Novel insights into patients’ life-worlds: the value of qualitative research

Livingston et al.’s paper amply demonstrates the rich potential of qualitative methods to provide insight into the life-worlds of patients, and analysis of hitherto un(der)explored facets of mental and physical health conditions. The publication of their paper reflects increasing acknowledgement of the value of qualitative methods in medical research. At the same time as some medical publications have questioned the wider value and impact of qualitative research(1), health and social policy increasingly demand engagement with the voices and perspectives of patients (e.g. https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/putting-patients-at-the-heart-of-all-we-do/) – something only truly understood through qualitative inquiry. Through Livingston et al.’s research, we gain a moving insight into the experiences of compensatory strategies for people on the autism spectrum, those diagnosed as well as people who may be, but are not, diagnosed. Their study demonstrates the way the successful utilisation of “deep” compensatory strategies can obscure diagnosis and hinder access to reasonable adjustments in contexts like the workplace

Being both narrative practitioner and academic researcher: A reflection on what thematic analysis has to offer narratively informed research

What opportunities are there for narrative practitioners to engage in academic research whilst retaining an alignment with poststructuralist ideas, feminist commitments and narrative practice principles? This paper considers Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke’s model of thematic analysis (TA) as an approach which can overcome some of the tensions that arise when integrating both narrative practitioner and researcher stance. Drawing on one practitioner-researcher’s experience of navigating some of these dilemmas and incorporating a rich discussion of some of the heritages, understandings and intentions that underpin TA and its development, this paper seeks to assist, inform and encourage narrative practitioners who are reaching for approaches that offer a good fit for their research hopes and aims

Resisting and conforming to the ‘lesbian look’ : the importance of appearance norms for lesbian and bisexual women

Appearance is one way in which lesbian and bisexual identities and affiliation to lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) subculture can be demonstrated. ‘Butch’ and ‘androgynous’ styles have been used by lesbian women to communicate a non-heterosexual identity. However, some LGB appearance researchers have argued that there has been a mainstreaming and diversification of lesbian style in the last couple of decades, which has resulted in less distinction between lesbian and straight looks. This research draws on the Social Identity approach to explore contemporary style in lesbian and bisexual communities. Fifteen lesbian and bisexual women took part in semi-structured interviews which were analysed using thematic analysis. Although some participants reported a diversification of lesbian style, most used the term ‘butch’ to describe lesbian style, and a ‘boyish’ look was viewed as the most common contemporary lesbian style. By contrast, most participants could not identify distinct bisexual appearance norms. The data provide evidence of conflicting desires (and expectations) to visibly project social identity by conforming to specific lesbian styles, and to be an authentic, unique individual by resisting these subcultural styles

Supporting best practice in reflexive thematic analysis reporting in Palliative Medicine: A review of published research and introduction to the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (RTARG)

Background: Reflexive thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative research published in Palliative Medicine, and in the broader field of health research. However, this approach is often not used well. Common problems in published reflexive thematic analysis in general include assuming thematic analysis is a singular approach, rather than a family of methods, confusing themes and topics, and treating and reporting reflexive thematic analysis as if it is atheoretical. Purpose: We reviewed 20 papers published in Palliative Medicine between 2014 and 2022 that cited Braun and Clarke, identified using the search term ‘thematic analysis’ and the default ‘relevance’ setting on the journal webpage. The aim of the review was to identify common problems and instances of good practice. Problems centred around a lack of methodological coherence, and a lack of reflexive openness, clarity and detail in reporting. We considered contributors to these common problems, including the use of reporting checklists that are not coherent with the values of reflexive thematic analysis. To support qualitative researchers in producing coherent and reflexively open reports of reflexive thematic analysis we have developed the Reflexive Thematic Analysis Reporting Guidelines (the RTARG; in Supplemental Materials) informed by this review, other reviews we have done and our values and experience as qualitative researchers. The RTARG is also intended for use by peer reviewers to encourage methodologically coherent reviewing. Key learning points: Methodological incoherence and a lack of transparency are common problems in reflexive thematic analysis research published in Palliative Medicine. Coherence can be facilitated by researchers and reviewers striving to be knowing – thoughtful, deliberative, reflexive and theoretically aware – practitioners and appraisers of reflexive thematic analysis and developing an understanding of the diversity within the thematic analysis family of methods

Wearing a gay slogan t-shirt in the higher education classroom: A cautionary tale

© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015. Evidence from numerous studies suggests that homophobia and heterosexism remain common on university campuses. Since the 1970s LGBT academics have been encouraged to ‘put themselves on the line’ and ‘come out’ in the classroom, and in so doing empower LGBT students and provide them with positive role models. Wearing gay pride badges and t-shirts has been discussed as one way in which gay lecturers can come out and challenge homophobia. This paper explores psychology students’ reactions to a gay slogan t-shirt I wore in an undergraduate lecture, and considers whether wearing such t-shirts is an effective and productive way of challenging heterosexism and coming out in the classroom

(Mis)conceptualising themes, thematic analysis, and other problems with Fugard and Potts’ (2015) sample-size tool for thematic analysis

One of us (VC) was having a conversation with a student recently about the origins and history of thematic analysis (TA). The student had read Qualitative Research in Counselling and Psychotherapy (McLeod, 2011), a text which presents TA as a variant of grounded theory. Victoria commented that she thought that TA evolved from content analysis, and therefore predated grounded theory, and discussed her recent discovery of the use of a variant of TA in psychotherapy research in the 1930s-1950s. The student let out a heavy sigh and slumped in her chair, bemoaning her ability to ever fully grasp qualitative research in all its complexity. This reaction is not uncommon. Students learning and implementing qualitative research at times find it bewildering and challenging; simple models of ‘how to do things’ can appear to offer reassuring certainty. But simplified models, especially if based in confidently-presented-yet-partial accounts of the field or an approach, at best obfuscate and at worst lead to poor quality research. In our discipline (psychology), students typically learn about qualitative research only after they have been fully immersed in the norms, values and methods of scientific psychology. Many find it difficult to let go of what we call a ‘quantitative sensibility’. For such students, and others not well versed in a qualitative sensibility, Fugard and Potts’ (2015) tool for determining sample sizes in TA research has great intuitive appeal; it provides a life-raft to cling to in the sea of uncertainty that is qualitative research. Thus, we share Hammersley’s (2015) concerns that their tool will be used by funding bodies and others (e.g. editors, reviewers) to determine and evaluate sample sizes in TA research. We fear it will result in further confusion about, and further distortion of, the assumptions and procedures of qualitative research. We here build on concerns expressed by others (Byrne, 2015; Emmel, 2015; Hammersley, 2015) to briefly highlight why this quantitative model for qualitative sampling in TA is problematic, based on flawed assumptions about TA, and steeped in a quantitative logic at odds with the exploratory and qualitative ethos of much TA research

A Safety Transport Model for Validation of UK Coach Operators for School Journeys

Coaches are considered to be one of the safest modes of transport for children in the UK. In the last 10 years alone, 1191 children were injured in 371 coach crashes. Though the government has strict regulations to maintain road worthiness of the coaches, operator non-compliance was the major reason for these accidents. In last year alone, 137 coach operator licenses have been revoked due to operator non-compliance in the UK. Currently, there is no process to reliably mitigate the safety risks of children travelling by coaches. This has created a requirement to validate all the coach operators before using their coaches for school trips. This paper proposes a novel safety model for validation of coach operators prior to commencement of coach journeys

“Never Say Never?”: Heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women’s accounts of being childfree

Feminist scholars have identified a “motherhood imperative” in Western cultures, where heterosexual women are understood to both want, and have, children. However, social shifts have resulted in a decrease in pronatalism as well as an increase in social recognition of the parenting desires of same-sex parents. Despite a resurgence of interest in childfree identities, research to date has predominantly focused on heterosexual women’s explanations for being childfree and their experiences of marginalisation. Our aim in the current study was to explore how childfree heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and queer women negotiate their childfree lives and identities in the context of their personal and social relationships within changing cultural contexts. Data from 23 interviews with women in the United Kingdom, who responded to a call for childfree participants, were thematically analysed. We constructed two themes: 1) Never say never? Negotiating being childfree as ever precarious, shows how women constructed being childfree as requiring constant revisiting and renegotiating to maintain; 2) An ordinary life: Constructing being childfree as rational and reasonable, in which we identify the rhetorical efforts of participants to establish their being childfree as an ordinary, reasonable, and rational position. We conclude that for these women, childfreedom was constantly in flux and that maintaining a positive childfree identity required considerable identity work in order to manage intimate personal relationships and wider friendships