workshop we will discuss advances in mixed method design involving qualitative methods. First we will distinguish between multiple methods and mixed methods, and why mixed-method designs may present threats to validity. We will then discuss the notion of theoretical drive, and QUAL-quan and QUAN-qual simultaneous designs. Finally, we will discuss sequential designs: QUAL-quan (single sample, data transformation) and QUAL-quan and QUAN-qual two sample designs.
The Principles of QUAL-qual Mixed-Method Design
International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
In this workshop we will discuss the major principles for mixed methods design using two qualitative methods. We will determine the types of qualitative methods in which MM design is inherent (e.g., ethnography), when qualitative questions demand a MM, and the types of intra-project situations that require strategies from a second methods to be introduced. We will discuss problems of data collection (collect additional data vs reanalyzing available data), and the inter-relationship of the components.
Working with Vulnerable Groups: Challenges, Threats and Opportunities
* Academic Enquiry Support Unit, Faculty of Health, University of Central England and Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences, Birmingham, UK
** Academic Enquiry Support Unit, Faculty of Health, University of Central England, Birmingham, UK
*** Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences, Deventer, The Netherlands E-mail:
There is a wealth of literature regarding both theoretical and practical aspects of research design and implementation. However, in addition to the theoretical issues, when working with vulnerable groups additional challenges exist. This workshop will explore some of the key challenges, threats and opportunities that arise when working with such groups.
Researchers need to identify their own preconceived ideas and beliefs regarding the different groups that may be seen as “vulnerable,” as these may impact on, and bias any or all phases of a study. Therefore, the workshop will begin by considering some of the various definitions of vulnerability, the criteria which lead to a group being classified as such, and the implications these have for research design and implementation.
It is essential that every effort is made to ensure that methodologies that may appear both practical an appropriate when working with some groups do not become exploitative when working with individuals and groups who for whatever reason are not able, or willing to challenge researchers. Instead approaches need to be utilised that enable participants to work with researchers rather than be seen as passive subjects. Techniques need be developed that recognise the inherent powerbase that sits with the researcher, together with processes that can be used to redress the balance of power. Data collection and data analysis need to be considered.
Ethics may also present problems for researchers either because of the nature of the research and its impact on the group, or from the lack of a monitoring /ethics committee. In the latter case the responsibility of the researcher is increased as they must develop and evaluate their own strategies and procedures to protect participants.
The workshop will explore these key issues through consideration of examples from research conducted with a range of different groups including terminal palliative care, minority communities and mental health service users.
“Thinking” Leadership: A Phenomenological Workshop
* Faculty of Health and Environmental Science, Auckland University of Technology
** St Columba Church, Auckland E-mail:
Much leadership writing offers theories about how leaders should act and lists the required traits. Our research study, in contrast, went to respected leaders and asked them to talk about their everyday experience of leading. Our specific interest was in how they “think.” We argue that thinking is usually hidden, taken-for-granted and thus passed over. The philosophical writings of Heidegger, Gadamer, Buber and others informed the analysis of text.
The purpose of the workshop is to engage leaders in a reflective process of seeing afresh their own manner of “thinking” and recognising how that impacts on leadership. Further, this is an opportunity to dwell with related philosophical notions and poetry to await the coming of understanding.
This workshop does not talk about phenomenology; it is phenomenology. Participants will have opportunity to connect with their own experience of “being” a leader. Complex quotes from philosophers such as Heidegger will be brought to life through “showing.” Questions will be opened. Thinking will be set free.
The notion of thinking itself will also be explored. If we associate the word “mind” with thinking, how is it that leaders so often talk of gut feelings? We affirm Damascio's claim that thinking is not embrained, rather it is embodied. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their bodily experience of being “in thought.”
In-depth Interviewing Skills for Qualitative Research
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia E-mail:
This workshop will assist development of in-depth interviewing knowledge, skills and strategies.
In-depth interviews are one of the most common data collection approaches used for qualitative research. While generating quality data is fundamental to research excellence, at times scant attention is paid to methodological issues, skill development and ensuring rigour. Obtaining rich, credible and valid interview data requires careful planning related to ethical issues, organisation, strategies and techniques. Researchers also need to practice and reflect on the conduct of interviews to continue to develop interviewing skills.
In this workshop the participant will:
Review and discuss in-depth interview approaches, questioning techniques and skills Explore methodological, ethical and practical issues related to in-depth interviewing Examine examples and develop approaches to in-depth interviewing Examine the methodological contexts of using qualitative in-depth interviews as a method of data collection
Meeting NVivo 7: The New Qualitative Software
QSR International Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia E-mail:
This workshop offers a half day's demonstration and discussion of the just-launched new software for qualitative analysis, NVivo 7. The emphasis will be on discussion—about the ways qualitative researchers relate to their data through software, the challenges they find in software use, and the next stages of software tools.
No previous experience with qualitative software is necessary. The workshop is designed for those who have not used software at all, or have used it at any level.
The workshop will start with discussion about the uses and challenges of software, and how this new software design addresses these. The program then will take each part of the software, showing the very new interface, and discussing the different ways data can be handled and coded, new ways that relationships can be explored, the uses of links, new ways of storing information about cases and linking with quantitative data, and the processes of searching data and asking questions. A final section will discuss the uses of project merging, how it can work for teams and multi-site projects, and how it is done.
Participants will be given trial software and workshop materials. For information about the software, go to www.qsrinternational.com