Researching experience : Grounded theory & text analysis

Researching experience : Grounded theory & text analysis Carmel Halton, Maria Dempsey, Marian Murphy

Presentation plan • Introduction, background and conceptual influences (Marian) • Research design, data collection methods, researcher positionality (Carmel) • Data analysis- use of grounded theory (Maria)

Background • Interest in reflective teaching and learning for students on professional courses • Initial research on the outcomes of introducing reflective tools such as portfolios and reflective exercises on professional courses • Follow up research with graduates on the value of these tools in the workplace • Current work with practitioners who have set up reflective peer learning groups

Conceptual Underpinnings • Research in 1996 relating to the experiences of child protection social workers regarding prevention within their work • Questionnaire – revealed contradictions between descriptions of action carried out by SWs and their understandings of prevention in their job • Forced me to consider how we get access to the meaning schemes and perspectives of individual practitioners

Conceptual underpinnings (cont) • ‘Observation merely reveals behaviour, and subjects who answer questions often are unable to articulate their understandings and intentions or to use words that have the same meanings for both themselves and the researcher’ Mezirow,J.1991,pg 221 • Discrepancy between respondents’‘espoused theories’ – what they think they believe- and their ‘theories-in-use’ or what their actions suggest they believe.

Access to Meaning • How do we gain access to the complexity of meanings and perspectives embedded in the actions and experiences of practitioners? • Qualitative research is concerned with constructions of reality and has a starting point in gaining access to the subjective viewpoints of the research participants • Moves on to try to gain an understanding of the complex interplay of subjective beliefs, values and objective events, actions and circumstances- the contexts of social interaction.

Co-construction of texts between researchers and respondents • Matthes (1985) suggests that the texts emanating from qualitative research represent the socially constructed reality of the participants in the research process, including the researcher and participants. These realities are actively produced by all the participants through the meanings ascribed to events and situations. He suggests we have to ask these three questions :

Qualitative Research Processes • What do the social subjects (research participants) themselves hold for real and how? • Under which conditions – in the perspective of the observers turning towards them – does this holding-for-real stand? • Under which conditions do the observers (researchers) themselves hold the things they observe this way for real? Matthes, 1985, pg 59

Three significant influences • Feminist researchers eg Belenky (1986) on ‘Womens’ Ways of Knowing” – specifically their emphasis on ‘connected knowing’- characterised by ‘a stance of belief and an entering into the place of the other person or idea that one is trying to know (a reasoning with)’ as opposed to what they call ‘separate knowing’- characterised by a ‘distanced, sceptical and impartial stance toward that which one is trying to know (a reasoning against)’ Belenky et al, 1986, pg 5

Postmodernism • Focus on multiple discourses- no one right way of knowing (Fook, 1997) • Focus on holding a position of uncertainty, as opposed to one of ‘expertise’ or ‘expert knowledge’(Healy, 2000) • Language, and its influence on the construction of discourse – being mindful of how the language of the researcher can influence our interpretation and construction of knowledge (Lyotard, 1985) • Voice – the power of research in providing opportunities for individuals to ‘come to voice’ –’talking not only helps people to understand their experiences, but also helps them to control, reframe and move on from them’ (Howe, 1993, pg 193) The realationship between voice and agency- a sense of control of one’s world.

Critical Hermeneutics • Focus on the interrelatedness of theory, research and practice- the opportunity to stand back from the ‘everydayness’ of practice, in a way that acknowledges its complexity, but that also allows it to be interrogated, named and transformed. (Nakkula, 1998) • Focus on how our social, cultural and professional situatedness affects our individual processes of meaning-making-both researchers and researched. • Exercises which focus on uncovering how our meanin-making shapes what we look for and find in any context (including professional practice contexts) eg ‘Where I come from, what I bring - - exercise (Nakkula, 1998),reflective journalling in the form of daily logs by research participants and researchers.

Hermeneutic circle • The second arc of the hermeneutic circle – the arc of reflection, which allows us to revisit the texts we have created, or co-constructed with our research respondents, and revise them in the light of change that happens over time. From this perspective the research process is more than a series of one-off encounters – both parties make a commitment to ongoing revision of the collection of data through collaborative construction of texts over time.(Schleiermacher, 1819, revised Gadamer, 1976) ‘It is in the explicit articulation of ordinary, everyday acts in our own practice that we can become aware of the immediacy and pervasiveness of our constant interpreting processes’ (Nakkula & Ravitch, 1998,) • Acknowledgment of the potential for mutual influence between the researchers and practitioners so that our encounters in researching experience can be seen as collaborative engagements in knowledge-seeking.

Background Interest in the Research Topic • We are professionals and have been educators of professional practitioners i.e. social workers & counselling psychologists for many years. • We have been involved (+10 years) with colleagues from other disciplines in setting up and participating in a reflective peer group in UCC (to interrogate researcher subjectivities) . • Over many years we have used and researched the use of tools to support reflective engagement in graduate and postgraduate social work education i.e. portfolios & learning journals. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Important Influences on the research design and methodology Subjectivities / Positionality • The study acknowledges our subjectivities in the research endeavour i.e. our experience of having worked as professional educators for many years, our professional identities, our previous research endeavours, our commitment to engaging in continuous learning through our participation in our own reflective peer group and our familiarity with contemporary literature on reflective practice. • All of these influences provided ideas and foci that were significant in terms of framing our research questions and shaping the design and structure of the peer groups and the focus group discussion. • We were interested in investigating participants experiences of the peer groups and their use of the reflective tools; not the content of the discussions.

Methodological Considerations • To use research methods that would, where possible engage participants in meaningful dialogue. • To foster an ongoing collaborative partnership between participants and ourselves throughout the research endeavour i.e. consultation throughout the period of the study and collaboration in the final reporting and publication phase • To permit our own subjectivities to be acknowledged and examined throughout the research endeavour Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Epistemological Considerations The study is a qualitative one • We adopted a constructivist research paradigm which acknowledges that knowledge is contextually and culturally defined and excavated through the analysis of text. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Assumptions we make as Qualitative Researchers • Importance of the research process as well as outcomes. • Interested in accessing and exploring meanings & subjectivities • Description of situations and events is sought to access meanings and understandings of participants’ experiences • Research process is both deductive and inductive. Open to different research questions that may arise throughout the research guiding future research Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Action Research • The research focuses on both action (process of participants' engagement) and research simultaneously. • The research subjects are researchers. • The research process is investigated in terms of change outcomes. • The data is generated from an investigation of both the process and the outcomes of research participants experiences of participation. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Outline of research project with hospital based Social Workers • N=21 • Aim: To investigate participants ‘ experiences of the use of reflective learning tools in peer supervision groups. • Data: Data was collected from 9 focus groups (3 sets of 3) over 12 months. • Timescale: Longitudinal study over 12 month period • Research Method: Focus group discussion • Study Participants: All participants self selected onto the study. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

The Reflective Tools Adapted for this Project • Building a learning community: ‘where I come from what I bring’ • Formation of Peer Groups • Construction of daily logs/learning journal • Presentation of daily logs/journal entries in peer groups Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Structure of Focus Groups • 5-7 participants • Attended at time convenient for them • Included members from different peer groups • Focus groups: • Facilitated • Audio-taped • Supplemental notes taken • Individuals were invited to share their views on their experiences of reflective engagement within the peer group setting. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

First Focus Groups Introduction to Tools • ‘Where I come from, what I bring’ • Daily log Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Second Focus Group Discussing participants’ experiences of: • writing or attempting to write logs • reading logs in the peer groups • giving and receiving feedback in the peer groups Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Third Focus Group • Collected data on the experiences of the practitioners in engaging in the overall process. • Addressed issues and concerns of participants regarding the future development of their peer groups Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Data Collection • We taped the focus groups • Transcribed all the focus group interviews • We organised the data around key themes and topics that emerged related to participants experiences of using daily logs/learning journals and engaging with the exercise ‘where I come from what I bring ’ Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Process of Data Analysis • We listened repeatedly to the tapes, while simultaneously referring to our transcripts and contemporaneous notes. • We read and re-read every line of transcribed text both individually and together searching for recurring themes/references. • We used a system of open coding where sub themes emerged within the main theme categories. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Participants Experiences of Writing Daily Logs • Two main themes emerged from discussion of participants experience of writing the daily logs namely: • a raised consciousness of participants actions • an increased consciousness of their feelings in particular situations. Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Reading of Daily Logs/Journals in Peer Groups Some participants did not share their writing in the group for a variety of reasons. Of those who read in the group, there was an overwhelmingly positive response. Some of the positive effects described included: • Sense of being affirmed • Learning from others • Practice development • Trust building amongst peers in the supervision groups Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Current ResearchBuilding on Findings of this Study We are currently investigating the following questions in a new peer support study with social work practitioners and managers in child protection. • What are the variables that influence the process of selecting into peer groups ? • What behaviours support /hinder the development of trust in the peer group ? • How are emergent group dynamics best managed in action research? • What is the role of the researcher in action research: balancing dual role of researcher / consultant ? Carmel Halton email:-chalton@appsocstud.ucc.ie

Researching experience : Grounded theory & text analysis