Social Psychology Special Issue

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Conference review: Purls of Wisdom: Reflections on presenting qualitative research Astrid Coxon 30th Annual PsyPAG Conference, 22–24 September 2015, The University of Glasgow. Having given her first academic conference presentation at the 30th Annual PsyPAG Conference in Glasgow, Astrid Coxon reflects on the experience, and encourages future PsyPAG conference delegates to take the plunge. ON WEDNESDAY 22 JULY 2015, in Glasgow, at PsyPAG’s 30th Annual Conference, I presented a piece of qualitative research for the first time. No, let me qualify that: I presented a piece of research for the first time, in front of a room full of my peers. It just happened to be qualitative. Not only am I a relatively new convert to qualitative research methods, but I had never before given an academic presentation at a conference, and to say I was nervous is an understatement. That is not a typo in the title, by the way. The spelling ‘purls’ is deliberate, echoing the title of my first foray into conference presentation, ‘Close-knit communities: cross-generational social cohesion through knitting together’. I had, flippantly, imagined that this process would be a cake-walk. Because the study was light-hearted, I assumed it would be fun (and easy!) to present it to a room full of my colleagues and peers. What could be more straight-forward than getting up in front of a room full of fellow postgraduates, and talking about the wonders of social knitting? But then the conference programme was released, and I realised: I was the only qualitative presentation in my symposium. In fact, I was one of only a small handful of qualitative presentations being given at PsyPAG2015. For some reason, this filled me with trepidation. And, like any self-respecting philosopher and psychologist, I felt it was important to explore why I reacted this way. I think I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder, still. I used to think that if a study did not involve statistics, it was not worth the paper it was written on. I have since changed my views on this significantly (p-values notwithstanding) – I ended up conducting a qualitative study for my MSc dissertation, and my current PhD research uses primarily qualitative research methods. However, old opinions die hard, and I find myself constantly feeling defensive about the validity of my research, even in the absence of an explicit question. Qualitative research is legitimate and meaningful; I know this to be true. Since being ‘converted’ to qualitative research during my MSc, I have been surprised and encouraged by the meaningful impact that qualitative research can have. There is still an implicit hierarchy between qualitative and quantitative research methods: anecdotally, qualitative colleagues often bemoan the lengths they must go to defend their methods. I still have to regularly revisit the supporting literature, seek the advice of experienced qualitative researchers and the support of peers, to strengthen my resolve. I am definitely more certain of the value of my qualitative work than before. I set off to Glasgow with confidence. As my Hour of Judgement drew closer, however, I began to doubt. My slides had no graphs, no tables, and no p-values to cling onto. These were things I would traditionally 56 PsyPAG Quarterly
Conference review point to, to say ‘look, we did the research, and here are the concrete findings from which we can draw objective conclusions’ (I have since revised my understanding of the term ‘objectivity’ thanks to qualitative research discourse). All I had now were colourful slides, some pictures of women knitting and a handful of wordy quotes to back me up. I felt uneasy, insecure. Would it be enough? I needn’t have worried. It turns out the PsyPAG conference environment is one of the most supportive and encouraging environments in which to fledge your presentation skills. I didn’t feel as though my work was of lesser merit, or that it would be overlooked. I had lovely feedback from peers: Claire Forbes thanked me for a relaxing and interesting start to the day, and I spoke with Julie Pattison, who drew comparison between my study, and her work in old age gambling. The experience lead to lengthy discussions about the merits of qualitative research, and has given me increased confidence in my subsequent presentations (and replying to reviewers!). So for those of you yet to give your first conference presentation, I say go for it. If like me you are unsure about how best to present qualitative findings, then seek out support and guidance from your peers. PsyPAG is a great environment for testing your wings: everyone is in a similar position and keen to support and learn from each other. I’m already looking forward to next year’s PsyPAG conference in York. I hope to see you all there! Correspondence Astrid Coxon PhD candidate, University of East Anglia. Public Engagement Officer, Division of Health <strong>Psychology</strong>. Email: a.coxon@uea.ac.uk @astridcoxon @divhealthpsych THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW <strong>Issue</strong> 97 December 2015 57
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Issue 97 December 2015 Social Psych
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Editor’s Column: A Social Psychol
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Chair’s Column Emma Norris HELLO
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Page 23 and 24: Hints and Tips: Undertaking communi
Page 25 and 26: Figure 1: Biggs’ (1989) four mode
Page 27 and 28: Undertaking community-based researc
Page 29 and 30: Ethical issues encountered in field
Page 31 and 32: Discussion paper: Are postgraduates
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Page 37 and 38: How can social psychology help us b
Page 43 and 44: ‘Let your conscience be your guid
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Page 47 and 48: Psychology as a STEM Discipline ven
Page 49 and 50: Conference review: The British Psyc
Page 51 and 52: Developmental Section Annual Confer
Page 53 and 54: Conference review Left: The confere
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Page 57: Social Section Annual Conference 20
Page 61 and 62: Book reviews indicators, such as th
Page 63 and 64: Book reviews to change this. Import
Page 65 and 66: PsyPAG Committee 2015/2016 Position
Page 67 and 68: About PsyPAG PsyPAG is a national o
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