Reflexive Journal Research Articles

Music therapy's relevance in a cancer hospital researched through a constructivist lens.

The constructivist research paradigm informed a research investigation on the relevance of music therapy in a cancer hospital, that is, what did the music therapy do and did it help? Over 3 months, criterion sampling was used to elicit interpretations in 5 studies from 5 sources: 128 patients who participated, 27 patients who overheard or witnessed music therapy, 41 visitors, 61 staff, and the music therapist-researcher. Fifty-seven percent of the patients who participated had advanced or end stage cancer. The music therapist's interpretations were recorded in a reflexive clinical journal and the respondents' interpretations were written on anonymous open-ended questionnaires. Thematic and content analyses were performed on the 5 groups of data with the support of qualitative data management software. Findings from the 5 data groups were contrasted and compared. Many patients', visitors' and staff members' affective, contemplative, and imagined moments in music therapy affirmed their "aliveness," resonating with an expanded consciousness, in a context where life's vulnerability is constantly apparent. Philosophical depictions about the relevance of music in human life, including theories by Addis and Winnicott, substantiated the therapeutic reactions.

Life experience of Taiwanese adolescents with cancer.

This grounded theory study aimed to develop a conceptual framework of the life experience of Taiwanese adolescents with cancer. Sixteen adolescents (nine males and seven females) with cancer at all stages of the illness (i.e. diagnosis through terminal stage) were interviewed. Data were collected through in-depth interview with patients and primary caregiver, observations, medical chart reviews, nurses' notes, and researcher's reflexive journals. An unsettled state of mind emerged as the core category representing the life experience of adolescents with cancer. This multifaceted, dynamic process was elicited by the diagnosis of cancer or a change in clinical status. Five distinct subcategories of the life experience, in order of importance reported by participants emerged: physical and psychological, cognitive, social and future orientation aspects.

An Ethnographic Study of Cohesiveness in a College Soccer Team Over a Season

Based on an ethnographic study of a collegiate soccer team over an eight-month season, the purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the factors that contributed to team cohesion. Data were collected via participant observation, formal and informal interviews, documentary sources, a field diary, and a reflexive journal. The description-analysis-interpretation approach recommended by Wolcott (1994) framed the data analysis. Four key themes that influenced cohesion were clear and meaningful roles, selfishness/personal sacrifices, communication, and team goals. The fluctuating nature of these themes are discussed in relation to the multidimensional heuristic for cohesion presented by Cota, Evans, Dion, Kilik, and Longman (1995).

Perspectives of Adolescents with Visual Impairments on Social Support from Their Parents

This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of 12 adolescents with visual impairments on the social support they received from their parents. Data were generated from in-depth interviews, field notes, a reflexive journal, informal observations, and time lines of life events. Emerging themes illustrated processes by which participants received emotional, informational, and tangible support. The implications for the training of parents, rehabilitation counselors, and educators are provided.

ADAPTATIONAL PROCESS OF PARENTS OF PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY PATIENTS

This study, based on grounded theory, explores the adaptational process of parents of pediatric oncology patients. Thirty-two Taiwanese parents (26 mothers and 6 fathers) were interviewed. Data were collected through individual in-depth and focus group interviews, observations, medical chart review, nurses' note, and researchers' reflexive journals. The findings suggest that parents adapt to their children's cancer by a dynamic process; i.e., they modify their coping tasks and related strategies as clinical events (e.g., diagnosis, side effects, relapses, or death) occur. This adaptational process consisted of five components: confronting treatment, maintaining family integrity, establishing support, maintaining emotional well-being, and searching for spiritual meaning. Related factors such as coping tasks are described.

Ethical and methodologic benefits of using a reflexive journal in hermeneutic-phenomenologic research.

To illustrate the importance of considering the researcher's written reflections on the qualitative research process as a valuable source of data and as a means of enhancing ethical and methodologic rigour. Excerpts from the researcher's reflexive journal are presented as evidence of an audit trail. Ethical and methodologic concerns arising during the research process are outlined and the value of reflecting on these issues is addressed. A hermeneutic-phenomenologic study, conducted in Scotland, included in-depth interviews with six problem drinkers to explore the lived experience of their suffering. The researcher was considered to be a primary data-collection tool, whose reflections on the research process added to the contextual richness of the study. For an interpretative approach to data analysis, the researcher found metaphors to convey the participants' stories to a new audience. This intuitive, creative process was analysed and reported in the reflexive journal. The researcher's self-awareness, fostered by the use of a reflexive journal, is mirrored by the participants' ability to reflect on the final interpretation of their stories and on the therapeutic benefits of the research process. The researcher's reflexive journal reveals previously hidden contextual information which enhances the prime ethical and methodologic aim of the study--to understand the lived experience of suffering by problem drinkers.

People with drinking problems experienced suffering as a vicious, spiralling vortex that encompassed all aspects of their being

Smith BA. The problem drinker's lived experience of suffering: an exploration using hermeneutic phenomenology. J Adv Nurs 1998 Jan; 27 : 213 –22. [OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Question How do people...

“Getting better from my hurts”: Toward a model of the young child's pain experience

A qualitative grounded theory method was used to examine hospitalized children's experiences of acute pain. Understanding the children's pain experiences included identifying children's responses, factors influencing children's responses, and the meanings children associated with their pain experiences. A sample of 11 surgical pediatric patients, 2-1/2 to 6-1/2 years of age, participated. Data collection methods included participant observation, informal and formal interviews, play interviews, hospital chart reviews, and use of a reflexive journal. Data analysis was based on the constant comparative method. Findings revealed that the pain experience determined how the overall hospitalization was experienced by the children. "Getting better" was identified as the basic psychosocial process children used to deal with the pain. A beginning model of the young child's pain experience was developed and is presented here.