Expanding on Notions of Ethical Risks to Qualitative Researchers

Although qualitative research ethics have typically focused on participant risk, there is a growing recognition that researchers themselves face ethical risks, including the emotional impacts of research on sensitive topics. There is still considerable room for discussion about what it means to conduct sensitive research and how researchers are impacted by such work. In my research about nursing work, I encountered unexpected ethical challenges. These situations included hearing and responding to disagreeable participant statements, listening to distressing stories, managing the high expectations of research participants in terms of the purpose and outcomes of the research, and facing my own potential professional marginalization because of the political nature of my research. By extant definitions, my research might not be considered sensitive. As well, I faced consequences beyond emotional harms. Thus, I propose a broadened understanding of sensitivities in research and their consequences in order to acknowledge the potential for researchers’ ethical distress in all qualitative research

Fokussierte Ethnografie: eine methodologische Adaptation für neue sozialwissenschaftliche Forschungskontexte

Ethnography is one of the oldest qualitative methods, yet increasingly, researchers from various disciplines are using and adapting ethnography beyond its original intents. In particular, a form of ethnography known as "focused ethnography" has emerged. However, focused ethnography remains underspecified methodologically, which has contributed to controversy about its essential nature and value. Nevertheless, an ever-evolving range of research settings, purposes, and questions require appropriate methodological innovation. Using the example of a focused ethnography conducted to study nurses' work experiences, this article will demonstrate how particular research questions, the attributes of certain cultural groups, and the unique characteristics of specific researchers compel adaptations in ethnography that address the need for methodological evolution while still preserving the essential nature of the method.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150111La etnografía es uno de los métodos cualitativos más antiguos, pero cada vez más, los investigadores de diversas disciplinas están utilizando y adaptando la etnografía más allá de sus propósitos originales. En particular, una forma de etnografía conocida como "etnografía enfocada". Sin embargo, la etnografía enfocada permanece sub-especificada metodológicamente, lo cual ha contribuido a la controversia acerca de su naturaleza esencial y valor. Sin embargo, entornos de investigación, propósitos y preguntas en constante evolución, requieren innovación metodológica adecuada. Utilizando el ejemplo de una etnografía enfocada, realizada para estudiar las experiencias de trabajo de un grupo de enfermeras, este artículo demostrará cómo preguntas de investigación específicas, atributos de ciertos grupos culturales y características únicas de investigadores específicos, demandan adaptaciones en la etnografía que abordan la necesidad de evolución metodológica a la vez que buscan preservar la naturaleza esencial del método.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150111Ethnografie ist eines der ältesten qualitativen Verfahren, das zunehmend von Forschenden unterschiedlicher Disziplinen auch jenseits des eigentlichen Entstehungskontextes genutzt wird. Dabei scheint insbesondere eine Variante, nämlich fokussierte Ethnografie  von Interesse, die jedoch methodologisch noch nicht hinreichend spezifiziert ist, gefolgt von Debatten um deren Charakter und Nutzbarkeit. Zugleich besteht mit Blick auf eine wachsende Zahl an Settings und Forschungszwecke Innovationsbedarf. Ich werde deshalb in diesem Beitrag am Beispiel einer Studie zu den Arbeitserfahrungen von Pflegekräften zu zeigen versuchen, in welcher Weise spezifische Forschungsfragen und Charakteristika aufseiten der Untersuchungsgruppe und der Forschenden Anpassungen und Weiterentwicklungen der ethnografischen Methode erforderlich machen, ohne allerdings den Kern der Methode aufzugeben.URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs15011

Toward a Moderate Autoethnography

Autoethnography is an avant-garde method of qualitative inquiry that has captured the attention of an ever-increasing number of scholars from a variety of disciplines. Personal experience methods can offer a new and unique vantage point from which to make a contribution to social science yet, autoethnography has been criticized for being self-indulgent, narcissistic, introspective, and individualized. Methodological discussions about this method are polarized. As an autoethnographer and qualitative methodologist with an interest in personal experience methods, I have had the opportunity to review several autoethnographic manuscripts over the years. As my reviews accumulated, I began to see themes in my responses and it became apparent that I was advocating for an approach to autoethnography that lies in contrast to the frequently offered methodological polemics from philosophically divergent scholars. In this article, I draw from the reviews I have done to address topics such as applications and purposes for autoethnography, the degree of theory and analysis used within the method, data sources and dissemination of findings, and ethical issues. I then connect the concerns I see in the reviewed manuscripts to examples in the autoethnographic literature. Ultimately, I propose a moderate and balanced treatment of autoethnography that allows for innovation, imagination, and the representation of a range of voices in qualitative inquiry while also sustaining confidence in the quality, rigor, and usefulness of academic research

Focused Ethnography: A Methodological Adaptation for Social Research in Emerging Contexts

Ethnography is one of the oldest qualitative methods, yet increasingly, researchers from various disciplines are using and adapting ethnography beyond its original intents. In particular, a form of ethnography known as "focused ethnography" has emerged. However, focused ethnography remains underspecified methodologically, which has contributed to controversy about its essential nature and value. Nevertheless, an ever-evolving range of research settings, purposes, and questions require appropriate methodological innovation. Using the example of a focused ethnography conducted to study nurses' work experiences, this article will demonstrate how particular research questions, the attributes of certain cultural groups, and the unique characteristics of specific researchers compel adaptations in ethnography that address the need for methodological evolution while still preserving the essential nature of the method. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs15011

Methods to Study the Myenteric Plexus of Rat Small Intestine

The close interaction between the enteric nervous system, microbiome, and brain in vertebrates is an emerging topic of recent studies. Different species such as rat, mouse, and human are currently being used for this purpose, among others. The transferability of protocols for tissue isolation and sample collection is not always straightforward. Thus, the present work presents a new protocol for isolation and sample collection of rat myenteric plexus cells for in vivo as well as in vitro studies. With the methods and chemicals described in detail, a wide variety of investigations can be performed with regard to normal physiological as well as pathological processes in the postnatal developing enteric nervous system. The fast and efficient preparation of the intestine as the first step is particularly important. We have developed and described a LIENS chamber to obtain optimal tissue quality during intestinal freezing. Cryosections of the flat, snap-frozen intestine can then be prepared for histological examination of the various wall layers of the intestine, e.g. by immunohistochemistry. In addition, these cryosections are suitable for the preparation of defined regions, as shown here using the ganglia of the mesenteric plexus. This specific tissue was obtained by laser microdissection, making the presented methodology also suitable for subsequent analyses that require high quality (specificity) of the samples. Furthermore, we present here a fully modernized protocol for the cultivation of myenteric neurons from the rat intestine, which is suitable for a variety of in vitro studies

Neuroprotective Effects of VEGF in the Enteric Nervous System

Although the enteric nervous system (ENS) functions largely autonomously as part of the peripheral nervous system (PNS), it is connected to the central nervous system (CNS) via the gut–brain axis. In many neurodegenerative diseases, pathological changes occur in addition to gastrointestinal symptoms, such as alpha-synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s disease, which are found early in the ENS. In both the CNS and PNS, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mediates neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects. Since the ENS with its close connection to the microbiome and the immune system is discussed as the origin of neurodegenerative diseases, it is necessary to investigate the possibly positive effects of VEGF on enteric neurons. Using laser microdissection and subsequent quantitative RT-PCR as well as immunohistochemistry, for the first time we were able to detect and localize VEGF receptor expression in rat myenteric neurons of different ages. Furthermore, we demonstrate direct neuroprotective effects of VEGF in the ENS in cell cultures. Thus, our results suggest a promising approach regarding neuroprotection, as the use of VEGF (may) prevent neuronal damage in the ENS

Analysis of neurogenesis during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis reveals pitfalls of bioluminescence imaging.

Bioluminescence imaging is a sensitive approach for longitudinal neuroimaging. Transgenic mice expressing luciferase under the promoter of doublecortin (DCX-luc), a specific marker of neuronal progenitor cells (NPC), allow monitoring of neurogenesis in living mice. Since the extent and time course of neurogenesis during autoimmune brain inflammation are controversial, we investigated neurogenesis in MOG-peptide induced experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) using DCX-luc reporter mice. We observed a marked, 2- to 4-fold increase of the bioluminescence signal intensity 10 days after EAE induction and a gradual decline 1-2 weeks thereafter. In contrast, immunostaining for DCX revealed no differences between EAE and control mice 2 and 4 weeks after immunization in zones of adult murine neurogenesis such as the dentate gyrus. Ex vivo bioluminescence imaging showed similar luciferase expression in brain homogenates of EAE and control animals. Apart from complete immunization including MOG-peptide also incomplete immunization with complete Freund´s adjuvant and pertussis toxin resulted in a rapid increase of the in vivo bioluminescence signal. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage was demonstrated 10 days after both complete and incomplete immunization and might explain the increased bioluminescence signal in vivo. We conclude, that acute autoimmune inflammation in EAE does not alter neurogenesis, at least at the stage of DCX-expressing NPC. Effects of immunization on the BBB integrity must be considered when luciferase is used as a reporter within the CNS during the active stage of EAE. Models with stable CNS-restricted luciferase expression could serve as technically convenient way to evaluate BBB integrity in a longitudinal manner