New frontiers in QLR: definition, design and display

Research that is attentive to temporal processes and durational phenomena is an important tradition within the social sciences internationally with distinct disciplinary trajectories. Qualitative longitudinal research emerged as a distinct methodological paradigm around the turn of the millennium, named within the UK through journal special issues, literature reviews and funding commitments. In 2012-3 the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods funded a network for methodological innovation to map ’New frontiers of QLR’, bringing together a group of scholars who have been actively involved in establishing QLR as a methodological field. The network provided an opportunity to consolidate the learning that has developed in QLR over a sustained period of investment and to engage critically with what QLR might mean in new times. This paper documents the series of discussions staged by the network involving the definition of QLR, the kinds of relationships and practices it involves and the consequences of these in a changing landscape for social research. The series was deliberately interdisciplinary ensuring that we engaged with the temporal perspectives and norms of different academic and practice traditions and this has both enriched and complicated the picture that has emerged from our deliberations. In this paper we argue that QLR is a methodological paradigm that by definition moves with the times, and is an ongoing site of innovation and experiment. Key issues identified for future development in QLR include: intervening in debates of ‘big data’ with visions of deep data that involve following and connecting cases over time; the potential of longitudinal approaches to reframe the ‘sample’ exploring new ways of connecting the particular and the general; new thinking about research ethics that move us beyond anonymity to better explore the meanings of confidentiality and the co-production of research knowledge; and finally the promotion of a QLR sensibility that involves a heightened awareness of the here and now in the making of knowledge, yet which also connects research biographically over a career, enriched by a reflexive understanding of time as a resource in the making of meaning

Qualitative secondary analysis in austere times: ethical, professional and methodological considerations

Recent debates in qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) have sought to move beyond polarising arguments in order to develop more nuanced perspectives on the epistemological, analytical and practical opportunities and challenges associated with its methods. This is generally to be welcomed, although there are also signs of unhelpful primary/secondary divisions finding new forms of expression. Focusing on definitional issues and wider contexts of QSA helps to explain the possible sources of ongoing tensions while affording tentative insights into potential opportunities and synergies across the primary/secondary spectrum. Building on work undertaken within the Timescapes Qualitative Longitudinal study, the article also highlights some under-examined costs and risks that may come along with new opportunities created by secondary analysis. Issues of over-privileging secondary analysis claims, making and the timing of qualitative secondary analysis are foregrounded as requiring further consideration if researchers are to take seriously lingering suspicions and fears about qualitative secondary analysis and not dismiss them as simply reactionary or self-serving

I’m not a tree hugger, I’m just like you’: changing perceptions of sustainable lifestyles

For many in the Western world there is increasing recognition of the fundamentally unsustainable nature of the everyday actions and modes of consumption that form part of normal life. Some individuals attempt to challenge current ways of consuming and living in order to address these underlying issues. However, these efforts often continue to be positioned as unusual or unconventional, meaning that adopting sustainable lifestyles may be subject to wider negative perceptions. At the same time, some forms of action toward sustainable ways of living are becoming increasingly normalised as more people make moves toward sustainable consumption. Drawing on data from the qualitative longitudinal Energy Biographies project, we consider the experiences of those who describe their efforts to live sustainably, the relationship between sustainability and normality, and what the implications of this might be in a context of fundamental trends toward unsustainable social systems

Examining the dynamics of energy demand through a biographical lens

It is widely recognized that a major challenge in low carbon transitioning is the reduction of energy consumption. This implies a significant level of transformationin our ways of living, meaning the challenge is one that runs deep into the fabric of our personal lives. In this article we combine biographical research approaches with concepts from Bourdieu's practice theory to develop understanding of processes of change that embed particular patterns of energy consumption. Through an analysis of "case biographies" we show the value of biographical methods for understanding the dynamics of energy demand

"Why aren't you at work?": negotiating economic models of fathering identity

Much has been made of the apparent trend toward men's greater involvement in fatherhood, suggesting moves toward more egalitarian couple relationships characterised by greater role-sharing. Yet alongside this it has also been argued that the breadwinner/provider role remains central to men's fatherhood identity and continues to be underlined by current policy. That providing apparently remains a central aspect of successful fatherhood subsequently raises potential challenges for men who experience unemployment. Presenting illustrative case study data from a qualitative longitudinal study, we explore how changes in occupational trajectories away from models of full-time working outside of the home hold implications for men's sense of competence or vulnerability, and how provider and involved carer positions are intertwined in men's fatherhood identities

Texturing waste: attachment and identity in every-day consumption and waste practices

Waste has often been a target of literature and policy promoting pro-environmental behaviour. However, little attention has been paid to how subjects interpret and construct waste in their daily lives. In this article we develop a synthesis of practice theory and psycho-social concepts of attachment and transitional space to explore how biographically patterned relationships and attachments to practice shape subjects' understandings of resource consumption and disposal. Deploying biographical interview data produced by the Energy Biographies Project, we illustrate how tangible, intersubjective and interdependent experiences rub up against cultural and behavioural norms, reshaping the meanings and strategies through which subjects interpret and manage waste

Asking about the future: methodological insights from energy biographies

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Social Research Methodology on 23 April 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13645579.2015.1029208Temporality is fundamental to qualitative longitudinal (QLL) research, inherent in the design of returning to participants over time, often to explore moments of change. Previous research has indicated that talking about the future can be difficult, yet there has been insufficient discussion of methodological developments to address these challenges. This paper presents insights from the Energy Biographies project, which has taken a QLL and multimodal approach to investigating how everyday energy use can be understood in relation to biographical pasts and imagined futures. In particular, we detail innovative techniques developed within the project (e.g. SMS photograph activities) to elicit data on anticipated futures, in ways that engender thinking about participants’ own biographical futures and wider societal changes. We conclude by considering some of the significant benefits and challenges such techniques present. These methodological insights have a wider relevance beyond the substantive topic for those interested in eliciting data about futures in qualitative research

Energy Biographies Research Report

Energy Biographies created a bespoke social science methodology that draws on insights from lifecourse studies, practice theory, and geographical studies of community and place. In bringing together these insights, it recognizes that what people do and how they understand themselves are multiply conditioned. Rather than simply being an outgrowth of more or less rational choices based on available information about the likely consequences of their actions, actions and beliefs are actively moulded by the technological infrastructure on which everyday life depends, the shared practices in which people are participants, the relationships and experiences which shape their biographies, and the evolution of the different communities (of place and of interest) in which they are located. Energy Biographies findings identify several overlooked influences on how energy use changes across the lifecourse and within different community contexts. They suggest that the dominant foci of policy on energy demand (e.g. technology-enabled changes in individual behaviour) may be misplaced, and offers openings towards alternative pathways for change