Looking back to move forward: the value of reflexive journaling for novice researchers
Looking back to move forward: the value of reflexive journaling for novice researchers
For novice qualitative researchers, each encounter in the field yields a ream of questions and uncertainties. While fieldwork has inherent ambiguities for all researchers, novice researchers have less experience on which to draw to assess their interactions with participants. Adding to this uncertainty, gerontological fieldwork is frequently imbued by age-and cohort-related nuances, characteristics which new researchers often do not share with participants. It is also not uncommon for new researchers to work primarily alone on projects, such as dissertations and theses. Mentors and academic advisors can help examine research encounters, however advice may be most constructive following engagement in reflexive exercises. We discuss the benefits of using reflexive journaling to assist with answering the many questions generated while conducting qualitative interviews during a study with family carers. Advisors should consider encouraging the use of reflexive journaling to help novices grow as researchers.
Reflexivity, qualitative interviews, Methods, Education, Caregiving
578-585
Meyer, Kylie
f918f063-7d45-47f6-86e0-5e36f9503e74
Willis, Rosalind
dd2e5e10-58bf-44ca-9c04-f355f3af26ba
30 August 2019
Meyer, Kylie
f918f063-7d45-47f6-86e0-5e36f9503e74
Willis, Rosalind
dd2e5e10-58bf-44ca-9c04-f355f3af26ba
Meyer, Kylie and Willis, Rosalind
(2019)
Looking back to move forward: the value of reflexive journaling for novice researchers.
Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 62 (5), .
(doi:10.1080/01634372.2018.1559906).
Abstract
For novice qualitative researchers, each encounter in the field yields a ream of questions and uncertainties. While fieldwork has inherent ambiguities for all researchers, novice researchers have less experience on which to draw to assess their interactions with participants. Adding to this uncertainty, gerontological fieldwork is frequently imbued by age-and cohort-related nuances, characteristics which new researchers often do not share with participants. It is also not uncommon for new researchers to work primarily alone on projects, such as dissertations and theses. Mentors and academic advisors can help examine research encounters, however advice may be most constructive following engagement in reflexive exercises. We discuss the benefits of using reflexive journaling to assist with answering the many questions generated while conducting qualitative interviews during a study with family carers. Advisors should consider encouraging the use of reflexive journaling to help novices grow as researchers.
Text
Meyer & Willis 2018 author accepted
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 13 December 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 21 December 2018
Published date: 30 August 2019
Keywords:
Reflexivity, qualitative interviews, Methods, Education, Caregiving
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 427206
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/427206
ISSN: 0163-4372
PURE UUID: 52edbd21-384b-4ab9-b432-bd613835dba7
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Date deposited: 08 Jan 2019 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:28
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Author:
Kylie Meyer
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