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Despite being subject to criticism, qualitative research methodology remains a unique and valuable approach in collecting rich and informative data. However, this may vary from one context to another and researchers understanding of the context. Grounded on the decolonization notion of qualitative research, this paper explains leeways and obstacles in conducting research, reflecting upon the procedural and practical aspects that represent the reality in Tanzania based on two cases. Our paper emphasizes that it is essential to understand and capture the real-world reflective of the voices of the population whom the study targets, which may be easier for local/native researchers. This is because the local/native researchers may be able to explain the research processes and findings in consideration of the socio-cultural settings and political environment. The paper acknowledges that qualitative research requires patience and time, which may have financial implications. It also acknowledges that some populations are facing research fatigue exacerbated by inadequate research dissemination plans. Understanding the context of the study area or topic and applying appropriate methodological approaches to overcome obstacles and gather required adequate and relevant information is thus of importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following trends are not limited to the fashion and beauty industry. Many researchers in papers, master's degree thesis, and PhD dissertations prefer to solve domain questions or problems with research methodologies previously used by others in the field, mainly, case study research in operations management and technology management studies. This paper is about to stress on adding design research methodology (DRM) as a very useful and practical methodology in management studies that can meet the main aim and concern facing researchers in management studies: produce and develop practical domain knowledge which meets the rigor and relevance functions of the research. This study unlocks all the aspects of DRM and represents a methodological perspective, and sheds light on the reasoning behind why and how DRM should be used more as a methodology in management studies in general, and operations and technology management specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Realist evaluation is increasingly utilised across disciplines due to the value of identifying which mechanisms may explain how, and why, particular outcomes are generated in specific contexts. In theory, realist evaluation provides a tangible way to analyse the inherent complexity in many pressing societal challenges. Realist evaluation encourages a mixed methods approach and choosing a suite of methods that are most relevant within a specific project. Yet, navigating a plurality of methods with abstract philosophical concepts brings operational challenges such that, further methodological guidance is needed. Research processes can be opaque and although the relativist epistemology in realist evaluation is acknowledged, the role of the researcher within the research is often unclear. Reflexivity broadly concerns the overt practice to consider how subjective perspective is intertwined in knowledge production. Reflexivity has been a peripheral consideration in realist evaluation to date and this paper outlines what reflexivity entails, how it enhances integrity to realist principles, and practical ways to exercise it. Through a realist lens the evaluation process is itself subject to the impact of mechanisms and reflexivity provides the apparatus to guard against tunnel vision, undertake robust theory generation and adjudication and increase one's awareness of the influence of personal and organisational entities on research processes and outputs. We conclude with a call to action to the realist community to mobilise reflexivity in a consistent and explicit manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of migration research, the frequency of employing qualitative walking interviews has risen in recent years to delve into the construction, evolution, and negotiation mechanisms of migrant identities within everyday spatial practices. This novel mobile method emphasizes the interaction between micro-experience and macro-structure. It facilitates a shift away from viewing migrants as passive outsiders, empowering them with increased agency, and allow researchers to gain deeper insights into migrants' emotional dynamics, life experiences, and self-identification within new social landscapes and power configurations. This systematic review aims to evaluate, integrate, and analyse the current empirical evidence in qualitative migration research using walking/go-along interviews for different types of migrants (defined as an individual who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons). This review brings together for the first time the knowledge and insights from migration research that involves walking interviews. This review employs framework synthesis to analyse the 24 included articles, identifying five major themes: (1) synergising diverse research methods within different research designs; (2) adjustment of power dynamics; (3) migrants' place-based threefold agency; (4) migrants' identity construction; (5) place-based sense of belonging or exclusion. By integrating these themes, the methodological contribution of this review lies in recognizing the advantages of combining walking interviews with other research methods, which lies in capturing the multidimensional aspects of mobility, allowing researchers to flexibly switch between methodological strategies and spatial scales. Additionally, this paper recommends a deeper exploration of migratory experiences to transcend prevailing practical knowledge and pay sensitive attention to potential ethical issues throughout the research. Such investigation has the potential to uncover the dynamic evolution of agency, identity construction, and the fluctuating sense of belonging among various migrants throughout their journey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we engage in productive resistance through exploring the application of an arts-based method in expanding the critical research methodology repertoire in the profession of speech-language pathology. There is a specific focus on the value of painting in the data representation process. We explore how a playful, creative analysis deepened the critical interpretative meaning-making process. In particular, we explain how artful representations in the data analysis process can broaden communication in research beyond the written modality to generate alternative knowledges. We use the concepts of productive ambiguity and unknowing as key conceptual tools to reimagine the data analysis process with particular focus on the process of data representation. We conclude that embracing the uncertainty of creative ways of knowing create possibilities for new meanings and knowledges to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As researchers in communication sciences and related disciplines continue to embrace qualitative research methodologies, there will be a corresponding need for innovative methods and strategies for data collection and generation, reflexivity and knowledge translation to make qualitative research methods more inclusive. Historically, those who communicate differently from the status quo have been excluded from or spoken for in qualitative research. The resulting omission of these perspectives in the literature constitutes a critical research-to-practice gap as clinicians seek to deliver client-focused communication care. Arts-Based Research (ABR) offers researchers a means of augmenting potentially linguistically and cognitively demanding verbal interviews while inviting participants to share a window into their daily lives with researchers and knowledge users. Additionally, ABR offers participants alternative forms of expression and creates avenues for researcher reflexivity and participant-researcher reflexive dialogue. To illustrate how ABR can enhance communication research, we present reflections on a study that incorporated multi-media artistic materials in a reflexive arts-based collective case study design. Working with young people experiencing post-concussion communication changes, we used arts-based materials collected and created by participants to support and enhance data collection. These materials were analyzed as part of each case, across cases, and played a central role in sharing our findings. Additionally, arts-based materials facilitated participant-researcher reflexive dialogue and researcher reflexivity. The goals of this paper are to: 1) provide a brief overview of ABR as a method for researchers interested in communication; 2) discuss four ways to incorporate ABR in the research process; 3) provide a case example illustrating different types of creative works to illustrate the four ways ABR can enhance communication research; and 4) discuss benefits, considerations and implications of using ABR to support inclusive research design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reimagines the use of sensitizing concepts in a grounded theory variant titled as the Constructivist-Critical Grounded Theory Method. Generally taken as one of the starting points of a research inquiry, employing sensitizing concepts is one of the initial strategies that grounded theorists (and by extension qualitative researchers) rely on; the underlying assumption being that researchers do not enter a research site tabula rasa. The approach becomes problematic when grounded theory is used in the critical paradigm. Most literature (on grounded theory or qualitative research methodology) skims over sensitizing concepts. By foregrounding the same, this paper endeavors to achieve three main objectives: it points to the oft neglected paradigmatic genesis of the device and situates it within the qualitative approach before contextualizing it in grounded theory. In doing so, a close epistemological and methodological link with in vivo codes is made; this is done by teasing out the language aspect. Finally, a reference to two broad strands in the way that sensitizing concepts are used, caps the argument; one conforms to the Blumerian version and the other one to the Bulmerian. This paper shows that the former is suitable for acritical grounded theory research, whereas the latter for critical under which Constructivist-Critical Grounded Theory falls. The paper argues for grounded theory working in the critical paradigm to enter the site with an informed theoretical perspective rather than loosely framed sensitizing concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video-Reflexive Ethnography (VRE) is an innovative and participatory research and improvement methodology that involves videoing in-situ work practices and collaboratively analysing this footage with participants during reflexive sessions. This involves participants 'slowing down', engaging reflexively with their everyday working practices, and taking time out to discuss issues collectively. VRE has increasingly been used across a range of different healthcare settings. However, one setting that has received less attention is the Acute Medical Unit (AMU). AMUs are busy short-stay hospital departments with very high patient throughput and large multidisciplinary teams where patients receive initial assessment, diagnosis and treatment before being moved to other wards or settings. The aim of this study was to examine how VRE as a research and improvement methodology can be applied, in the busy and complex setting of an AMU. In this paper we outline some of the methodological challenges encountered in this setting and discuss how these were transformed into opportunities and solutions. Then, we evaluate our work by using the four guiding principles at the heart of VRE (care, collaboration, reflexivity and exnovation) to test if, and how, the methodology can be used in such a complex and busy setting without losing its methodological rigor and impact. We show how it is possible to initiate and achieve the core principles of VRE in the complex and busy AMU setting through careful planning, constant revision of data collection methods, remaining highly flexible and adaptable to the spatial and temporal rhythms of the ward and being sensitive to hierarchical inter- and intra-professional relationships and vulnerabilities. Finally, we share recommendations for using VRE in other busy and complex settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoice is a qualitative, participatory research method with great potential for increased use across settings and disciplines in sub-Saharan Africa. The method originated over 30 years ago with two women researchers in reproductive health and has since been used across disciplines in diverse settings globally. Despite its origin within the social and cultural contexts of China in 1992, the method has been used predominantly in settings in the global North and West. There is ample opportunity to employ the method in sub-Saharan African contexts as a powerful, versatile research method. This paper highlights the current use of the photovoice research method in sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on Uganda. We aim to demystify photovoice and advocate for more use of the method as a participatory approach in tackling major current transdisciplinary challenges across the globe. We introduce the method, describe the historical and philosophical underpinnings, illustrate use of the method through two examples of our photovoice research in Uganda, and discuss its challenges and benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to teaching and research in universities. This has prompted the publication of a considerable number of studies, frameworks, and guidelines on teaching adaptations. Less has been written on adaptations to empirical research projects, partly because such projects have been put on hold or redesigned entirely. This paper reflects on adaptations made, challenges encountered, and lessons learned while persisting with a qualitative study involving parents, teachers, tutors, and university academics during the second and third waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong in 2020. Specifically, we reflect on the reconsideration of research design and instruments, negotiation of different kinds of access to research sites and participants, optimization of existing data sources, streamlining of data collection approaches, and consideration of the mental well-being of both researchers and respondents. The paper includes lessons learned from the use of Zoom, WhatsApp Messenger, and phone calls as technological tools, and hashtag search on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Special consideration is given to the unexpected benefits of doing research during the pandemic and the convenience of using technology and adaptability approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive and sexual health of women are sensitive areas of enquiry characterized by strong cultural oppression of women. Body mapping, an arts-based participatory research method, has proven useful in research with such sensitive topics. In this paper, I describe my experience of researching women's experience of childbirth through birth maps, an adaptation of body mapping. Live size maps were co-created along with birthing story and body key with women in Bihar, India. Body mapping is a very cost-effective method that ensures better recall, richer narratives, reduced power-based inequalities that enables to explore reproductive, maternal & sexual health topics respectfully. The birth map and birthing story can generate awareness about how women give birth, as an attempt to improve the quality and respectfulness in care provision during labour and childbirth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bracketing (also called epoche) is fundamental in phenomenological philosophy and is a widely recognized practice in phenomenological and other qualitative research methodologies. Bracketing definitions, types, and procedures still generate debate among contemporary phenomenological methodologists and other qualitative researchers. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the dialogue about the topic of bracketing with empirical research on one of its forms. In this study, we analyzed self-reflection reports of doctoral students who had engaged in a bracketing interview and subsequent group analysis. Our results show that the bracketing process can be an educational and revelatory experience for the novice researcher including heightening awareness of their presuppositions and other commonly discussed benefits in the literature. An unanticipated finding includes the powerful effect of bracketing as a springboard to developing a researcher identity. Being understood and validated by the research group was a unique experience for participants that helped to dispel student feelings of being an impostor and/or inadequately prepared to conduct doctoral research. Implications for improving the bracketing process for novice researchers include clear communication prior to bracketing and explicit instruction on research journaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational research has sometimes been criticized for its seeming lack of relevance to classroom reality and its subsequent inability to inform pedagogical practices. Such criticism has prompted researchers to consider research methods that may better approximate reality. Among these methods, photo-elicitation interviews (PEI) offer a visual dimension to elicit lived experiences, feelings, and thoughts in real educational contexts, and to enhance researchers' understanding of educational practitioners' and students' experiences in real classrooms and school communities. This review examines the application of PEI to explore educational practitioners' and students' lived experiences and perceptions in educational contexts. Specifically, this paper examines the existing educational studies adopting PEI in order to identify the affordances of the method, the challenges it has presented for researchers in the education field, and critical considerations for researchers who may be planning to use the method. Specifically, this review addresses the following three questions: 1. What has PEI contributed to previous investigations of participants' lived experiences and perceptions in educational contexts? 2. What methodological challenges have previous researchers encountered when utilizing PEI? and 3. How can methodological concerns be addressed when designing and implementing PEI to understand participants' lived experiences and perceptions? We provide an up-to-date critical examination and discussion of PEI to better inform researchers seeking to develop the use of the method in future investigations in the education field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fat studies is a field of study that provides critiques and disrupts western biomedical assumptions about fatness. Various methodologies are taken up within the field of fat studies; however, arts-based methods offer unique and distinct methodological insights to the field. Addressing these important intersections, this methodological paper illuminates three broad arts-based research methods used in fat studies and how these methods highlight important themes of disruption, space, and temporalities. In particular, the importance of temporalities and time captured paper through arts-based methods covered are noteworthy. In the space of fat temporality, we end with a critical invitation for fat studies and arts-based scholars to innovate work using the method of performance art, specifically how performance can facilitate unique insights to create new knowledge at the intersection of fat studies and arts-based research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has impacted research worldwide, with many researchers turning to online methods. While online and co-creation research methods are well established, there are no instructional articles or guides for researchers aiming to conduct online co-creation workshops. Such workshops can provide quality data and are increasingly used. This methods paper addresses this gap by outlining the steps involved in conducting online co-creation workshops. Using the TruSTFood sustainability food labelling study as an example, this paper provides instructions and considerations for researchers. It serves as a guide for those interested in or new to this area and can be used to transfer existing research online owing to social distancing and the pandemic or new research beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2020 and the first semester of 2021, in Santiago de Chile, five women researchers who work with qualitative methodologies, based on their reflections on how the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on their doctoral research or their role as thesis advisors, conducted a reflective exploration of the conditions and challenges for qualitative research amid a global crisis. In this context, they convene once per week to explore how other researchers conduct and document their research processes, based on a purposive and thorough bibliographic exploration of qualitative studies on the pandemic and remote methods published in qualitative research journals. During these meetings, they reflect on and analyze the impacts and challenges of research in today's world, identifying possibilities and challenges in the methodological and ethical domains. Thus, they organize the present paper around two axes: one on the effects of the pandemic on academic and research practices, in general terms, and another on the specific methodological challenges facing qualitative research during the pandemic. These challenges are largely caused by difficulties in accessing and recruiting participants; the conditions of participation, influenced by vulnerabilities or barriers that constitute factors of inequality; the data production strategies and methodologies used in virtual contexts; ethical considerations; and the effects of the pandemic context on quality and rigor criteria. The article concludes with reflections and questions on the meanings, underlying logic, and practices of qualitative research, which are interrogated and re-signified in light of the COVID-19 pandemic while also illuminating research in post-pandemic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research using interviews is a crucial and established inquiry method in social sciences to ensure that the study outputs represent the researched people and area rather than those who are researching. However, first hand primary data collection is not always possible, often due to external circumstances. Additionally, the use of secondary data, particularly open data, is progressively preferred to increase efficiency and gain geographical breadth. Therefore, this paper proposes a new step-by-step secondary qualitative inquiry methodology for online, publicly available interview data. Such procedural approach can help increase rigor, explicitly consider and mitigate potential pitfalls, and expand the research community's datasets. The 7-step methodology is based on a hybrid approach with elements of pragmatic qualitative approach, discursive grounded theory, and narrative approach and refers to research ethical principles of autonomy, equity, and diversity. One of the proposed steps is data quality assessment, which consists of quality assessment of data context and data content with a total of 16 quality dimensions to filter the collected data. The data analysis method comprises of content analysis for dataset categorization and thematic discourse analysis to answer the pre-set research questions. Additionally, the methodology covers the ethical and legal considerations relating to secondary online data and reporting the research findings of such data. By providing an example in the field of forced migration, we demonstrate how the methodology provides structure when conducting secondary qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method for how grounded theory can be used to bridge Western and Indigenous approaches to research, and how these epistemologies may complement each other. The objective in presenting this method is to contribute to the ongoing conversation on how best to integrate these two frameworks. As historically in social science research western methodologies have been preferred over Indigenous methodologies, this integration serves both to further reconciliation and to enhance methodological rigour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Story completion is a narrative inquiry method where participants complete a story from an opening hypothetical scenario or 'stem' that researchers create. While interest in this method is growing across disciplines due to its emancipatory potential, the literature fails to address how story completion can be used in culturally safe ways. Cultural safety in research means that it is the participants who determine whether the process values and privileges their unique standpoints and perspectives. Culturally safe research approaches and methods are crucial to decolonisation efforts in the academy. To illustrate this topic, we draw from our experience using a digital version of story completion in May 2020 to prompt thoughts on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We received 52 responses from Australian residents using a stem relating to a pandemic-related scenario. When we noted the lack of diversity in ethnic backgrounds in participant demographic information, we wondered whether story completion was reinforcing rather than disrupting norms about narrative inquiry and what constitutes a story, and we questioned our recruitment strategy. In this paper, we highlight the importance of decolonising research methodologies rather than merely adapting or validating methods by using them across different cultural contexts. We explain how our story completion project led to reflections on western constructions of storytelling, how to create the stem, and how to improve our recruitment approach. In response, we propose a rhizomatic perspective, which values multiple entry and exit points in research, to frame practical strategies that can improve the potential of using story completion in culturally safe ways. These include: embracing messy stories; exploring diverse notions of storytelling; favouring story fragments (rather than stems) and story assemblage (rather than completion); co-designing story fragments with target groups; and collaborating with local communities to co-design culturally appropriate and sensitive recruitment strategies and projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study used Lekgotla discussion with Batlokwa women to formulate and verify the strategies to empower the women with traditional and cultural dysmenorrhea or pain period knowledge. The Lekgotla discussion is an open forum in which indigenous communities in Sub-Saharan Africa use to debate and reach agreements on community raised issues. It has the potential to identify issues that affect community day-to-day lives and reach consensus to effect changes. Purpose: To present Lekgotla discussion workshop as a decolonized qualitative research methodology. Methods: The study was qualitative, using a Lekgotla discussion process among women with a variety of experience in both Indigenous and Western dysmenorrhea knowledge. Participants were purposively selected to participate in a Lekgotla discussion. The snowballing was also used, whereby the recruited participants were asked to assist in identifying and referring potential participants to the researcher, who contacted them for potential inclusion in the study. The process was repeated until a required sample was reached. A facilitator was selected by the participants to facilitate the discussion and summarizes the inputs once all the participants have raised their ideas and there was no newer information was shared. The debates and dialogues were analysed by the researcher and experts using content data analysis. Results: The Lekgotla discussion followed a workshop process and was divided into four steps: 1) Arrival and Welcome, 2) Engaging participants, 3) Reaching consensus on the strategies to empower Batlokwa women with dysmenorrhea knowledge, 4) Verification and refinement of the strategies to empower Batlokwa women with dysmenorrhea knowledge. Conclusion: The success of applying the process of Lekgotla discussion proved that the indigenous epistemologies are increasingly accepted to achieve research objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duoethnography is a collaborative research methodology that invites researchers to serve as sites of inquiry. Through juxtaposition, the voices of each researcher are made explicit, working in tandem to untangle and disrupt meanings about a particular social phenomenon. We gravitate to duoethnography for its evocative power and the opportunity this methodology provides to engage in meaningful self-study in the presence of another. Yet, we grapple with methodological issues related to the unseen and unspoken enactments of the methodology. This article makes transparent the process of engaging in duoethnography by modeling its polyvocal dialogic nature while simultaneously addressing five essential questions about this collaborative research methodology. In this article, we retrace our collective journey engaging in duoethnography over the past 10 years, reflecting upon how our understanding and engagement with the methodology has shifted and expanded with each new inquiry. We make visible what is often invisible in the process of doing duoethnography, explicitly discussing our process for beginning and concluding a duoethnography, addressing what constitutes duoethnographic data, and the importance of cultivating a trustworthy and safe dialogical space. This article contributes to the existing methodological literature on duoethnography and further substantiates and generates transparency and teachability of this collaborative research approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a culturally inclusive research methodology distinct from other qualitative methodologies in its emphasis on multiple rounds of iterative data collection, member checking and co-construction of research language, design and analysis. It describes the co-design of a culturally inclusive conceptual model, data collection process and data analysis approach as an inside researcher. Culturally inclusive nuance is critical where education concepts emanating from the global north are rightly problematised by learners from the global south. More specifically, there is a well-researched gap in identification and support for gifted low SES students who tend to represent non-dominant cultures. This methodology supports culturally responsive language, narratives and approach to meaning-making around the highly contested conceptions of giftedness in low SES environs. It has proven to facilitate examination of shared experiences within a loose community setting in a qualitative research context. This article offers an introduction to the evolving methodology and the co-design process by which it came to exist for any researchers seeking a decolonising framework. It illustrates the value of the methodology in creating safe spaces for reflection and learning. Critically, from an educative perspective, it demonstrates how the methodology actively supports participants' meaning making about their own identity and the multiple ways in which they reveal facets of their identity in various contexts of life, family, work and education, through adolescence to young adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People living with rarer forms of dementia tend to have progressive cognitive symptoms affecting skills other than memory and/or onset before the age of 65 years. They are often misdiagnosed and due to symptom profile or age of onset, do not usually fit well with care pathways designed for older people with typical Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia. Although the arts have been increasingly used as interventions to support people with dementia, there is very little attention given to rarer dementia forms in arts and health research or practice. The objective of the present international study seeks to systematically explore four diverse forms of poetry writing within this population through virtual and in-person small and large group formats. Our approach includes investigating poetic processes as methodology through the lens of an arts-based methodological approach in order to explore how poems construct knowledge and a felt experience. We will also use more traditional qualitative approaches to understand the experience of writing, reading and listening to poetry as an intervention that can be used with different rarer forms of dementia. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first study to explore poetry using multiple research protocols. The results will have implications for methodology development, co-constructed poetic inquiry and multiple opportunities for involving poetry in supporting people with dementia and family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a qualitative researcher whose interest lies in collaborative, emancipatory, and decolonizing practices, I have two purposes with this article. First, I explore the history, tenets, processes, and applications of two nascent research methodologies, duoethnography and métissage and put them up against each other to highlight similarities and contradistinctions. Secondly, I examine how these research methodologies naturally align with a relational, Indigenist orientation where the production of knowledge comes from within and between the researchers employing an ethical third space. Using a framework of four practices proposed by Thambinathan and Kinsella (2021), I analyze and illustrate how duoethnography and métissage can be used as decolonizing approaches, and then close the discussion with an invitation to take up these potentially transformational methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential and challenges of inclusive research methodologies when working with older individuals with lower literacy levels. We present inclusive approaches developed during our research and discuss their implications for methodology and individual well-being among older adults with lower literacy levels. Our key insight is that the promise of inclusive research lies in relational design and praxis. Prioritizing meaningful relationships between researchers and participants, we emphasize the importance of considering participants as active contributors rather than mere informants. Creating a safe and supportive environment fosters trust, empowerment, and meaningful contributions from participants. Flexibility and adaptability in research approaches, including phased informed consent and the minimizing of written language, enhance participants' self-confidence and trust in their own voices. This approach empowers participants in co-creating knowledge, which strengthens the trustworthiness and validity of research results. Inclusive research, while promising, requires researchers to navigate ethical dilemmas, invest time in building rapport, and adapt to participants' needs. It challenges traditional research norms, emphasizing ethical engagement, meaningful participation, and tangible outcomes that benefit both researchers and participants. Employing inclusive research strategies, despite their departure from traditional praxis, ensures that the voices of older individuals with lower literacy levels are respected. This shift enhances the validity of knowledge, promotes co-creation, and fosters feelings of inclusiveness and empowerment. These promises underscore the importance of embracing inclusive research methodologies in contemporary research practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores questions of disability access justice within the academy through the lens of an online digital/multimedia storytelling (DS) research workshop conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our investigation uncovers how the shift from in-person to online DS methodologies created newfound opportunities for participation, particularly for individuals with episodic disabilities (EDs). Through an analysis of three co-author participants' multimedia/digital stories and their reflective insights, we investigate the interplay between research methodologies and the broader context of disability access within the academy. Participants' stories of inventive adaptations unfold against a backdrop of experiences in traditional academic settings that privilege normative ways of working and seldom accommodate diverse rhythms and access needs, including of students, faculty and staff. In light of these narratives, we advocate for an ongoing commitment to access-centered practices in research and work beyond crisis situations. The article concludes that academic research enterprises can accommodate a wider spectrum of participants—particularly those with episodic disabilities—and enhance research outcomes by recognizing and anticipating diverse bodyminds within the design of research methodologies and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Arts-based research methods and priority setting research both reflect growing commitments towards public and participant involvement in research activities. This has contributed to a growth of these respective methods across research disciplines and sectors, but their intersection has not been explored. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to map the state-of-the-science of arts-based approaches within priority setting research. We conducted an open search of three databases, conducted reference list mining, and hand-searched two journals to identify relevant articles. Of 5457 records retrieved, 11 met our pre-established inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel to produce narrative and descriptive summaries. Findings: All articles had some degree of health focus. Areas of priority setting centered on chronic illness, hard to reach populations, cancer survivorship, dental reform, and youth. In terms of artistic approaches, the majority of the articles included visual methods, with some articles utilizing multiple art approaches such as music, drawing, and filmmaking. Qualitative methods were used in all articles alongside the arts-based approaches, encompassing techniques such as interviews, discussions, and storytelling. Priority setting activites were mainly facilitated in group settings. The suggested benefits of arts-based approaches included enhancing participant communication, improving accessible research dissemination, and encouraging dialogues on identified health concerns. Challenges with using arts-based approaches included limitations on time and resources. Conclusion: Arts-based approaches to priority setting is an expanding field, with clear applications across various research contexts and priority focal areas. Further attention to the integration of arts-based approaches within priority setting, their theoretical underpinnings, and concurrent development and evaluation of arts-based priority setting methods are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to broaden joint performances of talk-story, a form of Indigenous Research Methodology, to give voice to non-indigenous participants who presuppose misrepresentation in qualitative research. Indigenous Research Methodologies emerged to challenge axiological concerns with Western Research Methodologies, which participants perceive to disregard, oppress, and exploit those they claim to represent. Founded on the principle of relational accountability, Indigenous Research Methodologies place learning co-created knowledges and social epistemologies at the center of the study, promoting the publication of authentic explanations and representations that empower participants. In response to grounded theories emerging from talk-story with non-indigenous members of the global surfing tribe, describing their anger and powerlessness against cultural studies researchers who deceive and misrepresent them in a perceived culture war, I explain how non-indigenous researchers and disempowered populations can jointly perform talk-story to co-create depictions that survive participant scrutiny. However, I caution that influential gatekeepers will execute Western a priori assertions and cultural imperialism to silence opposing voices and epistemologies empowered by talk-story. Nonetheless, my article aims to contribute towards promoting performances of talk-story methodology by explaining how an indigenous paradigm enables analytical processes to be shared, thus exposing insights participants perceive to be silenced by Western Research Methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a body of literature that informs and analyzes the effects of policy, policy feedback research will benefit from more qualitative research designs with marginalized populations. Qualitative research designs allow for theoretical and conceptual development, as well as ensure multiple perspectives are fully captured. This article argues that qualitative methods with different populations will expand applications of policy feedback theory and lead to critical insights for its development. Three examples of potential areas of theory development are outlined including informing the variable of participation, examining more nuanced effects of specific policy elements, and understanding the interactions of multiple policies. The article concludes with the suggestion of more mixed-method designs utilizing qualitative approaches involving participants to test existing hypotheses and inform new relationships. Policy feedback theory raises vital questions of democratic legitimacy and policy effectiveness that benefit from research conducted with, and informed by, marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces Collective Autoethnography (CoAE), a participatory and democratic research methodology distinct from other autoethnographic methodologies in its emphasis on co-constructing narratives. We delineate a six-phase approach to conducting CoAE, which encompasses preparation, data collection, transcription, interpretation, thematic consensus, and narrative production. Each phase is explored in depth, illuminating the principles and techniques involved, and demonstrating CoAE's potential for producing nuanced, multilayered narratives. As a demonstration of this methodology in practice, we draw from our experiences and provide a worked example that explores compassion-centric approaches to teaching in times of crisis. We underscore the significance of collaboration in CoAE, which enables a more comprehensive understanding of emergent themes and a more accurate representation of diverse experiences in the final narrative. Owing to its focus on shared meaning-making and mutual respect, CoAE is well-suited to anyone aiming to examine shared experiences within a community or group setting in a qualitative research context. This article serves as a comprehensive guide to researchers interested in leveraging this empowering methodology for explorative and collaborative narrative construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research paradigm represents how a researcher views the nature of reality and guides how they engage in research to generate knowledge from that reality. Power is a construct that impacts on the individual actions of the researcher and the participants, and their interactions with each other, across a range of perspectives of reality. Qualitative researchers select different paradigmatic stances to represent how they consider and work with the influences of power on these human relations. This influences their decisions about which research design and methodology they select. Drawing on my doctoral study, which explored the process by which a group of occupational therapists designed an intervention for caregivers of children on anti-retroviral treatment living in low-income conditions in South Africa, I describe my process of selecting a poststructuralist paradigm, an instrumental case study design, and a co-operative inquiry methodology to illuminate the operation of power in the research process. An overview of the potential offerings and limitations of different paradigms, research designs and methods, as applied to this research example, are presented to support my assertions. In conclusion, I argue for the more consistent consideration and description of the interplay between paradigms, research design and methodology, to ensure the selection of the best suited combination to explore and describe the influences of power in the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dementia researchers have persuasively argued for using flexible and creative methods with people with dementia, to ensure their historically marginalised voices are now heard. This article builds on that work, using examples from a study of medicines practices of people with dementia and their informal carers. We have two aims: firstly, we show the ways in which two methods – linguistic ethnography and diary-interview method – can support the inclusion and participation of people with dementia. Secondly, we examine the methodological insights and the dilemmas created by using these methods. Our focus on supporting all means of communication (verbal, non-verbal, drawing, photography and writing) underpinned our choice of methods, which in turn facilitated inclusion and participation. Using a linguistic ethnographic approach supported participants to use material objects to tell their stories; video-recording interactions encompassed non-verbal communication; creative diary-methods made non-linguistic means of knowledge production possible. Moving around the home and neighbourhood and using familiar objects enabled people with dementia to explain their medicines in the context of their lives. Paying attention to sensory data created new insights into the skills and knowledge that family members develop and employ when they provide informal care. The methods were not without challenges. Participants experienced a tension in balancing opportunities for self-expression with the time and effort involved in participatory activities. For the researcher, prioritising the affective quality of respectful research relationships whilst not straying into 'faked friendship' created situated ethical dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a methodological proposal for Body Mapping application in transgender population framed by a phenomenological approach and aimed at exploring the implicit and pre-reflective embodied cues of the experience of discordance between the felt body (the body I am) and the objective body ('the body I have') that opens a space in which words do not have easy access to. In order to describe our protocol of phenomenological exploration and application of Body Mapping, we detail the complete process in a single case. It corresponds to a female-to-male participant of 18 years old undergoing hormonal treatment with testosterone for 12 months before engaging in our study. Reflections about the potential of using art-based research methods for accounting of pre-reflective bodily experience of discordance in transgender population are detailed. The combination of the Body Mapping art-based research tool with a phenomenological approach for the study of experience seems promising for studies aimed at exploring experience from an embodied approach. It represents a radical first-person research method in which the images talk by themselves. Furthermore, including the researchers as beholders of the resulting artwork, assuming the role of inter-corporality of the aesthetic bodily resonance as part of the data collection procedure seems innovative but loyal and honest with what an Art-based research paradigm is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces Collective Autoethnography (CoAE), a participatory and democratic research methodology distinct from other autoethnographic methodologies in its emphasis on co-constructing narratives. We delineate a six-phase approach to conducting CoAE, which encompasses preparation, data collection, transcription, interpretation, thematic consensus, and narrative production. Each phase is explored in depth, illuminating the principles and techniques involved, and demonstrating CoAE's potential for producing nuanced, multilayered narratives. As a demonstration of this methodology in practice, we draw from our experiences and provide a worked example that explores compassion-centric approaches to teaching in times of crisis. We underscore the significance of collaboration in CoAE, which enables a more comprehensive understanding of emergent themes and a more accurate representation of diverse experiences in the final narrative. Owing to its focus on shared meaning-making and mutual respect, CoAE is well-suited to anyone aiming to examine shared experiences within a community or group setting in a qualitative research context. This article serves as a comprehensive guide to researchers interested in leveraging this empowering methodology for explorative and collaborative narrative construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longitudinal qualitative methodologies have gained increased attention in health and social science research as an appropriate methodology to explore participants' experiences of change over time but is a challenging methodology to implement. We reflect on the methodological aspects of a novel longitudinal 'mixed' mixed-methods study using quantitative and qualitative methods with both individuals and groups, employing various participatory approaches. We focus on key learnings from our study including the use of a structured recruitment process to minimise loss to follow up, and issues of reflexivity when researchers and participants have a similar background. In addition, like many large mixed-methods longitudinal studies we experienced challenges determining sample size and managing and analysing a large dataset. There is a need for establishing clear guidelines for determining sample size, addressing reflexivity and managing large datasets. The lessons learned from this study will add rigour to the literature on conducting mixed-methods longitudinal studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, qualitative research methodologies have incorporated the voice of the participants in their designs and developments. Now, the increasing importance of social impact of the research worldwide has created a new scenario for qualitative researchers, in which the egalitarian dialogue could be one of the key elements. The traditional incorporation of participants into research process is not enough; we need to incorporate new components as the egalitarian dialogue in the research process to assure the social impact of the research. In this article, we first situate the concept of egalitarian dialogue and how it has been used in a great diversity of situation and areas, and second how when we use it, we can obtain both, a greater social impact, and an enrichment of the qualitative methodological research process. We based our work in a literature review in both, the main journals included in ISI Web of Science and Scopus, highlighting the journals on qualitative methodologies and revising Horizon 2020 and Seventh Framework Projects included in the CORDIS database. This literature review presents how different research groups and researchers have used egalitarian dialogue, mainly in the last decade, as an important element to reach social impact with their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, social research methodologies have been construed as being less significant in their contribution to social change. This perception emanates from those who view social research methodologies as an accessory to the natural sciences. Contrary to this view, this article, on the schooling experiences of children who have been left behind by their parents in Zimbabwe, is used to contribute to the debate. It seeks to present our experiences in the application of social research methodologies, including challenges and their contribution to social change. However, this change remains a contested issue in research because there is no consensus on how to measure it. The study followed a qualitative research approach, using an interpretive phenomenological study design. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select 12 secondary school children (12–18 years old). Data were constructed through two methods, interviews and document analysis. The overall finding of the study revealed that social sciences methodologies can make a contribution to social change. This was illustrated by the fact that when social methodological approaches were used, children were enabled to confidently express their lived experiences by creating a child-friendly environment such as child-centeredness, democratic participation and inclusivity. Consequently, the findings have shed some light on the way in which policy makers should develop policies with regard to left-behind children (LBC). On the basis of these findings, the article argues that social research methodologies can make a difference in social change, despite challenges that may emerge. The findings may have implications for social researchers and for our study. For example, the findings could minimise hermeneutics injustice by mediating what the marginalised groups, such as children, may express despite scepticism about their authenticity which is important for social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artistic sensibility is defined in this work as the sensitivity and capacity to appreciate and act upon concerns of or pertaining to art and its production. This article contends that artistic sensibility is inherent to research. This contention is supported through three points which reveal a fourth: (1) Research requires dissemination. (2) Dissemination requires representation. (3) Representation requires artistic sensibility. These three points considered in conjunction illustrate a fourth: (4) Research requires artistic sensibility. This argument has implications for research venues, evaluations of research, and the preparation of researchers in all research disciplines. Namely, certain tenets of arts-based research may be applied to a much broader array of research methodologies. Identifying, honoring, and harnessing artistic sensibility in research has the potential to improve research products and enrich discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses insider/outsider perspectives in qualitative research among religious people. Focus is on the insider researcher. Even if researcher and participants share the same overall religious adherence or are members of the same denomination, various factors can differentiate them substantially, affecting insider/outsider perspectives. The methodological implications of this phenomenon are drawn from research on the perception of gender roles among Mormon women in Belgium. The mutual perception of researcher and participant can influence the data collection phase as value-laden issues are being discussed. To ensure the validity and objectivity of research in this context, positionalities of researcher and participants need to be clearly defined and methodological safeguards put into place. The analysis of the interactions between researcher and participants led to the identification of seven intersecting insider/outsider perspectives: denominational, congregational, social, religious, topical, lingual, and academic. Moreover, as compound insider/outsider positions move on several continua, various factors can change the perspectives during interviews. This article adds to the methodology of qualitative research by uncovering perspectives which researchers can consider or adapt when interviewing religious participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thick concepts are concepts that describe and evaluate at once. Academic discussion on thick concepts originated in meta-ethics, but thick concepts increasingly draw attention from qualitative researchers working in the social sciences, too. However, these scholars work in relative isolation from each other, and an overview of their ideas is missing. This article has two aims. The first is to provide such an overview, by bringing together these disparate voices on why thick concepts matter for the social sciences and how to work with them in qualitative social research. The second aim is to reflect on the methodological difficulties of working with thick concepts, by thinking through the example of my research on a specific thick concept—the concept of dependency. The article argues that thick concepts are invoked by social researchers for either epistemological or methodological purposes. It then goes on to claim that if we want to take thick concepts as our sensitizing concepts or as our objects of research, these two purposes really ought to be considered in unison: any methodological approach involving thick concepts must factor in the epistemological challenge thick concepts pose to social-scientific research. To show why—and to consider what this requires from qualitative researchers—I draw on insights acquired during my study on dependency. I end with practical recommendations for working with thick concepts in social research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The voices of people living with dementia are rarely included in primary data collection due to cognitive challenges and the concerns of researchers and others about limitations associated with informed consent. This article presents a successfully implemented, step-by-step process enabling effective participation of aged care residents with dementia using a case study approach. Three methodological and critical steps in data collection were identified that led to the successful participation of residents with dementia in research. The process corresponds with, yet is uniquely different from the common elements in the qualitative research process. These are active participation during data collection, researcher familiarization with participants, and their set interval and time-lapse considerations (timeline). The process of involvement of people with dementia in research should proceed at a pace that is guided by the participants. It is important to consider participant interview pace, pattern, and the conversation time points when interruptions occur, to restart the whole interview process. Researchers need to facilitate active engagement by building and maintaining authentic relationships with the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative research methods invite people to share their experiences via storytelling. There is increasing interest as to how qualitative narrative inquiry can provide greater understanding into the lived experience around health and illness, particularly within the field of dementia. Narrative research is concerned with how humans make sense of and engage with the changes and disruptions of everyday life. However, narrative research is an emerging and evolving field with no single clearly defined approach to data analysis. In this article, we provide a methodological exemplar by applying Murray's four levels of narrative analysis to longitudinal narrative interviews completed with couples living with Lewy body dementia. We describe how to analyse connections between the four levels and how to articulate this across different interview time points. This analysis process contributes to methodological knowledge by providing a strategy to connect the personal, interpersonal, positional and societal levels of analysis. The time taken for in-depth analysis of a co-created, dyadic longitudinal narrative approach requires careful consideration, but ultimately, it can provide a richer understanding of the lived experience, allowing for deeper social, clinical and academic insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following qualitative researchers' growing interest in reflexivity, a body of scholarship has emerged that aims to turn informal practices for reflexivity into methods that can be learnt and taught alongside other research practices. This literature, however, has focused on helping researchers become more reflexive toward their situatedness and positionality, rather than toward their use of language and its effects on knowledge production – a process I refer to as 'linguistic reflexivity'. This article addresses this gap by formalising a method for 'problematising categories', an informal approach familiar to qualitative researchers as a promising solution to the analytical and ethical blinders that result from scholars' unconscious use of language. I proceed in three steps. First, I review the literature to show the analytical, empirical and ethical rationales behind this approach and offer a definition of problematising categories as the practice of making conscious how socio-linguistic units of categorisation unconsciously organise our perception and can represent a problem for knowledge production. This practice, I argue, enables us to decentre ourselves from the taken-for-granted nature of those categories. Second, I develop a three-stage research method for problematising categories: noticing 'critical junctures' when problematisation is called for, identifying the categorical problem through sensitising questions and reconstructing an alternative. Third, I demonstrate how problematising categories contributes to the research process by applying this method to my experience in problematising the binary pair 'local' versus 'international' in a research project on the environmental impact of Chinese investment in the Senegalese fishery sector. I show that problematising categories leads to more rigorous empirical findings and nuanced analysis in a way that is feasible within the frame of qualitative research projects. Overall, this article expands the practical tools for linguistic reflexivity and heeds the methodological call to make conscious and explicit choices for every dimension of our research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mindfulness, often defined as present-moment awareness, has in recent years become a topic of multidisciplinary interest. This article addresses methodological issues for researching mindfulness and education. It is argued that there are advantages to coherence between ontological and epistemological positions when designing research studies. The limitations of positivistic methods for researching mindfulness are discussed. We then advocate the qualitative method of journaling as a more holistic means of providing in-depth access to the unique and often underexplored inner life of those experiencing a mindfulness intervention. Drawing upon pupils and teachers' views at a junior school receiving low-intensity mindfulness training, we show how journaling illuminates both its impact upon individuals alongside implementational issues for the school, in a manner more consistent with mindfulness' emphasis on such terms as "awareness" and "being." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]