There was little curriculum time for learning about research during my medical program.  Rather, in the first two years as students, we spent time carrying out experiments on tissues, the results of which were already known.  Many rats were sacrificed to help us learn laboratory techniques but nothing that seemed relevant to later practice.  

We had to do a literature review in 2^nd year – I don’t remember much instruction on how to do this.  Pre-internet, this involved looking through volumes in the Index Medicus with its very small writing and hoping that the journal issues I needed were on the library shelves.  My review was on the physiological and biochemical effects of opioids on the brain – a topic I am still interested in clinically, so time well-spent for content if not process. 

At some point I became aware that medical practice is underpinned by scientific research but also that a lot of management was built on the premise that ‘we have always done it this way’. I graduated with only a vague sense of how research was undertaken, but what I did know mainly related to the importance of randomised clinical trials.

Many years later while undertaking a higher degree in medical education I discovered the world of qualitative research, and as a mature but junior academic worked with a ‘professional’ qualitative researcher.  Qualitative studies were appearing in medical journals with certain phrases recurring such as grounded theory, thematic analysis, coding, focus groups, saturation…  My qualitatively focussed colleague recommended looking at papers outside medicine that could better demonstrate the richness of the field.  Here I got to grips with ontology and epistemology, lived experience and narrative.

Immersion in qualitative research for the first time is challenging as there are many approaches. This variety is highlighted in Varieties of Qualitative Research Methods.  In this book 76 short (5-6 page) chapters summarise a range of methodologies and methods.  A typical chapter starts with a brief history of the topic, a description of the approach, how it can be used, the process to undertake, strengths and limitations, and a useful set of references and additional resources, including online examples.  There are also engagement activities that could be used for teaching. 

Topics include action research, actor-network theory, autoethnography, critical theory, force-field analysis, hermeneutic phenomenology, and symbolic interactionism. There are several chapters with an indigenous focus: decolonising methodologies – a Pacific Island lens; Fa’afaletui framework (Samoa); Indigenous métissage (Canada); Kakala research framework (Tonga); and Kaupapa Māori (Aotearoa/New Zealand).  

It is interesting but rather overwhelming.  There are obvious similarities across the contents and, while the application for each approach is suggested, it is hard in places to understand why one would be better than another in a particular study.  There is also some confusion related to terminology, for example chapter 40 is Interpretative analysis, which the author explains is sometimes called interpretative phenomenological analysis, while chapter 43 by a different author is devoted to ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis.’  

In summary – this book would be best employed as a complement to a standard qualitative research textbook in combination with some experience of working with and as a qualitative researcher.  It widened my perspectives and encouraged me to explore some areas in more depth.   

Note: there are many typos and some unfortunate mistakes such as illicit instead of elicit.  

Varieties of qualitative research methods. Selected contextual perspectives. Edited by Janet Mola Okoko, Scott Tunison and Keith D Walker. Springer Texts in Education, 2023.