Why Qualitative Researchers Need Recreation

Hello Qualitative Mind,

What comes to mind when you hear the words “self care”?

I ask a question related to self care during interviews with women in the postpartum period who have Type 1 diabetes. The responses I get tell me that for these women, the words “self care” are commonly tied to things like bubble baths and massages. I think this is the case for many of us but I also don’t think that those activities are the epitome of “self care”.

I believe, now more than ever, that self care is much more introspective than that. It has to do with understanding where your body and mind are at and what you might need in any given moment. That may look like taking a nap, making yourself a good meal, getting a glass of water or going for a walk. It might also look like closing a file you are working on and coming back to it later because your body is telling you this isn’t a good time for it.

While there’s nothing wrong with a bubble bath or a massage, it is much more feasible (and valuable) to reflect internally and evaluate the state of our physical, mental and emotional well being before deciding the best course of action for caring for ourselves in that moment. Self care is truly that- taking care of your self.

I believe that we suffer from a similar mindset impairment when it comes to the word “recreation”. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary “recreation” means “(a way of) enjoying yourself when you are not working.” This is how most of us perceive recreation; the things we like to do, the hobbies we have, the activities we enjoy when we are not working.

While I agree with this simple, straightforward definition, I also think of “recreation” as “re-creation.” As such, I see recreation as essential for the creative process we engage in when conceptualizing a new research project, writing a funding proposal, manuscript, thesis or book chapter, or working through challenges in our current research. 

Do you consider recreation to be essential or inconsequential?

Although recreation is fun and part of life, it can cause feelings of guilt and shame if it happens when we are too busy, too stressed, and/or going through a pandemic (as we are in May 2020 with COVID-19). I think this erroneous mindset afflicts so many people, and it is widespread in academic circles. We feel slightly embarrassed to tell our colleagues and friends that we read a novel, went on a long bike ride, spent a crazy amount of time watching NETFLIX when they are all discussing how much they worked in the same time frame.

I truly believe that “re-creation” is vital to qualitative researchers. Qualitative research that is beautifully written and engaging requires an element of creativity. Moreover, well-respected qualitative researchers, such as Janice Morse and Margarete Sandelwoski, argue that playfulness and imagination are much needed in the presentation of novel qualitative insights.  

When I conducted my PhD research with Northeast African immigrant and refugee women living in Canada, one of the barriers to being healthy during pregnancy was language, i.e., lack of fluency in English and/or not having a translator during prenatal appointments. When I shared this with my supervisor, she immediately responded that we had all read, heard, and written about that at some point, and needed to do more than just repeat the same old, same old. She challenged me to be creative and find the theme weaving through my qualitative data that was much more profound than language alone. That was when I made the creative leap in my research, and really noted how all my categories revolved around contrasting “back home” and “here.” My research was published and successfully presented in different mediums and conferences highlighting how the contrast was challenging for the women in my research.

As a qualitative researcher, you often need your creative juices so make sure you embrace self care and “re-creation” despite external circumstances. Cultivating the practice of reading books outside your area of expertise, listening to podcasts, cooking, baking [I was baking Christmas cookies for my son’s daycare in 2018 when the idea of Quali Q came to my mind!], exercising, and traveling (at some point in the future) are as important for your academic journey as many other traditional intellectual practices.

I am inviting, better yet, challenging you to engage and invest in self care and recreation, and share some of the incredible things that might come to your mind as you do it.

Take care,

Maira Quintanilha