This post was inspired by a blog post written by Johanna Spiers (The Postgraduate Proofreader) where she mentioned the publication she was most proud of. It got me thinking about my favourite publication of my own, and I wanted to expand on why it is my top choice, because the story behind this work tells something about my path We don’t typically see the connections and growth represented in a list of academics’ publications, but those features are integral to the work I’ve published.

The work

Although choosing a favourite publication must be a bit like being asked to name your favourite child, the publication I’m most proud of is the 2020 paper I wrote with Fiona and two other colleagues, Jane Montague and Steph Archer on multiple hermeneutics.

Montague, J., Phillips, E., Holland, F., & Archer, S. (2020). Expanding hermeneutic horizons: Working as multiple researchers and with multiple participants: Research Methods in Medicine & Health Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1177/2632084320947571

There are two different origin stories for this work: the personal and the academic. 

The personal

The personal story is that I had been working with Fiona, Jane and Steph on various papers, mainly on breast or gynaecological cancer, although we had also written a methodological paper about using focus groups with IPA. While my memory is hazy from those distant ‘before-COVID’ times, I recall we generated several ideas for a special journal issue (which weren’t accepted, but it obviously wasn’t wasted work).

The academic story

The academic story was noticing something that is frequently done (working in research teams) but rarely explicitly discussed in published work, and linking that with a concept (the multiple hermeneutic). I wish I could remember how we noticed and realised that there was a gap to address, but I don’t, although I DO remember the four of us meeting in person (which was unusual) and creating several ideas we thought were productive. For me, this was one of those ‘taken-for-granted’ areas that I didn’t see until somehow, our attention was brought to it. Of course, saying ‘notice the things you can’t really notice’ isn’t very helpful, but there is an extension of the reflexivity needed for many areas of qualitative research that might help: what is difficult? Which problems aren’t easily resolved? Even: where can't you find guidance in the literature about a question? 

Why this work satisfies me

Anyway, back to the main topic. Why did I pick this work?

💡 It reflects an ongoing collaboration with my colleagues that grew out of empirical research and into methodological thinking. 

💡It’s satisfying to have noticed and addressed an often invisible issue in research.

💡It’s one of my more-cited papers; it’s exciting and humbling to contribute to others’ work and be part of the wider academic conversation about IPA.

💡I see my own growth in confidence and knowledge as an academic.

In a slight digression; I’m an avid reader, and when I find an author I like, I often read everything they’ve written. It’s intriguing when you notice where one novel or series appears to grow out of questions raised in another. I see my research publications like that. I don’t think you can necessarily sit down and come up with novel ideas out of nothing. There is value to pursuing a body of work or methodology over time. 

My suggestions

💭 Keep notes of thoughts that intrigue or challenge you - you never know when you can develop them further.

💭 It’s ok if your research trajectory meanders a little (if you have the luxury of doing that). I'd stick roughly to a path (e.g., keep developing your expertise with IPA), but there is interesting stuff on less-travelled trails, and meandering a little is fine.

💭 Innovation and inspiration arise from novel inputs, whether that's from others or from exposing yourself to new ideas. Find opportunities to meet new people and discuss your work, their work, and other ideas.

💭 I think there’s a certain amount of serendipity, but also that luck favours the well-prepared. There are steps you can take to make luck more likely. As my husband often says, "the more I practice, the luckier I get". 

Honorable mentions

• My first publication from my PhD, thanks to my supervisors for getting me there (Phillips et al., 2014). Still a sweet moment (you can access a pre-print via the University of Derby repository).

• My most recent publication with a former student on social phone use and phubbing (phone snubbing), which turned out to be a more complex and contradictory phenomenon than I believed when she brought the idea to me (Segura Pereira & Phillips, 2026).

• The two chapters I co-authored in a book on female academics’ resilience during COVID-19, as I stepped into a new collaboration and methodology (collaborative auto-ethnography) and because I saw how female academics all over the world had so much more similarity in experience than differences (Bissessar et al., 2023; Phillips & Bissessar, 2023). I enjoyed exploring a new approach, working on the chapter that consolidated ALL the auto-ethnography in the book, and seeing how my ideas about collaboration played out in a different environment. My in-progress piece of research also partly grew out of this collaboration.

References

Bissessar, C., McCauley, K., & Phillips, E. (2023). Exploring female academics’ resiliency during the pandemic. In C. Bissessar (Ed.), Female Academics’ Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Intercultural Perspectives (pp. 3–25). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34140-3_1

Phillips, E., & Bissessar, C. (2023). Exploring the iceberg: Autoethnography and insights into the hidden experiences of female academics. In C. Bissessar (Ed.), Female Academics’ Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Intercultural Perspectives (pp. 297–321). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34140-3_13

Phillips, E., Elander, J., & Montague, J. (2014). Managing multiple goals during fertility treatment: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Health Psychology, 19(4), 531–543. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105312474915

Segura Pereira, E., & Phillips, E. (2026). Subjectivity, context and contradictions in social phone use and phubbing: A thematic analysis. Behaviour & Information Technology, 0(0), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2026.2619649