Experienced qualitative researchers’ views on teaching students qualitative research design

Abstract

The increasing prominence of qualitative inquiry in psychological research has been accompanied by reflection on teaching and learning practices within undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses. To date, there is limited empirical understanding of how experienced qualitative researchers approach teaching students about qualitative research design. The present study draws on interviews with qualitative researchers (N = 12) from multiple disciplines, occupying various positions within academia. Using thematic analysis, seven themes were developed, under the superordinate theme present qualitative research as a legitimate approach to enquiry. The themes illuminate practical pedagogical implications for teaching qualitative research, including introducing qualitative research in bite-sized chunks and initiating students to qualitative inquiry through foundational methods. The findings contextualise the teaching of qualitative methods as a site of multiple tensions, for example, balancing pragmatism and idealism, and providing structure to students while enabling flexibility. Educators and supervisors of qualitative research navigate these tensions in their teaching practice to provide students with what they see as the best possible learning experiences. We call for further research to build a profile of evidence-based pedagogical practice for teaching qualitative research, while also acknowledging the fluidity needed to embrace changing epistemologies, methodologies, methods, and data sources.

STEAM approach to enhance the creativity of students with special needs in inclusive primary schools

“…The four-stage research procedure-planning, implementation, observation, and reflection-serves as a methodical framework that researchers follow to conduct meaningful and organized studies. In the planning stage, researchers meticulously define the scope of their research [23], formulate research questions [24], and devise a detailed plan outlining the methodology and data collection techniques [25]. This phase acts as the roadmap, guiding researchers throughout the study, and involves a thorough literature review to understand the existing body of knowledge [26].…”

Understanding interaction rituals: The impact of interaction ritual chains of the live broadcast on people’s wellbeing

“…Qualitative research methods are one of the mainstream research methods in psychology ( Del Rio Carral and Tseliou, 2019 ; Diwanji et al, 2020 ; Castell et al, 2022 ) and have the advantage of allowing observation and communication with research subjects in a more natural setting, facilitating observation and understanding of their behaviors, attitudes, and motivations from their perspective ( Knox and Burkard, 2009 ; Trafimow, 2014 ) and are well suited for this study to explore why people’s viewing of Netflix live streams can produce wellbeing in the context of COVID-19.…”

Methods Despite or Without Content? Reflections on Teaching Qualitative Research

“…There is an abundance of scholarship on teaching qualitative research in higher education within diverse contexts and a variety of fields. As examples, published works offer teachers of qualitative research advice on best practice (Swaminathan & Mulvihill, 2018; Wagner et al, 2019) often specifically within online learning environments (Bender & Hill, 2016; Phillips et al, 2021), narratives with pedagogical guidance on qualitative inquiry from experienced researchers (Castell et al, 2022; Roulston et al, 2018; Ulmer et al, 2019), and encouragement for instructors to expand their pedagogical thinking outside of the “typical” to encourage diverse ways of thinking in both themselves and their students (Beuving & DeVries, 2020; Guyotte & Kuntz, 2018; Roulston & Bhattacharya, 2018). There also exists robust literature involving the theorizing of qualitative inquiry as a series of practices and processes extending from philosophical assumptions and values (Freeman, 2017; Jackson & Mazzei, 2012; Preissle & deMarrais, 2015).…”