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Resilience has become a popular way to promote health and wellbeing, not just among patients but also healthcare and social care professionals coping with heavy workloads and stressful environments. Commonly defined as the ability to bounce back while living or working in adverse, challenging or disadvantaged contexts, resilience is seen as a resource for individuals and communities, as well as a way to tackle inequalities. This paper explores these concerns for primary care and community healthcare practitioners. Drawing on a research dataset from south east England, we show how learning about resilience affects practitioners' work and their own resilience. Using practice-based theories to understand these effects, the paper discusses these increasingly resilient practitioners and how their actions or 'resilient moves' might promote change to tackle health and social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Heuristic inquiry is a research approach that improves understanding of the essence of an experience. This qualitative method relies on researchers' ability to discover and interpret their own experience while exploring those of others. Aim To present a discussion of heuristic inquiry's methodology and its application to the experience of nurse migration. Discussion The researcher's commitment to the research is central to heuristic inquiry. It is immersive, reflective, reiterative and a personally-affecting method of gathering knowledge. Researchers are acknowledged as the only people who can validate the findings of the research by exploring their own experiences while also examining those of others with the same experiences to truly understand the phenomena being researched. This paper presents the ways in which the heuristic process guides this discovery in relation to traditional research steps. Conclusion Heuristic inquiry is an appropriate method for exploring nurses' experiences of migration because nurse researchers can tell their own stories and it brings understanding of themselves and the phenomenon as experienced by others. Implications for practice Although not a popular method in nursing research, heuristic inquiry offers a depth of exploration and understanding that may not be revealed by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Intensive care unit survivors face many physical and psychological difficulties during their recovery following discharge from hospital. These difficulties can significantly affect their quality of life. Healthcare providers and survivors' families often do not understand what recovery means in this population, which may affect the support provided. Aim To consider the potential of the biographical method in helping to create stories that illustrate recovery in intensive care survivors and other populations. Discussion This paper identifies how the biographical approach has provided survivors with a way to uncover the hidden parts of their lives through diaries and interviews, and reveal the hidden stories of intensive care survivorship and recovery. Conclusion The application of the biographical method enabled stories to be created that identified the disruption survivors encounter as they struggle to appear recovered. Implications for practice The biographical method can illuminate experiences uncaptured by other methods. This insight into recovery journeys can help healthcare practitioners and family members to understand and recognise the need for support during recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Pilot studies can play an important role in qualitative studies. Methodological and practical issues can be shaped and refined by undertaking pilots. Personal development and researchers' competence are enhanced and lessons learned can inform the development and quality of the main study. However, pilot studies are rarely published, despite their potential to improve knowledge and understanding of the research. Aim To present the main lessons learned from undertaking a pilot in a qualitative PhD study. Discussion This paper draws together lessons learned when undertaking a pilot as part of a qualitative research project. Important methodological and practical issues identified during the pilot study are discussed including access, recruitment, data collection and the personal development of the researcher. The resulting changes to the final study are also highlighted. Conclusion Sharing experiences of and lessons learned in a pilot study enhances personal development, improves researchers' confidence and competence, and contributes to the understanding of research. Implications for practice Pilots can be used effectively in qualitative studies to refine the final design, and provide the researcher with practical experience to enhance confidence and competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To review strategies for successful recruitment in small-scale, qualitative research in primary care by exploring those used in a variety of settings and providing a reflective analysis of the strategies used in one such study. Background Recruitment of participants in small-scale, qualitative research in primary care is problematic. Researchers need to be more aware of the issues involved, but there is little practical guidance available to help them devise efficient strategies for maximising recruitment. Data sources This paper draws on a study conducted in the Highlands of Scotland examining the emotional wellbeing of pregnant and non-pregnant women. This was a qualitative study using diaries and interviews over a period of nine months. Ten women were recruited over a period of more than two years. Review methods The author reviews the strategies for successful recruitment based on both a review of the available literature as well as the experience of one study. Discussion Recruitment of subjects to a study is one of the major elements of a research proposal and requires significant effort, yet there is little to guide researchers through this difficult process. The challenge of recruitment is seldom debated and studies rarely report problems encountered or outline approaches that proved particularly successful. The importance of successful recruitment is discussed and the arguably typical recruitment difficulties encountered by researchers conducting a study in the Highlands of Scotland are outlined. The elements that comprised successful recruitment in this and other studies are appraised. Conclusion Although focused specifically on recruitment in small-scale, qualitative studies in primary care, this paper raises broader issues about the recruitment of participants in all types of research. Recruitment has implications for the trustworthiness and dependability of the data and hence the findings of research. Despite this, there remains a lack of evidence about what enhances research recruitment, leaving researchers to rely on guesswork and anecdotes. In a climate of evidence-based practice, researchers should be encouraged to include a formal evaluation of recruitment strategies in their studies and to report their findings. Implications for practice/research As recruitment has implications for the trustworthiness and dependability of research, researchers need to consider a wide range of recruitment strategies and include a formal evaluation of their recruitment strategies when reporting on their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To identify the challenges associated with using journaling as a method of data collection and to offer strategies for effectively managing those challenges. Background While journaling can be used for a variety of reasons, in the context of this paper, journaling refers to the process of participants sharing thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences through writing and/or other media. Journaling is used in phenomenological research studies to record participant experiences in their natural contexts. Data sources The findings are based on the experiences of the researchers during a qualitative study that explored the experiences of lesbian mothers and used journaling as one method of data collection. Review methods This is a methodological paper. Discussion Three main challenges affect journaling as a method of data collection: poor participation, feeling exposed and staying on track. Six strategies to promote participation in journaling are: coaching participants, limiting the journaling period, providing follow-up contact, promoting comfort, ensuring safety and providing clear content expectations. Each strategy is discussed and methods of implementing the strategies are offered. Conclusion Journaling as a method of data collection has long been accepted as a valid method of accessing rich qualitative data. By acknowledging the common challenges associated with the process of journaling that are experienced by the participants, researchers employing this data collection method can promote constructive and valuable participation. Implications for future research Further research examining participants' experiences of journaling as a method of qualitative data collection would be useful in determining challenges, barriers and benefits of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This paper seeks to add to the debate regarding children as researchers by exploring the reality of their participation in research. Background As the role children and young people play in knowledge building is recognised, their position as social agents is evolving. This has led to a shift in the ways in which children and young people participate in research, and in particular in their roles as researchers alongside adults. Data sources Two participatory research projects involving children and young people. Review methods The paper critiques existing models of children's participation and is followed by an account of observations made during the research projects. Discussion Existing models offered a variety of criteria against which to measure participation. However, none of the models allowed for the multidimensional nature of participation that emerged from the data to be fully described. Conclusion A dual-axis model of participation is more useful than the other models described in the text for reflecting on participatory processes. Implications for practice/research The model can be valuable in guide planning and implementing participatory research with children and also as a tool for evaluating the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To reflect on the experiences of nurses performing ethnographic fieldwork in three studies. Background: The application of ethnography to nursing research requires discussion about nurses’ experiences of ethnographic fieldwork. This article examines some of the dilemmas that arise during the research process. Data sources: Three ethnographic studies conducted by the authors in the south and southeast of Brazil. Excerpts from field diaries created during each research are presented at the end of each topic discussed. Review methods: This is a reflexive paper that explores the nurses’ experience in ethnographic fieldwork. Discussion: This article discusses the main tasks involved in ethnographic research, including defining the study aim, reading and understanding anthropological theoretical bases, and setting a timeframe for the study. The article also discusses the idiosyncrasies of the cultural contexts studied, the bureaucracy that may be confronted when gaining access to the field, the difficulty of transforming the familiar into the strange, why ethnocentric perspectives should be avoided, and the anthropological doubt that places the ethnographer in the position of apprentice. It also discusses the importance of listening to others, reflexivity and strategies to stay in the field. Conclusions: For researchers, ethnographic fieldwork can be a rite of passage, but one that provides invaluable experiences that emphasise the value of relationships based on dialogue, reflexivity and negotiation. Implications for practice/research: The main tasks undertaken in ethnographic research discussed in this article could contribute to the nurse’ experience of conducting ethnographic fieldwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To present a novice researcher's use of a reflective research diary in the quantitive measure of a mixed methods study and to recommend resulting changes to practice. Background Reflexivity is often regarded as a useful tool for ensuring the standard of qualitative research. Reflexivity provides transparent information about the positionality and personal values of the researcher that could affect data collection and analysis; this research process is deemed to be best practice. A reflective research diary also allows researchers to record observations about the research process. However, such diaries are rarely used in quantitative research and are even contraindicated. Data sources A reflective research diary maintained while conducting a retrospective audit of 150 hospice casenotes. Review methods A reflective research diary was written at the end of every research session to keep a detailed history of the research process and to critically reflect on the researcher's thoughts, feelings and observations on the day's work. Discussion This paper raises questions about whether reflexivity is appropriate in quantitative research, whether it has the capacity to add something of value or whether it endangers the robustness of the method. The authors consider the place of grounded theory's commitment to reflexivity in this mixed-methods study and discuss whether reflexivity offers any benefits to researcher development. Conclusion Use of reflexivity had a positive impact on the progress of the quantitative measure of this study: it enabled work to be reviewed efficiently and served to inform future research practice. Reflexivity stimulated the acquisition of researcher skills and contributed positively to the development of confidence in the novice researcher. Implications for research/practice Reflexivity in quantitative research practice can be an effective, ongoing means of critically reviewing work, process and researcher development. Reflexivity is recommended to other quantitative researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]