Qualitative Open Mic: Qualitative Conundrums - Michael Larkin on reflexivity

Qualitative research often brings up a lot of questions for researchers with much debate and few clear answers. This series aims to tackle some of the fundamental questions we face conducting qualitative research, and provide insight from experts into ways to address these qualitative conundrums.

In this episode

Dr Michael Larkin talks about how to incorporate reflexivity into qualitative research in a meaningful way. Michael is a Reader in the School of Psychology at Aston University. He is interested in how people make sense of - and cope with - difficult or distressing experiences, and particularly interested in the role played relationships with professionals, peers and family. His teaching and supervisory work draws on applied psychology, phenomenology, philosophy of science, implementation and intervention science, meta-synthesis, and co-design.

In this episode, Michael and Sohail cover a lot of ground on the many aspects of reflexivity. They start by discussing what reflexivity actually is, different ways of engaging with reflexivity, and drawing on everyday experiences to improve our reflexivity in research. They also reflect on when in the research process reflexivity should begin, doing reflexivity on a group level, institutional contexts and histories and the impact of this on our research, how to authentically discuss reflexivity in publications, and finally, authentic vs performative reflexivity. It is a fascinating discussion that will really reinvigorate your own reflexive practices and writing.

Listen below, or on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.