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By Qual Academy partner Elly Phillips
There's lots of factual information out there about IPA, but students and first-time researchers typically want from experiential and practical information. This turns 'what to do' into 'how to do it'. Below, I offer a few tools for your IPA research toolbox.
Factual information
Factual information is the background, definitions, analytic steps, explanations of what kind of data we used and how (and who) to include in our studies. You can read that in textbooks and published methodological papers, and it's probably a good portion (or all) of what you heard in research methods lectures.
There's then the challenge of sitting down at a blank screen and trying to figure out HOW you do it, and that's when it's useful to have....
Experiential and practical information
This category includes things like how to tackle common issues, advice for organising information, knowing when something is 'right', and the ways you can align your work with the definitions and theory you've learned.
You may get practical information during seminars or doing projects, but often students are left to figure out the best 'how' while trying to apply what they've been taught.
Potted summaries
Potted summaries
This is a concept Fiona attributes to Dr Rachel Shaw, a leading IPA figure. It involves a few tips I often pass on to students:
The value of writing to develop your analysis
The mental process of zooming in and zooming out with your data and project
Remember that writing doesn't always have to be polished and academic. The value of this tool is turning the outline in your PESs, PETs or GETs into something concrete on the page, explaining what you see happening in your data, and testing out your analytic arguments.
We talk about potted summaries in our two analysis workshops.
While my summaries are rarely 'potted' (i.e., short), I've found them invaluable in capturing and clarifying my thinking about my work and seeing where it goes, beyond what is typically brief and underexplained in the analytic process. I can see which ideas work and which don't. And this work often forms a basis for 'writing up', even if it's not your final analysis.
It's also a helpful way to communicate with your....
Critical friend
Critical friend
The idea of a critical friend comes from educational research. Quoting Costa and Kallick (1993, p. 50), a critical friend:
"is a trusted person who asks provocative questions... takes the time to fully understand the context of the work presented and the outcomes that the person is working toward. The friend is an advocate for the success of that work."
Hopefully, you have an advisor, supervisor or research collaborator to fill this role, but we know many people don't (or at least, don't have someone who can provide IPA-specific advice).
A critical friend is most helpful if they:
Are knowledgeable about IPA
Have practical experience of research or publishing (the experiential stuff) themselves
Has time to commit to you
Is invested in improving your work and asking the difficult questions
We mention the role of a critical friend in most of our workshops, because it's useful throughout the research process.
I wrote a post on LinkedIn (you might need an account) about why I've found collaboration so beneficial. Your advisors or supervisors may not be in a position to collaborate, since academia typically aims to evaluate your individual knowledge, but that doesn't mean you can't find that elsewhere.
Early feedback
Early feedback
Feedback is a key element of academic growth, but we're not typically taught how or when to use it. Seek feedback from your research supervisor, advisor or critical friend at key points of your study. We urge you to think of your 'firsts' as learning opportunities and important checkpoints to critically review what you've done, what went well (or poorly), and what you might do differently next time. These checkpoints include when you've:
Done your first interview (or other data collection)
Completed initial noting for your first piece of data
Have written up something towards your analysis
It's nerve-wracking to put your work out there at this point, particularly as you feel like you're just getting into the swing of things. But it's more stressful later if you have committed to a path and find out that perhaps you're going in the wrong direction: your data isn't as thorough as it needs to be, your noting is off-track, or your analysis isn't getting the depth and detail you need.
Find and correct early in the process. While it's hard to do, it'll cut down some of the wobbles you might feel about whether you're 'doing it right'.
How we can help
How we can help
In our workshops, we assume you've read the books, but we focus on providing examples and recommendations from our experience, and HOW you can do your research, elaborating on the ideas I've outlined here and providing more suggestions.
If you're looking for a critical friend, great, nice to meet you! Please check out our 1:1s and Research Roundtables if you need someone to fill this role. Often, this is best for students who don't have an IPA-expert on their supervisory or advisory team. 1:1s are focused on your, and you're welcome to book at intervals as your work progresses, which means I'll also be able to draw on knowledge of your specific research project.
Research roundtables are small groups of people at similar stages of research, building community with others having similar experiences at the same time.
References
Costa, A. L., & Kallick, B. (1993). Through the lens of a critical friend. Educational Leadership, 51, 49-52.
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