Asia-Pacific Qualitative
Health Research Network
Featured Events
AQUHN Workshop
A Qualitative Methodology Series
In September 2024, we will be hosting an engaging online qualitative methodology series, designed for researchers interested in qualitative research.
This comprehensive workshop series will cover five popular qualitative methodologies used in healthcare disciplines, including Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Interpretive Description, Participatory Action Research, and Phenomenology. Additionally, there will be a session dedicated to qualitative manuscript writing. Participants will have the unique opportunity to learn from leading researchers specialising in each methodology.
September 4, 2024 (Wed) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Professor Sally Thorne
The University of British Columbia
Interpretive Description: An Approach to Qualitative Inquiry in the Applied and Practice Disciplines
September 5, 2024 (Thu) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Dr Michael van Manen
University of Alberta
Phenomenology: Meaning, Speaking, Writing – Textuality in Phenomenological Research
September 6, 2024 (Fri) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Professor Heidi M. Levitt
University of Massachusetts Boston
Grounded Theory: A Critical-Constructivist Approach
September 11, 2024 (Wed) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Dr Catherine Trundle
La Trobe University
Ethnography: Key Principles and Practices
September 12, 2024 (Thu) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Emeritus Professor Amanda Kenny
La Trobe University
Participatory Action Research: Beyond Data Chunks to Action, Change, and Impact
September 13, 2024 (Fri) 09:00 – 11:00 AM (HKT/UTC+8)
Professor Julianne Cheek
Østfold University College
Qualitative Manuscript Writing: How to Increase Your Chances of Publication
Dive into any five workshops above and earn yourself a Certificate of Attendance! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity – register for free until August 26!
Discover more information about each speaker and workshop in the details provided below!
September 4, 2024 (Wednesday)
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Professor
The University of British Columbia
Topic:
Interpretive Description: An Approach to Qualitative Inquiry in the Applied and Practice Disciplines
Abstract
In this presentation, Prof. Thorne will explain the origins of interpretive description and describe the gap it is designed to fill in the lexicon of available methodological options. For disciplines whose research questions arise from the real world of applied practice, rule traditions associated with some of the more conventional methodologies can lead to study reports that lack practice relevance or knowledge translation potential. Interpretive description supports design sense according to the nature of the questions being posed and the audiences that need the answer. Through an overview of the kinds of study design decisions applied researchers may make along the course of their interpretive description studies, participants will come to better understand how to design applied qualitative studies that will produce the kinds of findings that have authenticity and credibility for their practice communities.
Bio
Prof. Sally Thorne, RN, PhD, FAAN, FCAHS, FCAN, CM is Professor Emeritus of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, Canada where she has maintained a longstanding program of substantive research in the fields of chronic illness, cancer experience, and end-of-life care as well as scholarship in the fields of philosophy of science, including the epistemological basis of disciplinary knowledge development in the health fields, and the nature of evidence claims in a complex health policy environment. She is the author of an extensive body of applied qualitative methodological writing, including Interpretive Description (2008, Left Coast) and its second edition Interpretive Description: Qualitative Research for Applied Practice (2016, Routledge). She is Editor-in-Chief for Nursing Inquiry, a journal that publishes critical scholarship in nursing and health care. Prof. Thorne also serves on several other editorial and advisory boards, as well as consulting and speaking on matters relating to qualitative methods nationally and internationally.
September 5, 2024 (Thursday)
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Associate Professor
University of Alberta
Topic:
Phenomenology: Meaning, Speaking, Writing – Textuality in Phenomenological Research
Abstract
As a human science endeavour, how should we understand meaning in relation to text in phenomenological research? How should we consider the words of those whom we may observe, interview, or otherwise engage with? What weight should we give to empirical concerns in the crafting of a research text? What are the limits and possibilities for a text? In this presentation, we will approach the meaning of textuality in phenomenological research. While phenomenological research cannot be reduced to textuality, we may appreciate how through writing and reading we may gain insights and understandings for everyday and extraordinary experiences. This pairing of writing and reading should not forget that we do not get objective accounts from a text; but instead, interpretations that are both our own and also foreign to ourselves, transcending the words of a text.
Bio
Dr Michael van Manen, MD, PhD, FRCPC(Peds,NICU,CIP) is the Chair in Health Ethics, the Director of the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta, Canada. He also has a clinical practice as a physician in neonatal-perinatal medicine with the Stollery Children’s Hospital. His research is primarily concerned with relational ethics, situated within the tradition of phenomenology. Dr van Manen is considered an international expert in qualitative health research. He has made presentations at professional conferences around the world. His research projects relate to ethical decision-making, the experiential life of the fetus/newborn, the use of medical technologies in clinical encounters, and patient-family experiences of hospital care. Dr van Manen has authored articles, book chapters, and books in the fields of phenomenological research methodology, health ethics, neonatal-perinatal medicine, and pedagogy; and has developed and taught numerous workshops and courses on phenomenological research. He is the author of The Birth of Ethics: Phenomenological Reflections on Life’s Beginnings, Phenomenology of the Newborn: Life from Womb to World, and Classic Writings for a Phenomenology of Practice (with Max van Manen).
September 6, 2024 (Friday)
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Professor
University of Massachusetts Boston
Topic:
Grounded Theory: A Critical-Constructivist Approach
Abstract
This workshop provides an orientation on how to conduct critical-constructivist grounded theory (CCGT) research. Grounded theory methods are among the most commonly used qualitative methods across the social sciences because the method is amenable to a wide range of research aims. This session is appropriate for attendees who are interested in an orientation to grounded theory research and/or in using this approach within critical and constructivist qualitative research perspectives. Constructivist researchers examine the interpersonal and social creation of meaning, and critical researchers examine the influence of systems and locations related to power, privilege and oppression. The workshop will describe the central steps of CCGT in terms of research design, data collection, analysis, and writing. It teaches attendees how to tailor the use of procedures so that they become supportive of the aims in their own individual projects. Demonstrations will be given and participants will engage in exercises to practice skills.
Bio
Prof. Heidi M. Levitt, Ph.D. (she/her), is a Professor in the Clinical Psychology program within the Department of Psychology at The University of Massachusetts Boston. She is Editor for Qualitative Psychology (2-year impact factor of 11.7). She is a past-president of the Society of Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP), section of Division 5 of the American Psychological Association (APA). She chaired the development of the SQIP recommendations for reviewing and designing qualitative research. As well, she chaired the development of the inaugural APA journal article reporting standards (JARS) for qualitative, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods and facilitated their integration into the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the APA. The APA Manual informs the reporting and reviewing of journal articles and is the central guide for publishing in the social sciences. Within the APA, she has been awarded Fellow status in multiple divisions. In 2020, she received the Distinguished Contributions in Qualitative Inquiry Award from APA Division 5, which honors an individual who has had a "distinguished history of scientific contributions within the field of qualitative research methods."
September 11, 2024 (Wednesday)
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Senior Lecturer
La Trobe University
Topic:
Ethnography: Key Principles and Practices
Abstract
This talk will discuss the key principles and practices of ethnography and offer real world examples. It will examine the key challenges of conducting ethnography, as well as strategies for communicating the value of ethnographic contributions to interdisciplinary research teams. It will also explore how rigour and quality are understood and assessed within ethnographic projects, and the value of reflexivity.
Bio
Dr Catherine Trundle is a medical anthropologist and ethnographer, and she gained her PhD from Cambridge University in 2009. Her research focuses on environmental health, including rights to a healthy environment, how inequality and social exclusion shape environments of wellbeing, and how to address the underlying systemic, political and social barriers to creating healthy environments. Her current research focuses on heat stress and climate justice in Australia. In asking how might we include diverse voices and perspectives to inform solutions to extreme heat, her research engages different knowledge holders, communicators, and organizers in Melbourne and Australia. As a health ethnographer and qualitative researcher, Dr Trundle co-organizes (along with Tarryn Phillips) the Health Ethnographies Collaboratory, an interdisciplinary network that aims to increase understanding of ethnography and spotlight its value for addressing health problems. She also has expertise in veterans' health and wellbeing, with over a decade of experience engaging veterans perspectives, and she contributes to evaluating and supporting veteran wellbeing programs in Australia.
September 12, 2024 (Thursday)
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Professor
La Trobe University
Topic:
Participatory Action Research: Beyond Data Chunks to Action, Change, and Impact
Abstract
Despite the collection of more and more data, failure to address the individual and societal issues that impact health has seen little gain in addressing the world’s most complex and intractable health problems. We know the problems, but they remain resistant to resolution. We address the causation of ill health in data chunks, reducing ill health to quantifiable or single factors. We ignore social complexity, fail to engage those with lived experience, fail to rapidly translate knowledge, and struggle to prove impact. Participatory Action Research, a qualitative research methodology, is a major departure from common approaches used to address complex health questions. Major change can only occur when power is shared, and people affected by complex and intractable health problems are actively engaged in solutions. Using Participatory Action Research examples, I will cover key features of the methodology and demonstrate how collaborative engagement of ordinary people in research leads to extraordinary outcomes.
Bio
Professor Emerita Amanda Kenny is a nurse and midwife. She led the development of Australia’s largest multidisciplinary rural health school. Her research involves extensive partnerships with vulnerable populations. Professor Kenny is a leader in knowledge translation. She has led or contributed to highly cited policy documents and as an expert witness has given evidence to major government inquiries. In her career, Professor Kenny has attracted almost AU$104 million dollars of grant funding. She has strong international partnerships currently holds international grants and mentors staff and students from a multitude of universities. Professor Kenny is Editor in Chief of the highly ranked journal Nurse Education Today.
(Hong Kong Time: 09:00 – 11:00, UTC+8)
Professor
Østfold University College
Topic:
Qualitative Manuscript Writing: How to Increase Your Chances of Publication
Abstract
Writing a manuscript reporting qualitative research is an art. It requires thinking about what to report, how, in what depth, and in a way that the trustworthiness and significance of the research is established. Equally it requires reflexive thinking when choosing where to publish that report and why. Where we choose to publish our research (e.g. which journal) affects how we write our research as another set of considerations are introduced such as congruence with the scope of the journal, word limits, and compliance with other requirements in that journal´s guidelines. In this session we explore how to navigate these requirements when crafting a paper. We look at examples of how such navigation has, and. might be done, as well as common reasons for why papers are not deemed suitable for publication. We also discuss how to respond to reviews and revise manuscripts during the peer review process.
Bio
Prof. Julianne Cheek is currently a professor at Østfold University College, Norway. She is Editor-in-Chief of Qualitative Health Research as well as being an international advisory board member and editorial board member of a number of books and journals related to qualitative inquiry. Her publications reflect her ongoing interest in qualitative inquiry and the politics of that inquiry. In addition, she has a long interest in the mentoring and development of qualitative inquirers. She has developed post-doctoral programs in this field as well as having responsibility for the development of PhD and Masters by research programs. In 2010–12 she had the honour of serving as Vice President of the International Association of Qualitative Inquiry and she currently serves on the External Advisory Board of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry held annually at the University of Illinois.
Asia-Pacific Qualitative Health Research Network (AQUHN) Webinar
Empowering Health Narratives: Advancing Rigour and Impact in Qualitative Health Research
The Asia-Pacific Qualitative Health Research Network (AQUHN) Webinar was held online on December 5 and 6, 2023.
The "Empowering Health Narratives: Advancing Rigour and Impact in Qualitative Health Research" webinar is a dynamic event aimed at fostering innovation and collaboration in qualitative health research. Bringing together experts, researchers, enthusiasts, and postgraduate students, the webinar facilitates knowledge exchange and the development of new strategies for enhancing research rigor and impact.
Structured around four key topics, the webinar addresses critical aspects of qualitative research in healthcare.
Professor Karin Olson - How to Conduct Rigorous Qualitative Research
Professor Joan Bottorff - Successful Qualitative Research Manuscript Writing
Professor Julianne Cheek - Qualitatie research in Mixed-methods Studies
Professor Ruth Garside - Qualitative Evidence Synthesis
12th Hong Kong International Nursing Forum cum 1st Asia-Pacific Qualitative Health Research Network (AQUHN) Conference
The inaugural Asia-Pacific Qualitative Health Research Network (AQUHN) conference held virtually on December 3, 2022 marked the establishment of the Network with the aim to foster the rigorous development and application of qualitative and mixed-method designs for health research in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. An inaugural signing ceremony (virtual) was also held during the Conference.