PQR FAQs and Resources

Below are some of the most common questions that we are asked by researchers considering PQR. Do you have more to add to the answers? Or, do you have other questions that you would like to be addressed by our research community? Please submit questions under the ‘Contact us’ Tab. We will post the answers in a blog-post in the near future.

(Scroll down to the bottom of this page (below the FAQs) to check out the Resources section).

What is Pluralistic Qualitative Research?

Pluralistic qualitative research combines qualitative approaches, methods or techniques in the same piece of research to explore a phenomenon from different perspectives, in different ways and along and across different dimensions. It is the mixing of qualitative methods in pursuit of a more holistic insight into the human experience.  It regards the complexity of human experience as being better understood from multiple perspectives and promotes the combining of worldviews as a way to pursue this.  A pluralistic qualitative approach does not seek to validate claims made by the research process but to prioritise the topic of the research by exploring the data to find as much meaning as possible.

Why use Pluralistic Qualitative Research (PQR)?

As a pluralistic qualitative researcher, you may want to gain as much insight to experience as possible or to gain more holistic insight than can be achieved using one method alone.  PQR allows you to draw on a range of appropriate research tools to ask and address one research question in different ways or to ask new research questions as the research evolves. Some researchers have found PQR to be particularly useful in investigating phenomena with little ontological consensus, such as ‘sense of presence’ experiences (Steffen & Coyle, 2010).  Others have used it to reduce the potential bias of ‘insider research’ such as mothers researching mothers (Frost & Holt, forthcoming).  PQR can be useful meanings are contested by different stakeholders (e.g. Nolas, 2010) or when evaluating services (e.g. Frost & Nolas, 2013).

In what ways is PQR different from mixed methods research?

Most fundamentally PQR differs from mixed methods because it only uses qualitative methods to gain greater insight into the breadth and depth of a phenomenon. Each layer of qualitative analysis aims to extract further meaning and understanding from the phenomenon under study.  However PQR shares some of the same underlying principles of some mixed methods approaches (e.g. Mason, 2006).  It aims to be conduct research that keeps the research topic central to the investigation, to use the most appropriate qualitative methods, tools and techniques to address the research question, and not to be sidetracked by ‘methodolatry’.

Which areas of research is PQR techniques most appropriate for use in?

In the field of psychology, PQR is well suited to gaining a multi-dimensional understanding of the stories that people use to make sense of themselves and their situations.  It is particularly well placed as a research tool for developing the breadth and depth of a phenomenon which may be new or, as yet, poorly understood. Areas of applied clinical work are also able to benefit from PQR, especially in evaluations and service user accounts.

Does this require researchers to be very well versed in a multitude of qualitative research techniques?

It is important to the rigour of the research that the most appropriate qualitative methods are employed and that they are employed with adherence to an appropriate level of expertise.  This is in addition to having a sound rationale for the inclusion and introduction of each method in the study.  It may be that one person is not sufficiently experienced or knowledgeable to employ all the methods that they think useful to the research so it is not unusual for PQR to be carried out by a team of researchers.  However, plenty of researchers use PQR with methods they know, such as using the narrative analysis to understand identity construction and employing a thematic or discourse analysis to identify significant themes and language used in accounts of experience.

Resources

Edith Steffen has kindly contributed a helpful bullet point list of what pluralism in qualitative research is. Click on the following link: Pluralistic research in bullet points.

The Centre for Narrative Research (CNR) at the University of East London with associates from Monash University (Italy) and Erasmus-linked Linkoping University (Sweden) convened an international Narrative Innovations Summer School in 2012. This attracted worldwide interest and attendance from researchers and students. The 5 day Summer School covered a number of topics, such as narrative tensions and interactions, narrative styles and effects, ethics, embodied storytelling, political narratives, interviewing as relational practice, visual narratives, and reflexivity. The organisers have made the content of the presentations, papers, seminars and workshops publicly available online. Please follow this link for access to these free resources.

Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA)

They cordially invite you to join the Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA), an exciting, new professional association created to promote the development of an international and interdisciplinary mixed methods research community. Among the many benefits of membership will be:

To join the MMIRA, check out the Membership page.

Here is the link to their new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mmira

International Institute for Qualitative Methodology’s Mixed Methods Webinar Series

IIQM is proud to bring you on-line Qualitative Webinars! These webinars give people around the world the opportunity to learn and interact with leading qualitative researchers as they share their knowledge during one hour, free, on-line sessions.

The Mixed Methods Webinar Series is an online colloquium for those interested in Mixed Methods research. Connect to learn from and engage with internationally known researchers around a variety of topics linked to Mixed Methods. This new series kicked off in February 2016 and is co-presented by IIQM and the Mixed Methods International Research Association (MMIRA). In one-hour session, researchers will present as well as engage with registered participants to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences. You are invited to participate in there free webinars irrespective your discipline or career stage.

Link to this upcoming webinar can be found here

International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (IIQM) Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series

IIQM Distinguished Scholars are those who have been awarded the designation as it recognizes their minimum ten years of outstanding contributions, leadership and service to the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology. Recipients of the IIQM Distinguished Scholar award maintain this permanent affiliation with IIQM and are selected by the IIQM Director in consultation with members of the IIQM Advisory Board.

This lecture series will give those in attendance the opportunity to hear and learn from those special individuals who have been and continue to be advocates for IIQM.

Link to past lectures of this series can be found here.

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