An editor from Nursing Standard listened to my presentation at the RCN Research Conference and has asked me to publish in the journal.  This poses a small dilemma in that I have not completed my data analysis and with all due respect the NS is probably not where I wish to publish my PhD research findings (fortunately PhD Supervisors agree).  I have replied to the NS editor and offered some work from my literature review regarding depression and antidepressant drug use.........so I now await her reply.

There were a number of excellent presentations which I listened to at the Research Conference which may be relevant to my ongoing work with my PhD:

Challenges and tensions in qualitative research (1.6.1):

- Look at the rhetoric and metaphors within the texts
- Narratives - remember the work of Frank
- If other people are present within the interview then their contribution within the interview will also need to be analysed, possibly as a joint story as dividing up the interviewee plus 3rd person may destroy the story
- Ethical conduct with distressed participants
-Look at the work by Scheurich (1997) - Research in the Post Modern; Goffman (1969) - The presentation of self in everyday life

Enhancing Rigour - Peshkin's Is (1.6.3):

- Peshkin states that researchers need to systematically identify their subjectivity throughout the course of the research
- Record my feelings as a researcher in order to capture subjectivity
- Is = him, me
- e.gs - Paladin I = champion to another group of people; Maverick I = unusual, unorthodox, looking for 'exciting' in the data which may represent the participants; Impatient I; Pragmatic I.....

Emergency Dept. Research Symposium:

- Cochrane review re. methods to increase response rates to postal questionnaires (Edwards et al 2007)
- Practitioner research transition - 'Do I ever stop being a nurse' (Bailey 2007)

Framework (7.7.1):

- Tesch (1990) - Discourse, thematic, theory development
- Framework refs - Pope et al, 2000; Mulvaney, 2006; Prost, 2007.
- Coding index - remember to record all the initial themes and categories and how the linkages and final themes evolved i.e. initial themes -- categories -- final themes -- core concepts

The End Game:

- Think Donadedian - Structure -- Process -- Outcome
- Save thesis in several places - email accounts, flash drives etc
- Proof reading is important - think outside of discipline for proof reading
- Accept supervisor advice - they know best!
- Drafts - keep a track of drafts, name accurately, use coloured paper
- Remember the PhD thesis is a contribution to new knowledge, it is not a seminal work; only needs to be good enough; needs to be easy for the person who is going to read it - summarise sections, refer back to the introduction
VIVA:
- Normally a private event
- Get match fit 4-6 weeks prior to the viva - it is the opportunity to sell your knowledge
- Mock viva is really useful
- Internal examiner is there to ensure the standard is adequate and meets the university standards, usually want you to pass

Utility of the story (9.2.2):

- The essence of something is more than the factual account
- Stories are structured, contextual, chronological
- Themes may be reductionist
- There are risks of deconstructing an account and perhaps changing the story the person is trying to tell
- Refs - Weingraf, 2001 - qualitative research interview; Nemsley, 2000; Merleau Ponty
- Use 'tell me about.....' rather than 'what' in order to get more of a story or anecdote

Illness narratives (9.2.3):

- Alibris has a bookfinder search facility; able to search online bookstores
- Dogpile is a search engine
- Log of activity (Robinson 2001) - practical aspect of search processes
- NESH Guidelines (2003) - information in the public domain i.e. non-gatekeepered sites; need citing as normal (created commons)

Interviewing as a therapeutic activity - see paper (Burns et al 2008):

- Be aware of areas of distress for participant and try and limit this
- Can have therapeutic benefits for participant
- Therapeutic effect enhanced if interviewer leaves participant with a sense of well being at end of interview
- Planning and preparation in advance help to develop trust
- Be aware of the vulnerability of the interviewee; be skilled inactive listening
- Compassionate responses and emotional engagement by the interviewer who is focused on listening to the participant's story can benefit the participant

 

Just back from Liverpool 2008 - another excellent International Research Conference held by the RCN Research Society - it does rain a lot in Liverpool!

Having missed last year's conference in Dundee because of work, PhD and Nurse Prescribing course commitments it was good to be back.  Meeting up with 'old' colleagues from previous conferences and colleagues met via the Health Foundation was great, plus meeting and making new friends.  Networking, and sharing trials and tribulations of PhD study is always supportive - I think I had forgotten quite how supportive though.  Essentially my PhD journey is a lonely one (not complaining) so it is good to have the opportunity to share with others undertaking a similar journey.  Interestingly, I met a few other clinical nurses this year who are also undertaking PhDs - when I first went along to Belfast 2005 I don't think I met anyone who was interested in following a clinical/research pathway, so times are definitely changing.  Hopefully, it is no longer just the HEI nurses who have the monopoly on PhDs.

My presentation on the Wednesday went well, the audience was small but select and good questions were asked.  The Clinical Editor from the Nursing Standard approached me afterwards and has asked me to write something for their journal.  Certainly, I feel that my confidence, and hopefully also competence, at presenting is continuing to improve.

So thank you to Liverpool, it was a great week - an opportunity not only to work hard but also to play hard with all the social events that were organised for each evening, I had a great time and look forward to meeting up with colleagues old and new at Cardiff 2009 if not before.

All has been really quite blog-wise for the past few months - why you might ask?  Is it that I am not doing anything, have I forgotten about the blog or what?  Well if the truth be known I have been a bit stuck in the data analysis tunnel.  What does that mean?

Changing jobs mid PhD is not recommended - all the books tell you that but sometimes when the time comes to move jobs and the right job appears on the scene then one is left with no choice but to go for it and cope with the consequences.  Clearly changing jobs is in itself a major transition without relocating to London Monday-Friday!  Having said that, it has all gone well - the job is great, my flat is great and dividing time between London and Norfolk and the family is working well.  The occasional weekend in London is great - husband comes to me; daughter uses flat as London base for a few days when she is on hols from university - all working well there then.  However, what about the data analysis - has been verrrry slowwww.........  The indexing of all the transcripts was to say the least monotonous, dare I say boring (!) - talking to other qualitative researchers this is true and just the way it is - so I don't feel quite so guilty now about thinking those thoughts.  The charting is fascinating and enthuses me as I start to summarise and chart chunks of data in preparation for the next stage of analysis.  This phase now coincides with completion of 4 months in the new job/flat and I really feel that I can now take the PhD back on board properly instead of fiddling around the edges of it - hope that makes sense.  Also helped by getting all our 2007/08 QOF submissions finally in - the last 4-6 weeks has been a lot of hard work by not only me but also the HE1 Team to get all our QOF data maximised - looks like we will have our best QOF points ever - 50 points more than last year,  a 5% improvement which is great news.

So, I guess to summarise - I can see the light at the end of the data charting phase, only 11 transcripts and a few weeks away; the newness of working life is no longer there and normality and routine are beginning to fall back into place and I have got room in my head to think about the PhD and do justice to the data.

So should you change jobs mid PhD? The right answer is probably no, but if you must then it really is OK, and you do move through the PhD 'stuck' patch and get though to the other side OK.  So my advice - go for it!!