[First Paragraph] The rapidly developing interest in qualitative methods in psychology (defined as interpretative studies of specific issues or problems in which the researcher is central to the sense that is made – Elliott, Fischer, & Rennie, 1999) is currently being paralleled by students’ use of qualitative methods in final year research projects, which is itself a piece of independent research required for programme accreditation by the British Psychological Society. Whilst most students produce qualitative projects of a good standard, there is evidence that both students and supervisors of such research experience demands specific to this methodology

Hugh-Jones, S.

Madill, A.

English

White Rose Research Online

This is a repository copy of Can group work assist independent work? Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’ .White Rose Research Online URL for this paper:http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1499/Article:Hugh-Jones, S. and Madill, A. (2005) Can group work assist independent work? Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’. University of Leeds Learning and Teaching Bulletin, 10. eprints@whiterose.ac.ukhttps://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. University of Leeds, Learning and Teaching Bullet in, I ssue No. Ten October 2005 Can group w ork  assist  independent  w ork? Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’  Dr Siobhan Hugh- Jones and Dr Anna Madill,  I nst itute of Psychologica l Science The rapidly developing interest  in qualita t ive m ethods in psychology ( defined as interpreta t ive studies of specif ic issu es or  problem s in w hich the researcher  is cent ra l to the sense that  is m ade  –  Elliot t , Fischer , &  Rennie, 1 9 9 9 )  is current ly being para lle led by students ’ use of qualita t ive m ethods in f ina l year  research projects, w hich is i tse lf  a  piece of independent  research required fo r  program m e accredita t ion by the Br it ish Psychologica l Society.  W hilst  m ost  students  produce qualita t ive projects of a  good standard, there is evidence that  both students  and supervisors of such research expe r ience dem ands specif ic to this m ethodology.  Student  anx iety w ith qualita t ive m ethods Following a nat ional workshop exploring the supervision of undergraduate qualitat ive research, Madill,  Gough, Lawton and St rat ton ( in press)  report  that  students experience anxiety around their abilit y to deploy qualitat ive methods despite teaching on and pract ice in such methods at  Levels 1 and 2. This is echoed in supervisors' concerns about  student  preparedness for designing qualitat ive research, interviewing part icipants and conduct ing qualitat ive analyses, which often t ranslate into heavy t im e-demands on both final year students and their supervisors. Student  sat isfact ion w ith supervision The project  supervision system  within the Departm ent  of Psychology at  Leeds is typical of most  UK psychology departm ents in offer ing one- to-one project  supervision with final year students. Student  feedback (June 2005)  evidences sat isfact ion with the supervision process;  students, however, also report  anxiety about  their projects and a need for m ore reassurance about  their project  m anagem ent  and further opportunit ies to ‘chat  through’ their  progress. Seek ing to enhance the exper ience Whilst  the Department  is ent irely sat isfied with the qualit y and quant ity of supervision to final year students (many students report  supervision as ‘excellent ’ and supervision is part  of the Departm ent ’s teaching observat ion system ) , there is a case for seeking to enhance the student  experience, and potent ially the final writ ten product , in relat ion to project  work. We are seeking to achieve this by establishing, m onitor ing and evaluat ing ReGrouP (Research Groups in Psychology) , a series of t r ial discussion groups to facilitate peer interact ion in the White Rose Consortium ePrints Repository: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/archive/1499/design, im plem entat ion and analysis of qualitat ive project  work. The project , running from  October 2005, has received funding from  the Higher Educat ion Academ y Psychology Network, under its Departm ental Teaching Enhancem ent  Schem e. Collaborat ive w ork  is good for  students Despite student  caut ion about  group work, there is evidence that  when students part icipate as stakeholders, the reported benefit  is high. Mitchell-William s et  al (2004)  report  that  collaborat ive work, rather than dilut ing the research experience, cont r ibutes to students’ ownership of their projects. They become more responsible for absorbing ideas and processes useful to their own project  (McMichael, 1992)  without  having to ‘surrender power to the experts’ (Ashworth, 2004, p 157) . Aim s of the group w ork  project  As well as enhancing student  learning, the groups aim  to prom ote the development  and subsequent  art iculat ion of research skills (e.g. interviewing, data analysis)  and group skills (e.g. managing crit icism , progressing a discussion, etc) .  The t im ings and aim s of the discussion groups reflect  both the pivotal t im es in the research process and the usual focus of one- to-one supervision meet ings. A sample of these groups will be systemat ically observed over the year and, in conjunct ion with form al student  feedback and focus groups, the researchers hope to isolate how students:  • engage with group work whilst  m aintaining responsibilit y and ownership of personal project  work;   • manage group discussions that  require a disclosure of independent , personal work;   • seek and receive peer feedback on their work;  steer group discussions to a level at  which they can part icipate in and benefit  from ;   • evidence learning that  occurs through the discussion;  ut ilise group work to enhance their own research;   • combine the learning available in one- to-one supervision with that  available through group work.  The groups will run throughout  the current  academ ic year, and analysis of group act ivity will be conducted by the end of Sum mer 2006. The outcomes of the study will be available by Septem ber 2006. References Ashworth, P. (2004)  Understanding as the t ransform at ion of what  is already known. Teaching in Higher Educat ion, 9 (2) . Elliot t , R., Fischer, C.T. & Rennie, D.L. (1999) . Evolving guidelines for publicat ion of qualitat ive research studies in psychology and related fields. Brit ish Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 215-229. McMichael, P. (1992)  Tales of the unexpected:  supervisors’ and students’ perspect ives on short - term  projects and dissertat ions. Educat ional Studies, 18 (3) ,  299-310. Madill,  A., Gough,B., Lawton, R., & St rat ton, P. ( in press) . How should we supervise qualitat ive projects? The Psychologist . Mitchell-Wiliam s, Z., Wilkins, P., McClean, M., Nevin, W., Wastell,  K. & Wheat , R. (2004)  The im portance of the personal element  in collaborat ive research, Educat ional Act ion Research, 12 (3) . If you wish to contact the authors of this article you can do so by email on S.Hugh-Jones@leeds.ac.uk and A.L.Madill@leeds.ac.uk  

Can group work assist independent work?

Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’

The rapidly developing interest in qualitative methods in psychology (defined as interpretative studies of specific issues or problems in which the researcher is central to the sense that is made – Elliott, Fischer, &amp; Rennie, 1999) is currently being paralleled by students ’ use of qualitative methods in final year research projects, which is itself a piece of independent research required for programme accreditation by the British Psychological Society. Whilst most students produce qualitative projects of a good standard, there is evidence that both students and supervisors of such research experience demands specific to this methodology. Student anxiety with qualitative methods Following a national workshop exploring the supervision of undergraduate qualitative research, Madill, Gough, Lawton and Stratton (in press) report that students experience anxiety around their ability to deploy qualitative methods despite teaching on and practice in such methods at Levels 1 and 2. This i

Can group work assist independent work? Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’

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