Event Review
Qualitative research across the life course salon: Society of Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology
Adela Pakandlova
AS a research assistant I had the oppor- tunity to write a review on the ‘Quali- tative research across the life course’ online event presented by the Society of Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQiP) on February 24, 2021. The Society holds online events every month with the goal to enrich the knowledge of not only researchers, but also of students all around the world. Events are also a place for researchers to share their interests, their research studies, its method- ologies and everything related to the area of qualitative research. For me as for an undergraduate student of psychology, it was very exciting to hear about SQiP because I like qualitative research and do enjoy learning new things. I myself tried the narra- tive analysis approach while studying in my second year and so I thought this event would provide new insights about qualitative research methods.
Qualitative research
across the life course
Four researchers gathered together to present their unique studies about various topics throughout different stages of life; childhood, young adulthood, childbearing and through to ‘last chapters of life.’ Each one had about 15 minutes to present the most important parts of their research findings.Dr Bambi Chapin started the event by introducing her research study conducted with families in Sri Lanka. She was observing their daily lives; she wanted to closely understand the process of socialisation and how the culture influences the development of a child. Chapin looked at the interaction between the parent and a child; in particular, she observed their eating habits: ‘What habits do families in Sri Lanka possess? What is the difference between the Sri Lankan and American culture?’ It was very interesting for me to hear about habits around eating, in particular, when Dr Chapin mentioned that Sri Lankan families tend to feed their children while Amer- ican families usually sit together beside the table, with their food while possibly communicating with each other. Further, not only do Sri Lankan parents tend to feed their children, but also their grand- parents; for instance, feeding them a snack after school. These eating habits of Sri Lankan families were more closely depicted in photographs which were shared in the presentation. I liked seeing the pictures as it brought my attention closer to the topic. Dr Chapin also presented the new term of ‘Sinhala Hierarchy Model’ which I have never heard of before. The presentation was detailed, however, I would have loved to hear more about how this qualitative study was conducted. More details would help me to create a clearer picture about the process of her study; how and why a qualitative research method was the most appropriate.
While this study was interested in childhood, the second study was regarding young adulthood. Associate Professor Kelly Clark/ Keefe, with her topic of ‘Somatographic Assemblages of Young Adulthood Identity work,’ elaborated on identity work which can be depicted by an artwork. The study about self-identity was described in detail and I really liked that Clark/Keefe informed us a bit about the historical concept from which her method was derived from. She presented her ‘Life-line’ study as well as the ‘Somatographic method’. I have never heard about this method before. Therefore, it was illuminating for me, and I searched about it more. I am very interested in the topic of self-identity as I think that our iden- tity is influenced by many factors in life. This presentation was very well explained, and I wish Kelly Clark/Keefe would have had more time to share her findings.
After these two presentations I felt happy about attending this event as I found it absolutely fascinating. My excitement was fostered by another study: ‘The poetics of childbearing: A fusion of qualita- tive approaches.’ Conducted by Dr Stacy Giguere, I was mesmerised by the rich- ness of information provided about this study. Furthermore, I could not believe how this topic could have been investigated – I really liked this idea. Giguere talked about the importance of women’s role in childbearing. She presented a descriptive phenomenological approach which she used in order to look at lived experiences of women, looking at their childbearing and at the cultural influences. The study was interested in ‘How is it for them, how do they perceive their life experience while being pregnant?’ Moreover, the study also focused on the description of the foetus. Their experience of childbearing was described in metaphors which I really liked as, in my opinion, metaphors can help people to describe experiences which are hard for them to describe otherwise. For instance, the participants described their experience as ‘Being a nothingness’ or as ‘Miracle of connections (community)’. This event was not over but I already knew that I would look more into the topics and probably also watch the online presentations again once possible.
The fourth study looked at the last stages across life course. Hollen Reischer, doctoratal candidate in Clinical Psychology, drew attention to her study: ‘A Qualitative research agenda for narrative identity in the last chapters of life.’ I personally love this part of the title – ‘last chapters of life.’ In my opinion, it is a beautiful way of describing the last stage across life. Reischer asked her participants about ‘What is it like to be an older adult? How do they perceive their life? As she also mentioned, the perception of life changes with age and so she wanted them to share meanings of their life stories and of their identities. A narrative iden- tity approach was used for this study. This approach helps to better analyse meaning making process of life stories and to also ask ‘big questions’ (as mentioned in the presen- tation); about the past, present and future lives of the individual. Reischer spoke with passion and excitement which was very pleasant to see.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this online event. For me, as for a student of psychology and for someone who loves chil- dren very much, it was beyond interesting to hear about qualitative studies of those four researchers mentioned above. This online event made me think about many areas of psychology and research which I have never thought about before. For instance, how would I describe my own self-identity? How would I depict it by using artwork? Also, how would women from a different cultural background describe their childbearing? Why and which factors would influence their experience? As the event title ‘Qualitative research across the life course’ states, different stages of life were described, however, in my opinion, it would be nice to present the studies in chronological order; as from the earliest stage (childbearing) to the last stages of life. This would be helpful for the listener.
The presentations were informative, and all researchers showed their passion and their rich knowledge about the subject. There was a bit of time for questions at the end of the event. That was very positive, however, I wish there would be more time as I had many questions. In conclusion, I found this event to be enriching and full of beau- tiful insights; therefore, I think that (SQiP) achieved their goal(s).
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