Educators often want to know about how people understand or perceive aspects of their educational experience or professions. We can, of course, quantify these things, using numerical data. We can also work from non-numerical data to count how many times different sentiments, phrases, or constructs are mentioned by our research participants. While informative, these approaches alone risk transforming rich, multidimensional concepts into simple frequencies or magnitudes that tell us little of their robust and varied meanings. Qualitative research represents a systematic approach to narrative (spoken or written) or visual data that leaves intact the robust experiences of people, thereby representing an important way of interrogating education and improving health professions education.

 

Many health professions educators aspire to conduct or supervise qualitative research projects but do not yet possess the foundational knowledge and skills. It is common for health professions educators to hold research backgrounds that are quantitative in nature, contributing to their uncertainty with how to embark on a philosophically different approach to inquiry. This beginners-level workshop is designed for educators and students at any level and in any discipline seeking a foundation from which to build a qualitative research project.

 

Through short, interactive didactic presentations, small group discussions, practice activities, and peer presentation, the speakers will introduce participants to:

The speakers will also share their own research stories to highlight both the versatility of qualitative work and their diverse journeys which led them to qualitative inquiry.

Working from the attendee’s own research interests, during the workshop the participant will write a qualitative purpose statement, synthesize usable qualitative research questions, select an appropriate study design, and plan methods for data collection and analysis. Specific resources will be recommended to the participants that will support the continued development of their proposed project after the workshop.

 

Participants will be provided with preparatory readings prior to the workshop. 

 

Connect with Stefanie Attardi on twitter @sattardi

Connect with Valerie O'Loughlin on twitter @vdoloughlin