AQR Defines 'Qualitative Excellence'

The UK's Association for Qualitative Research has delivered findings from its enquiry into qualitative excellence, announced in the autumn. The Association says analysis of the study revealed a common set of values and beliefs and identified three distinct skill sets.

The project, previewed by DRNO in November (www.mrweb.com/drno/news6171.htm ), used NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) to model the work of six qualitative researchers nominated by their peers and chosen by AQR to represent a cross-section of the industry. Each was observed moderating focus groups and interviewed by Berry and her team. AQR hopes the findings will become 'the de facto industry guide on best practice, laying the foundations for the industry in the 21st century'.

Results were presented at last week's MRS Conference by Tina Berry, the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) expert who carried out the research, and Anne Hastings, AQR's head of education and training.

The three skill sets, in the Association's own words, are:

• 'Key Strategic Skills, which group together the invisible strategies that help direct research projects through mapping the objectives and strategies, and support the moderating process through managing group dynamics and energy flows and extracting the most valuable information from respondents
• Management and Leadership Skills, which create the frameworks of engagement and interpersonal relationships to build empathy and trust, allow freedom of expression and manage all processes within the project; and
• Implementation skills, which allow moderators to assume the role of an orchestra conductor, creating the optimum space for respondents by developing games, frames and processes, problem-solving exercises and continually shifting the power base to elicit responses.'

Hastings says the mapping will facilitate clearer professional development programmes and help to raise standards across the industry by helping to develop 'a much greater shared understanding of excellence'.

AQR's web site is at www.aqr.org.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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