Enhancing quality in Qualitative Research - Online

Quality in qualitative research is a much-debated topic, yet an important one. The aim of this one-day online training course is to introduce participants to quality criteria in qualitative research. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and practice applying general criteria for qualitative research, such as transparency, rigour and richness, sensitivity to context, transferability and impact, and ethical considerations.

In addition, through the course participants will reflect on and apply method-specific criteria for evaluating qualitative research, with a focus on Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA), Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Grounded Theory (GT) or Discourse analysis (depending on what attendees would like to focus on). The interactive workshop provides a space for attendees to develop skills in high-quality research and more specifically in research that employs different methodological approaches.

The course covers:

• A discussion of what quality means in qualitative methods

• An overview of general quality criteria in qualitative methods

• Quality criteria for Reflexive thematic analysis 

• Quality criteria for IPA

• Quality criteria for discourse analysis and/or grounded theory

 By the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Articulate why quantitative-style evaluation criteria are inappropriate for qualitative research.
• Explain the distinction between generic and method-specific quality markers.
• Apply method-specific evaluation criteria to assess studies using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA), Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), Constructivist Grounded Theory (GTM) and Discourse Analysis (DA).
• Have experience of reflecting on good qualitative research design.

This course is suitable for postgraduate students, post-doctoral students and early career researchers and assumes some prior knowledge in qualitative research methods.

Preparatory Reading:

Cena, E., Brooks, J., Day, W., Goodman, S., Rousaki, A., Ruby-Granger, V., & Seymour-Smith, S. (2024). Quality Criteria: General and Specific Guidelines for Qualitative Approaches in Psychology Research. A Concise Guide for Novice Researchers and Reviewers. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241282843 (Original work published 2024)

This full-day course will be delivered online from 9.30-12.30 and 13.30-16.30.