The Import of Time Frame and Tempo in Qualitative Longitudinal Research on Professions Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Whilst educational researchers often explore lived experiences relative to time, dominant approaches to research seldom grapple with the concept of time (Neale, 2019). We argue that educational research on trajectories, transitions, and socialization demands the interrogation of time as integral to the research process. Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) is a methodology that generates qualitative data with the same participants through time to understand lived experiences as they unfold (Balmer, 2021). We highlight 3 papers to illustrate different ways of conducting QLR in professions education in terms of time frame and tempo: short-term and staccato, medium-term and tenuto, long-term and legato. Each paper pushes the boundaries of qualitative research and wrestles with consequences of sustained relationships with QLR participants.

Sub Unit

• Division I - Education in the Professions

Chair

• Dorene F. Balmer, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Papers

• Exploring the Research Encounter as a Safe Space for Relational Reflexivity - Lisi Gordon, University of Dundee; Katy Mason, University of Lancaster; Martyna Sliwa, Durham University; Nic Beech, Middlesex University

• Advancing Socialization Theories in Medical School Through Gender, Time, and Relationships - Emiko Blalock, Michigan State University

• Aligning Theorization and Research Design: Multiple and Multidimensional Transitions Theory and Qualitative Longitudinal Research - Divya Jindal-Snape, University of Dundee