Purpose and Rationale: Physicians and medical educators are known to be extremely busy people. Despite the fact that physicians and medical educators are overwhelmed with teaching and/or practice, many institutions will not promote faculty without some component of research as part of their promotion and tenure package. Unless funded through grants, these individuals often lack the resources, time, and personnel to conduct bench research or large cohort experimental studies. The majority of these professionals do not realize that there is another path to scholarship and publication in their areas of expertise - qualitative research. Physician and medical educator knowledge of qualitative research is not as profound as with bench or large cohort experimental studies, nor as prevalent as to serve as examples on how to effectively conduct qualitative research. Qualitative research can be a highly appropriate and rewarding methodology that also aligns well with the principles of medical education.

Goals and Objectives:

• Outline major characteristics and tools for qualitative research
• Discuss alignment of qualitative research tools with the study's purpose and research questions
• List reliability and validity considerations for qualitative research
• Analyze case scenarios from qualitative research projects
• Discuss case scenarios and how findings can apply to individual projects
• Help participants visualize a plan for qualitative research at their home institutions

Timeliness and Significance to the Field: Physicians and medical educators will benefit from a discussion about the principles of qualitative research, qualitative research designs and tools, ways to achieve validity and reliability, and examples of how other professionals have effectively pursued qualitative research as part of their promotion and tenure package. Thus, this focus session will provide participants with details and concrete examples of qualitative research projects that they can use to develop a qualitative research project of their own.

Workshop description including teaching methods and timeline for educational Activities: Participants will be provided with tools, cases, and examples of qualitative research that will provide a foundation for development and implementation of a qualitative research project at their own institution. Specifically, this focus session will include the following:

• Introductions & Audience Perspectives on Qualitative Research (Ice Breaker)- 15 minutes
• List of topics that can be suitable for qualitative research and discussion on their feasibility with the audience- 15 minutes
• Tools for qualitative research and how they are aligned to the research questions and purpose of the study: ethnography, case study, interviews, observation/field notes, narrative inquiry, and document analysis- 40 minutes
• Discussion on reliability and validity- 15 minutes
• Small group case discussion- each small group will be given a different scenario and questions for discussion- 40 minutes
• Large group report- small groups will report their case and plans to the larger group- 30 minutes
• Time for participants to visualize a plan for qualitative research at their home institution-15 minutes
• Wrap-Up and Questions- 10 minutes Participant interaction will be ongoing throughout the workshop.

Presenters' Qualification/Expertise in area: Amina Sadik, MS., Ph.D., MEdL., FIAMSE, FNAOME, is a professor at Touro University Nevada, College of Osteopathic Medicine. As a project director, she assists faculty members in both Basic Sciences and Clinical Departments in their research qualitative research endeavors, teaching strategies, and assessment projects. Dr. Sadik if first and foremost an educator who passionately believes in the importance of educating future health care providers who can be leaders in their communities. She involves master and medical students in her research projects. The majority of her students have won travel awards and obtained research grants the results of which have led to platform and poster presentations at national and international conferences. Her current main focus is medical education research, especially mentorship, curriculum evaluation, and assessment. Dr. Sadik is an active member of the IAMSE Educational Scholarship Committee and the AACOM Mentor Committee within the National Academy of Osteopathic Educators to which she was inducted as a fellow at the 2019 AACOM conference in Washington DC. Her most recent contribution to medical education resources is authoring a chapter in Cases on Teaching Critical Thinking through Visual Representation Strategies.

Machelle Linsenmeyer, Ed. D. is currently the Associate Dean for Assessment and Educational Development and Associate Professor at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. In this capacity, she oversees many departments and activities including testing/assessment/surveying, curriculum review, competency tracking, academic technology, faculty development, program evaluation and educational research. Dr. Linsenmeyer's initiatives encompass the entire span of medical education from the first academic year of coursework to the residency or fellowship years. She has over a decade of experience in the medical education profession serving nationally on the AACOM Core Competency Liaison Group, AACOM EPA Steering Committee (Chair of the Assessment Sub-Committee), NBOME Portfolio and Special Assessment Taskforce, Steering Committee member for The Generalists in Medical Education and International Association of Medical Science Educators. She is a fellow in the National Association of Osteopathic Medical Educators, is editor for two medical education journals, is an author of several manuscripts, and an invited speaker for various organizations/conferences. She has been successful in her own qualitative research projects as well as mentored others on their projects.

Outcomes: The overall goal or outcome of this focus session is to provide participants with details and concrete examples of qualitative research projects that they can use to develop a qualitative research project of their own. Specifically, participants will leave this focus session with:

• A list of characteristics and tools used for qualitative research and an understanding of how each might align best depending on the purpose and research questions of a proposed study
• Knowledge of reliability and validity issues related to qualitative research.
• Ideas on qualitative research projects conducted by others and how elements of those projects could inform personal projects
• A plan for a qualitative research project at their home institution