Learning to Use Discourse Analysis on a Professional Psychology Training Programme: Accounts of Supervisees and a Supervisor

Abstract

Word count: 12,085 words (total including references). AbstractQualitative research methods have become more prominent in professional psychology training over recent years, yet there are relatively few published accounts of how students learn to use these methods. In this article we describe the experiences of British trainee clinical psychologists as they learn to use one qualitative method, Discourse Analysis, for their major research project. Based on these experiences, we discuss key aspects of the research process (e.g. supervision) and delineate dilemmas, theoretical questions, suggestions and practical advice. Extracts from a group discussion involving the supervisor and supervisees (after the trainees had completed their studies) are provided to illustrate some of these themes.

Life-threatening complications in childbirth: a discursive analysis of fathers’ accounts

“…Analysis in discourse analysis is not a proceduralised affair. In their paper about learning to use discourse analysis, Harper, O'Connor, Self, and Stevens (2008) note that the absence of discussion about how to actually conduct a discourse analysis may be both surprising and mystifying to the novice user. Edley (2001, p. 198) refers to it as a "craft skill rather than being something that one can master from first principles", and one that develops through practice.…”

A Mixed Research Synthesis of Literature on Teaching Qualitative Research Methods

“…Research on the structure of qualitative research methods courses was also prevalent in the literature. Four of the articles (Harper et al, 2008;Mitchell et al, 2007;Rogers, 2011;Shaw et al, 2008) proposed that students should be exposed to philosophy of science and epistemological debates related to qualitative research. Qualitative research needed to be "taught in a comprehensive manner," that is, not as a "toolbox of data-collecting methods, thereby reducing the production of constructivist knowledge to technical essentialism" (Mitchell et al, 2007, p. 238).…”

“…This helped to create a positive learning environment that motivated learners to proceed with their research and display curiosity toward new knowledge. Doctoral students also needed help with formulating research questions and analyses that are consistent with their chosen approach, and supervisors needed to involve themselves with students' data collection (Harper et al, 2008) and data analysis (Wang, 2013).…”

“…Several remedies for this problem were suggested in the literature. Inexperienced staff could have been encouraged to collaborate with researchers in other departments who were competent in a specific area of qualitative research (Harper et al, 2008). Staffing policy could have focused on hiring staff members who had the ability to teach and supervise qualitative research at all levels of study (Benton et al, 2011;Mitchell et al, 2007).…”

“…The findings from the empirical studies confirmed that, when students engaged in experiential and practice-based learning, they underwent a paradigm shift about qualitative research (Hein, 2004;Pratt & Dolbin-MacNab, 2003;Reisetter et al, 2003); they made personal connections with the stories shared by their interviewees (Cooper, Fleischer, & Cotton, 2012;Hein, 2004;Nash, 2011); and they also learnt to draw on their own knowledge and subjectivity to develop their identity as qualitative researchers (Barrett, 2007). Furthermore, many of the studies (see, e.g., Belcher & Hirvela, 2005;Harper et al, 2008;Hein, 2004;Henderson et al, 2008;Roulston et al, 2003) reported that the lives of students became apparent through the narratives they wrote about their learning experiences as well as the personal transformation they underwent as a result. Students thus learnt more than research skills when doing research.…”