Quality in quantitative studies are regularly discussed and taught in psychology and there are numerous frameworks consisting of criteria that determines what is and (what is not) a high quality study. This is often informed by the type of research design used, for example a randomized controlled trial is considered the ‘gold standard’ in terms of quality due to the blinding of participants and personnel to reduce bias, whereas a before and after study with no control group may produce biased results. Qualitative research, on the other hand, is based on an interpretation of results, and numero ..read more

Background Today I am going to talk about the framework method for qualitative data analysis. The framework method for the management and analysis of qualitative data originated in large-scale social policy research and has been used since the 1980’s (Ritchie & Lewis, 2003). The framework method can be used to identify similarities and differences between participants, for example a person with a chronic condition and their significant other. The framework method is only a way of presenting data for analysis. The framework method is not tied to different research stances, and instead, mult ..read more

So there I was, I had passed my viva, and pending a few minor corrections, I had completed my PhD. Now what? I had accepted some short-term data analysis work whilst I was finishing my thesis, however, I was awaiting data from colleagues to get stuck into this. I was also offered an interview as a research associate/fellow for the day after my viva. Whilst, I considered it to be an activity in procrastination, it is important to consider your next step in the final couple of months of your PhD. These things take time, keep your eyes open and your options broad. I felt that this paid off for me ..read more

First of all apologies, i haven’t been updating this site as much as I hoped to have done over the past couple of months. Theres no excuse for this, I was just really busy writing my thesis. Finishing your thesis I found it quite difficult to put my thesis together, at times it felt like it was beyond me. I found myself being distracted by anything and everything, especially the swiftly approaching point where I would reach the end of my studentship, without a job to keep an income coming in. Due to that final factor, i found a lot of the time I was applying for jobs to keep myself from really ..read more

Hi Everyone, I apologise for being quiet lately, I am about to enter my third year and have gantt charts and deadlines all over the place to finish on time. However, in more positive news, Ive just been published for the first time; http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/SCN-05-2014-0009 Barker, A.B., Lincoln, N.B., das Nair, R., Hunt, N. (2014). Social identity in people with multiple sclerosis: A meta-synthesis of qualitative research. Social Care and Neurodisability, 5(4). If you have access to this journal, please go and have a read. Hope to have some more soon, Im currently wor ..read more

This blog has just reached 13,000 views. Thank you all very much, if you have any topics you want me to talk about please let me know. Thanks Alex ..read more

Last week, I attended the annual psyPAG conference in Cardiff, Wales. The opening Keynote by Dr Paul Hutchings has had a lasting impression on me and has inspired this blog post. Misconceptions To begin his presentation, a comical hypothetical experience was explained to the audience. When you tell people you study and research psychology, people react in one of two ways 1) “Wow, you can read my mind, I’ll stop talking now” 2) “Im crazy, you could write a book about me” I looked around at this point and saw a lecture theatre of people nodding their heads in agreement, I think the majority of p ..read more

Using eco-mapping as a mixed-method research tool.   What are eco-maps?   Eco-maps were first developed by Hartman (Hartman, 1995) and is based on ecology, the connection between a living thing and its environment and how this connection is maintained and enhanced. Using only the social aspect of ecology, a tool was created to represent the social systems and connections that people use to help them interact with the physical and social environment more effectively. This implies that people form relationships that provide resources including social support, information and practical ..read more

Recently, i have really struggled with writing. So in an attempt to to try to stop this I swallowed my pride and attended a writing workshop/training session. On reflection this was something that I probably should have done earlier, it was really useful and has kickstarted my writing again. There are different writing styles – find one that suits you! One thing the workshop offered was experience of trying different writing styles to see how they can be used to kickstart your writing. One problem I was having was that I was over-thinking my writing, i was trying to make it perfect first time ..read more

Hi Everyone, Thought Id share this all with you, ive had a go at presenting a piece of academic research to a lay audience. I think disseminating research so that everyone can benefit from it is important for psychology to move out of the lecture theatres and into the real world. Please bear in mind that the actual study is not mine (the reference is in the piece of work and showed below to emphasise this), this is my interpretation of the main results of the study and an example of how academic research could be presented to a lay audience. http://prezi.com/8cw6a3yflaio/?utm_campaign=share&am ..read more