The Qualitative Open Mic
Episodes
Neurodiversity Matters: Kai Syng Tan and Georgia Thom on creative practice
04 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Qualitative researchers are increasingly turning to creative methods and methodologies to expand perspectives on health, healthcare, and divergent way...
Neurodiversity Matters: Alyssa Hillary Zisk on Augmentative and Alternative Communication
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Autistic people have a whole constellation of communication needs and styles, but these are not always understood or accommodated by researchers. This...
Neurodiversity Matters: Daria Khanolainen on dyslexia and self-esteem
17 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Neurodiversity and neurodivergence have been revolutionary ideas in autism research, and later in ADHD. But how do they apply to other diagnoses or ex...
Qualitative Open Mic: Anti-racist Qualitative Health Research - Bee Damara on theory
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We are re-publishing Bee Damara's interview with the Qualitative Open Mic, which had been temporarily removed from our archive and was part of the Ant...
Neurodiversity Matters: Victoria Castle on participatory research and neuroinclusive parenting measures
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Parents get a lot of advice, and a lot of it is conflicting or inappropriate. Parenting research aims to be better than that – but is it, when neuro...
Neurodiversity Matters: Elizabeth Hauke on neurodivergent autoethnography and inclusive education
16 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Autoethnographers use their personal experiences to explore wider issues, relationships, or situations. So what happens if you experience the world di...
Neurodiversity Matters: Hannah Belcher on (un)masking and mental health research
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sohail interviews Dr Hannah Belcher, author of Taking off the Mask and lecturer in user-led research at King's. They cover some of the ethical compl...
Neurodiversity Matters: Morénike Giwa Onaiwu on antiracist advocacy
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Has qualitative research been complacent about its ability to highlight marginalised perspectives? Sohail speaks to Dr Morénike Giwa Onaiwu about for...
Neurodiversity Matters: Monique Botha on funding priorities and community justice
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why is the funding agenda for autism research so far from what the communities concerned want? There’s a long tradition of prioritising neurobiologi...
Neurodiversity Matters: Damian Milton on double empathy and autistic worlds
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Series 7 of the Qualitative Open Mic! This series discusses the many ways neurodivergent perspectives can improve the quality, insights and...
Qualitative Controversies: Johnny Saldaña on blue collar qualitative research
15 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In an academic landscape dominated by formality and jargon, Johnny Saldaña brings a refreshingly raw perspective with his ideas on 'Blue Collar Quali...
Qualitative Controversies: Hyab Yohannes and Tesfalem Yemane on refugee-led scholarship
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Why are there limited voices from sanctuary seekers in qualitative research about migrant health? Tesfalem Yemane and Hyab Yohannes bring a vital pers...
Controversies in qualitative research: Amy Wells on challenging tokenistic involvement
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The involvement of service users in research holds transformative potential, but what happens when it becomes mere tokenism? When is it better to step...
Qualitative Controversies: health research under siege
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amidst the ongoing occupation and genocide in Palestine, how do qualitative health researchers navigate their work and find their voice? What kind of ...
Coming soon: Health research under siege: being a qualitative researcher in Palestine
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Watch this space for the next episode in our controversies series - we're translating the transcript for this one into Arabic so we've got a slight de...
Qualitative Controversies: Peter West-Oram on government influence in research
18 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In October 2023, then-minister Michelle Donelan accused members of UK Research and Innovation's EDI committee of holding "extremist views" based on th...
Qualitative Controversies: Ginger Johnson on emergency response
21 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we challenge the misconception that qualitative research is too slow and narrow to influence emergency response planning. Despite the ...
Qualitative Controversies:Tiarna Lee on the machine behind the method
18 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sohail speaks to Tiarna Lee to explore the frontier of AI's role in health research.explore the frontier of AI's role in health research. While techno...
Qualitative Controversies: Profit and pricing in academia with Kirsten Bell
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In July 2023, all of the 44 editors of acclaimed Critical Public Health journal simultaneously resigned, citing concerns about Taylor and Francis' pri...
Making interpretations: Joy Llewellyn-Beardsley on lived experience
15 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode reflects on how lived experience can engender insights, support the interpretative process and enhance the trustworthiness of qualitative...
Making interpretations: Elaine Keane on Constructivist Grounded Theory
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Constructivist grounded theory's origins lie in criticisms of classical grounded theory as overly objectivist and insufficiently reflexive when it com...
Making Interpretations: Alda Terracciano on Interpreting Creative Data
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The use of creative and participatory methods throws up complex issues for researchers. How do we interpret creative work? What knowledge and skills d...
Making interpretations: Michael Larkin - Leaning into interpretation in IPA
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode reflects on the history and theory of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: where does its approach to meaning sit in relation to other...
Making interpretations: Shira Birnbaum - How can we support qualitative researchers in making interpretations?
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode explores the role of supervisors and mentors in furnishing the interpretative processes. How can they support novice and more experienced...
Qualitative Open Mic: Ethics in Qualitative Research – Episode 6 - Nishita Nair on marginalised researchers’ ethical processes
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore Nishita’s research on whether social research ethics codes and institutional processes effectively aid researchers worki...
Qualitative Open Mic: Ethics in Qualitative Research – Episode 5 – MarÃa Cristina Quevedo-Gómez on Culture and Ethics
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, MarÃa Cristina Quevedo-Gómez discusses how collaboration when coming from different countries and belonging to different cultures c...
The Qualitative Open Mic: Ethics in Qualitative Research – Episode 4 – Janet Holt on how can health ethics committees adapt?
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Janet Holt explores health ethics committees and issues around transparency, dialogue, emerging qualitative methods and regulatory ve...
Qualitative Open Mic: Ethics in Qualitative Research – Episode 3 – Tanya Mackay on Sharing Ethical Knowledge
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Tanya Mackay explores how sharing ethical knowledge can provide a way through ethical dilemmas in qualitative health research
Ethics in Qualitative Research - Episode 2 - Latefa Guemar on the skills and values of an ethical researcher
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Latefa explores the values and skills needed by ethical researchers across diverse settings and research approaches
Ethics in Qualitative Research - Episode 1 - Leslie Cannold on becoming an ethical researcher
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Leslie Cannold discusses different perspectives on ethics, and explores ways of becoming ethical qualitative researchers.
Qualitative Open Mic: Anti-racist Qualitative Health Research - Episode 4 – Mary Sadid on coproduction, racial justice and mental health
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Mary Sadid discusses the ways in which coproduction in qualitative mental health research can benefit racialised minorities. Listen...
Anti-racist Anti-racist Qualitative Health Research - Ricardo Twumasi on being anti-racist in how we share qualitative research
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Ricardo discusses how the way we publish and share qualitative health research can help or hinder the cause of anti-racism
Anti-racist Qualitative Health Research - Wayne Farah on framing anti-racist research questions
11 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Wayne Farah looks what makes a qualitative health research question anti-racist
Qualitative Conundrums Episode 6 - Co-production
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Oli Williams reflects on how to do meaningful co-production
Qualitative Conundrums - Michael Larkin on reflexivity
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the penultimate episode of our 'Qualitative Conundrums' series, Michael Larkin discusses how to be a reflexive qualitative researcher
Qualitative Conundrums - Episode 4 - Impact
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Harriet Boulding talks about how to ensure qualitative research has real-world impact
Qualitative Conundrums Episode 3 - Theory
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the third episode of our 'Qualitative Conundrums' series, Sharli Paphitis discusses how to use theory in qualitative analysis.
Qualitative Conundrums Episode 2 - Quality
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Michelle O'Reilly discusses the varied ways of ensuring quality in qualitative research.
Qualitative Conundrums Episode 1 - Saturation
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this first episode of our Qualitative Conundrums series, Victoria Clarke reviews the concept of saturation in qualitative research.
What counts as qualitative research? Episode 4 - Kitty Saunders
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Kitty and Sohail go meta and talk about podcasts and qualitative research, and the importance of keeping it human
What counts as qualitative research - Episode 3
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Picken, BBC Journalist, chats with Sohail about the similarities and differences between journalism and qualitative research
What counts as qualitative research: Episode 2
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Nathaniel Martin talks about his role at King's College London as a Community Research Coordinator, and his work as a youth worker, s...
What counts as qualitative research - Episode 1 - Ruth
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Ruth talks about the philosophical concept of cherishing. That is, caring about and being intimate with people. She thinks that philo...
Qualitative Mix Tape - Co-producing research with young people with lived experience with Niamh Elam and Rachel Temple
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Norha Vera chats with Niamh Elam (McPin Young People Advisory Group)Â and Rachel Temple (McPin Foundation) about co-production of research with young ...
Qualitative Mix Tape - Engaging young people in research with Charlotte Kühlbrandt and Hannah Cowan
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Clair Le Boutillier chats with Dr Charlotte Kühlbrandt and Dr Hannah Cowan about Utopia Now and the novel methods they are using to engage young peo...
Qualitative Mix Tape - Evidence-based co-design with Sarah McAllister
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah McAllister talks to Alan Simpson about using evidence-based co-design on acute mental health wards.
Qualitative Mix Tape - Iterative Categorisation with Jo Neale
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Professor Jo Neale talks about iterative categorisation.