Reflecting on qualitative research, feminist methodologies and feminist psychology: In conversation with Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke

Abstract

Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke met as PhD students at Loughborough University where their research was supervised by pioneering feminist psychologists Professors Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger. They began writing collaboratively about qualitative methods in 2006; their first output was a paper on thematic analysis that has proved rather popular (25,000 citations and counting on Google Scholar), and they have subsequently written numerous chapters on thematic analysis and qualitative methods, a prize-winning textbook Successful Qualitative Research (Sage, 2013), they have edited (with Debra Gray) Collecting Qualitative Data (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and have books on thematic analysis and story completion (the latter with Naomi Moller) in progress (both for Sage). They were invited to give a joint keynote address at the 2016 POWS Conference and speak to the conference theme of feminist methodologies. Their talk was entitled “We can do it!” Feminist qualitative research and methodological innovation and ended with everyone in the room flexing their biceps Rosie the Riveter style (you may have seen the pictures on Twitter)! Glen Jankowski met Virginia and Victoria at Victoria’s home in Gloucestershire in early November 2016 to discuss and reflect on their POWS keynote and feminist methodologies, qualitative research and feminist psychology more broadly. Glen audio recorded and transcribed the conversation, and all three have edited the transcript for clarity, including adding references where relevant for interested readers.