Group workshops

All our workshops contain a combination of:

Practical guidance to apply the information available in the literature;
Working through examples we provide together;
Opportunities to ask questions about your work;
Resources and practical plans to take away.

We assume you are familiar with the background concepts described in the key literature.

When you sign up:

Click the purple link to to book via Eventbrite. We offer workshops across a range of time zones, so make sure you select an appropriate region (you are welcome to register for any workshop, the timings may just be less convenient for you!).
Once you have paid, you will receive a receipt, but no physical ticket.
We will email you a link to the workshop around 48 hours in advance.

Please check your spam folder if you have not received any emails from us.

Workshop interest

If an event is overbooked, the time isn't convenient, or you would like to host a specific workshop for a group of 6-8 people, please contact us via this form.
If you have an idea for another workshop, please let us know as we can also design a workshop for you.
We also have workshops listed below that we schedule when we have enough interest, so let us know and we contact you to co-ordinate a date.

Click here to visit Eventbrite and see all upcoming workshops

General information

Price: £75 (plus Eventbrite booking fee)

Length: 2 1/4 hours

Max enrollment: 8

Min enrollment: If there are insufficient attendees registered, we will contact you 48 hours before the event to offer a refund and let you know of the next opportunity to attend.

Regularly scheduled workshops

We offer these workshops approximately three times throughout the academic year. Please check the Eventbrite link/page for upcoming availability

Maximising Your IPA Interview

In this workshop we’ll highlight some of the key considerations you should be aware of before you conduct your interviews. Successful interviews are so important for ensuring your data is IPA-friendly! We’ll look at interview schedule design, including some more creative methods prompting discussion, and help you to craft questions that support the evocation of rich data. We’ll work with a mock project, then spend time discussing your schedules. We’ll also help you to set up a self-reflection exercise after you have completed your first interview.

Analysis I: Getting to PETs (Personal Experiential Themes)

In this workshop we demonstrate the initial line-by-line process of analysis as you approach your individual transcripts. You will receive a transcript to read before the workshop so you can familiarise yourself with the example we will work through. We will demonstrate the detailed and layered noting process and you’ll have an opportunity to practice this. as we move from initial noting through to Personal Experiential Statements (PESs), and we will discuss the process of getting to Personal Experiential Themes. Although there is some flexibility and individuality to how IPA is conducted, we’ve found students really appreciate a guided example. We’ll help you to see how to move beyond description and understand more about what makes a theme. We’ll have time for questions.

Analysis II: Developing GETs (Group Experiential Themes) and writing up

In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to move from PETs to GETs, and will showcase our process in work we’ve been involved in. We’ll also offer you the opportunity to discuss aspects of your analysis you would like some help with. We will use our experience as supervisors and examiners to help you think through your analysis, perhaps to be a little more brave, move beyond description and develop conceptual themes. We’ll help you to build your analytical confidence and interpretative muscles. We’ll also discuss the final phase of analysis which happens as you write up your findings as this is often overlooked as part of the iterative process involved in creating that overarching, interpretative cross case IPA narrative. We'll share examples from our work and give you insight from 'behind the scenes' of the final stages of getting an IPA project to completion.

Register your interest

We offer the workshops below on an ad hoc basis. If you'd like to participate in any of these, please complete this form, and we'll contact you when we have sufficient interest.

Conducting IPA

Is IPA Right For Me?

In this workshop, we help you consider whether IPA is an appropriate approach and method to answer your research question. We’ll give an overview of what IPA is (and isn’t) and what type of projects it works best with. We’ll also help you to determine the differences between IPA and thematic analysis as this is a common area of confusion for students. We’ll give a whistle-stop tour of the main tenets of IPA, with concrete examples to illustrate from work we’ve been involved in that we will discuss as a group. We’ll give you a sample of the analysis process so you can make more informed decisions about your project. We’ll highlight some key missteps students make, help you plan a successful IPA project and offer resources to support this.

Designing Your IPA Study

In this workshop, we’ll discuss research project design and showcase successful IPA projects that have used a variety of approaches to generate rich IPA data. This will include defining your research question, identifying a data generation strategy and considering ethical issues. We’ll address developing your design beyond single interviews and considering options such as multi-perspectival, longitudinal and mixed methods. The workshop is a combination of a guided overview from us with examples from research, along with an opportunity to critique and develop some cases we provide and discuss how this applies to your own projects.

Supervising IPA

These workshops are designed for supervisors who are totally new to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) or have a general background knowledge but limited methodological training or experience. We focus on practical and pragmatic guidance about what you need to know, how to prioritise further reading or learning, and the key issues to consider when supporting students in their research. We answer common questions that arise for postgraduate and novice IPA researchers.

As with all our workshops, the aim is not to cover information readily available elsewhere (we recommend you come with a basic understanding of IPA, e.g., from Smith et al.’s 2022 book or Smith and Nizza (2021)), but to provide applied guidance based on our experience, to work through examples, and respond to your questions.

Workshop 1 provides a conversational overview of IPA, helps you map your existing skills and knowledge to this approach, and sensitises you to currently relevant considerations for students designing an IPA study.

Workshop 2 picks up at the analysis stage and how to support students as they start and then develop their analysis, what to look for when reviewing results, and guiding the write-up. We'll review examples of common issues together and discuss ways to provide helpful feedback.

Reflexive Thematic Analysis

These workshops complement the detailed guidance provided by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke in their published work on reflexive thematic analysis (RTA). We focus on providing practical advice, working examples together, and answering your questions about applying RTA in your research. We assume you are somewhat familiar with the method, so we can spend time on practical advice and activities.

Workshop 1 covers key concepts, takes you through reflexivity, data familiarisation and conducting confident coding.

Workshop 2 starts at the point where coding is ‘complete’ (how do you know!), and then moves onto initial theming, refining your analysis and writing up your results.

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Workshop Disclaimer

Qual Academy workshops and materials are based on Dr Fiona Holland and Dr Elly Phillips’ experience as lecturers, researchers and supervisors of qualitative research, and in particular IPA projects. Our workshops are not intended to replace formal academic supervision. You are responsible for seeking supervisory and institutional advice before taking our workshops and you should always be aware of your institution’s programme requirements. You should let your supervisor know you are attending a workshop with us. Our workshops are intended to be supportive but not the only source of information you rely upon for your research project. You cannot cite the workshops in your references. We cannot guarantee that you will gain any particular grade or academic outcome from workshop attendance or using our materials. You must refrain from taking action based on attending any of our workshops. Fiona Holland and Elly Phillips disclaim all liability and responsibility for how you use our workshop materials and information.

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