Rigor- Moving From "Not Quite Right" to "Just Right"
Hello Qualitative Minds,
My name is Mari-Anna Yuko Bergeron Doherty, MSSW, Ph.D. Candidate, LCSW, and I am a doctoral student in the discipline of social work, an adjunct assistant professor, and a mother to two young children. My dissertation research is about the intersectional experiences of women of color who had a baby in the NICU in the United States. My research interests developed from my previous role as an interdisciplinary clinical social worker in a hospital setting where I provided parent-child dyadic therapy to many young children of diverse backgrounds who had experienced pediatric medical traumatic stress and who also had a history of needing NICU support at birth. Throughout my time working as a clinical social worker, I heard multiple stories from families about their child’s NICU experience. The therapeutic work of helping families process some of these early traumatic experiences from the NICU was a passion of mine and eventually led to my dissertation topic.
I met Maira Quintanilha through participating in her program, Qualitative Research Blueprint (QRB). I remember first hearing about Maira and her qualitative research services through a podcast where she was interviewed by Cathy Mazak of the “I Should Be Writing” Facebook group. I was both excited and intrigued by what Maira was doing and offering (i.e., qualitative research, consulting services and courses in qualitative research) and knew that I needed to learn more. Although I had learned so much in my graduate coursework, I felt there were gaps that I needed to fill in order to strengthen my dissertation, particularly when it came to aligning my methodology and theoretical framework. I learned through a friend that Maira would soon be starting QRB and so I eagerly signed myself up in hopes that I could fill in these qualitative research gaps. I completed QRB, which I found to be not only an amazing resource for the qualitative research assistance that I needed but also a place where I met an incredibly supportive community of like-minded qualitative researchers. I learned that I wasn’t alone in seeking qualitative research support. As a busy mother juggling a dissertation and teaching, I appreciated the clear, concise and manageable QRB materials which helped me round out my knowledge so that I could not only confidently move forward in my dissertation process, but also have a clear guide of what I need to do to eventually publish my work.
One of my most pivotal moments in participating in QRB was when I learned that by some simple adjustments in phrasing or considering alternative frameworks beyond the traditional ones I had been taught, I could improve the rigor of my study. I had always considered phenomenology to mostly fit with my dissertation study, but I often felt like Goldilocks tasting porridge from the folktale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. When I would investigate the various methodologies and theoretical frameworks, nothing really seemed to fit. Everything either felt “too hot” or “too cold.” Phenomenology, although initially appearing fitting, never completely resonated with my study since my sample size was much larger than that of traditional phenomenological studies. Further, I primarily conducted only single interviews that are semi-structured rather than multiple interviews. I had this nagging intuition that something didn’t feel quite right with phenomenology as a methodology for my study. I soon learned through Maira that, by changing the phrasing and describing my study as a “phenomenological approach” or a study with “hues of phenomenology,” I could better capture my methods. Further, even considering an alternative approach, such as Qualitative Description, that is outside the more traditional methodologies I had been taught could also improve my positional alignment and overall rigor.
I wondered how many others encountered a similar situation where they felt a mismatch between their methodologies and theoretical frameworks. I have come to realize that I’m not unique in feeling that my methodological position, framework and methods are disjointed. In hindsight, I have either spoken to those who felt similarly or witnessed others be questioned about their work in professional settings because their methodology was not in alignment with other parts of their study.
Weaving together a methodology and theoretical framework so that they fit together can seem rather dubious and at times feel like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. However, it doesn’t need to feel like such an ambiguous or even mystifying process. Sometimes it is just a matter of alternate frameworks that haven’t been considered and fine-tuning writing through phrasing to enhance your overall position and ultimately the rigor of your research. I am not at all suggesting that this is a panacea for all predicaments related to positional alignments among methodology and theoretical frameworks. What I am suggesting is that, for many in qualitative research, particularly novice researchers, going from “not quite right” to “just right” could be a matter of some minor changes and alternate perspectives in order to enhance the rigor of your work.
I hope this helps your qualitative journey as much as it helped mine!
~ Mari-Anna