Thematic analysis

A number of themes have been extracted from the data. The key ones picked out for the study are:

• Becoming a learning disability nurse


• Role Diversity


• Identity


• change

Within the first theme of 'becoming a learning disability nurse there were some key points and questions for me to use to scrutinise the data. Initially there were many questions but in phase two these were reduced further Phase 1

1) Influences & choices

Influencing factors in thinking about becoming a nurse – people – parents/friends/girlfriends/boyfriends. Personality styles? – saw self as a ‘carer’. Wanted to ‘make a difference’. Deliberate or non deliberate decision to ‘choose’ LD nursing. What people wanted to be prior to this (if anything). At what point did they decide to apply to LD nursing? Educational background – failed A levels etc

2) Applying inc. Timing – life events etc

Timing – personal - At what age did they apply and what were the life events surrounding this. Ie needing to leave home/unemployment)

Timing – policy – where were we at in terms of policy? Were people making direct applications to hospitals or through an education establishment.?

3) Knowledge and experience of LD

Did an pre application experience of working with people with learning disabilities (pwld) influence the decision to apply. (In the main – yes) How do people describe this experience? Not just pwld but the staff who work with them as influencing too. The notion of ‘injustice’ and wanting to ‘make a difference’

4) Experiences during training

Type of training – joint training with mental health/ starting with another branch of nursing ie adult/ changing branches part way through a course (indecision – what led to this?) Both positive and negative experiences during training and the shaping of the nurse. Resilience

Phase 2

The theme was further reduced into two key categories:

• Influencing factors - The influence of people, timing and experience


• Experiences during training - types of training, decisions/indecision, resilience and change

The next steps 20 participants with interviews of on average 90 minutes generates a large data set and in order to undertake in depth analysis I am selecting 6 particpants as 'cases' to scrutinise in depth and the remaining 14 participant's experienceswill be drawn in to illustrate appropriate concepts and issues. Pen pictures or vignettes have been written for all participants to give the reader a feel for the careers of those involved.

End of data collection

Friday saw the last of my interviews. I have completed 20 in all. across 9 counties of England with 13 staff from the NHS, 3 people who have retired and 4 who work in non NHS settings. In relation to length of career there were nurses representing all of the decades from the 60's through to 2008.

A range of diverse roles were represented - specialist nurses within the NHS including health facilitation roles, acute liaison roles, inpatient and non inpatient services. There were also management and leadership roles represented - a modern matron, locality manager, lead for public health and commissioning lead. In non NHS roles there were managers from within social services and the independent sector.

I have felt honoured to be able to listen to peoples stories of their careers and many of them echoed my own experiences.

The next phase is thematic analysis

A challenge too far!

The online interviews are off for this project. I just havent been able to get over the issue of blocks and firewalls. Most people of course want to undertake the interviews during working time and during the testing phase I cannot find a 'chat room' environment that the various firewalls will let in. There are systems through which I can develop my own but the time and technological skills required is not something that I have for this project.

So although the online interviews were a potential tool for follow ups I will be using email as an asynchronous route for any follow ups I need.

Thats the bad news .... next post the good news

Challenges of online interviewing

An increasing number of researchers are using computer mediated communication (CMC) to undertake data collection. focus groups, interviews and the like are engaged with in the virtual world allowing for geographical distance and an inexpensive way to collect qualitative data but there are challenges.

The decision whether to use synchronous or asynchronous techniques is a key issue for the researcher to grapple with - synchronous will give a real time experience but can be difficult to manage particularly if it is a focus group and a number of participants are involved.

Mediating the conversation and ensuring that the research questions have been covered can be a challenge. Asynchronous (not real time) techniques (some studies using emails with interview questions posted to the participant directly or view a messageboard system) allow for a more considered response from the participant but is this what the researcher is looking for? For both there are a number of considerations and specifically for my study and the online interviews: The challenge of developing a reflective 'conversation' rather than a closed response to a series of questions. Also the recognition that synchronous 'conversations' use more of the conventions found in speech whilst asynchronous is more literate. For example synchronous conversations may include more references to humour and other emotions. The use of emoticons and phrases such as lol (Laughs Out Loud) replaces verbal utterances in the face to face interview.

For the study I am undertaking the challenge will be to create an environment which will enable synchronous 'conversation' as a follow up to a previous face to face interview. The development of rapport will be important but I will have met the participants prior to the online interview so the will have a mental picture of who they are 'talking to'. Some studies have also pointed to concerns around confidentiality, use of complex programmes and people being able to 'log into' a conversation. to address these issues I will be using a 'chatroom' environment called 'disposable chat'. The room is set up using a password and once the conversation has finished the 'room' disappears. No one can enter the room without the password so each participant will be sent by email their password and a link to access the room. I will also send telephone contact details in case of technical difficulties. We will meet in there at a mutually agreed time and date and have our conversation.Files of the conversation can then be saved to a secure server.

The online interviews will start in October and continue with those participants who want to be involved.

Annual Review

The time has come again for my annual review - Thursday this week I will be reviewing the year and my progress.

So where am I? Two interviews under my belt and another planned for Thursday afternoon. The interview technique is challenging and I have found that in order to gather the data I want I am adapting the BNIM method more and more. The first phase works well - using the SQUIN means there is am open opportunity to tell their story. In accordance with the method the second part of the interview develops particular incident narratives to explore aspects of their story further.
Another 7 interviews are planned for early June so Iam hoping there are no cancellations and these go to plan.

The next step after the interviews are to transcribe the interviews and email these back to the participant. At this time the particpants will be asked if they would like to take part in an online follow up interview, having found a 'chat room' environment that meets my needs.

to be continued.....

Where did time go??

June !!!! Is that the last time I blogged - shame on me! Time to catch up.

Ethical approval was followed by a pilot interview in July. A critical element in the research process. A chance to 'test out' the biographical narrative interview technique. The interview went well, a nurse who had worked within local authority provision for over 15 years. A key area of interest was how this individual maintained her identity as a learning disability nurse even working outside of the NHS for such a prolonged period.

The interview was recorded on a data recorder and transcribed. Following transcription I had the opportunity to send the transcription to Tom Wengraf for comments. The comments received were useful and provided critical feedback. The process of interview will be discussed elsewhere in the blog as this was a steep learning curve.

August and September saw me writing the transfer report required but the University to transfer from MPhil to PhD. Initially I felt this was a 'hoop' to jump through as I already hold a Masters degree but the University regulations state that as it is more than 5 years old I had to register as a MPhil student then transfer. However, I found the process valuable and clarified my thoughts and work to date. The report was assessed and approved by early November.

With a break for Christmas, an interview for a new post, and a three week holiday in Australia I started March with a 'spring' in my PhD step.

I contacted 6 of the individuals who had agreed to take part in the study and sent out a 'final call' for further participants. This has lead to a renewed interest in the study and I am starting to 'book' interview dates and times.

A decision also needed to be made about the 3rd phase of the interview which is the online interview. I had been planning to use a 'chat room' environment but had become concerned about my lack of technical knowledge and ability to organise this. However I have discovered a website which offers simple, free and instant online chat rooms and have decided that I do want to continue to use this as part of my methodology.

So hopefully I am on track and will post around interview techniques shortly

Ethics Approval for my research !!!

Since my last blog I have received ethics approval for my research - Yipeeee!
Putting together the paperwork was a very interesting process, ensuring that the methodology was clear and ethical issues had been discussed and addressed.
It was a great feeling to receive the letter from the committee stating it was approved but also meant I needed to start the next phase - data collection.

For me and I am sure many researchers this is the bit that feels 'real'. Getting to nub of the research and the views of the participants BUT a couple of things to do first:

Advertise for my sample population on social network sites.

Send out information sheets to ensure all particpants are fully aware of the research and the process.

And then wait ..........

I sent the invitations out last week and today in two batches and thankfully I already have six people interested in being involved. Information sheets have been sent to those who have shown an interest in participating with a deadline of three weeks for reply. By the end of July I should have a clear view of who will be my participants.

In the meantime I have a pilot interview planned for early July which will allow for full testing of both the SQUIN and the follow up.

I have a further deadline for september for my transfer report so working hard on that now too.

Nicky