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