Strategies for disseminating qualitative research findings: three exemplars.

Abstract

Assuming there are those who do pay attention to the dissemination of qualitative research findings, what can we learn from them? For this article, we searched for examples of qualitative research where findings have been disseminated beyond the journal article and/or conference presentation. The rationale for pursuing examples of how good qualitative research has been disseminated is that we pay attention to both scientific and communicative concerns. All three exemplars in this article go beyond the forms of dissemination that traditionally serve academic communities and attempt to address the communicative concern of qualitative research findings. This is not to say that these modes of dissemination replace the scholarship of qualitative research and/or the peer-reviewed journal manuscript—far from it. In disseminating qualitative data, researchers have an array of presentational styles and formats to choose from that best fit their research purposes, such as drama, dance, poetry, websites, video and evocative forms of writing. We conclude by considering the ethical issues that may be involved in these forms of disseminating qualitative research, as well as the challenges for evaluating the impact of such strategies.