Selecting, understanding and applying theory as a neophyte researcher

ABSTRACT

This paper is an account of my experience of grappling with the role of theory in qualitative research, the selection of particular theories and theorists, the generative application of theory, and the broader impacts my theoretical choices had on my research. I offer strategies for negotiating theoretical tensions including: developing a personal conceptualisation of theory; exploring and playing with theoretical options at the start of research projects; and allowing substantial time to engage with the intricacies and complexities of theoretical concepts. Examples of when, where, and how theory can be productive in the research process are also presented. These strategies are provided through a narrative about my engagement with the selection, comprehension, and application of Bernstein’s theoretical concepts to explore the influence of the outsourcing of Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. By focusing on struggle, I recognise the learning processes and challenges that pave the way to the completion of any PhD.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualitative research
• doctoral experience
• Basil Bernstein
• health and physical education
• outsourcing

Acknowledgments

I want to sincerely thank Eimear Enright and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable, rigorous, and thoughtful feedback on previous drafts of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Given the personal nature of this narrative, it seems necessary to offer some demographic details. As an 18 year old I entered the Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education degree at The University of Queensland. I had selected this degree because I was eager to become a teacher, driven by a desire to make a difference; to provide pedagogical experiences that inspired students and ignited in them a lifelong love of learning. This motivation was underpinned by a personal passion for learning, a disposition that was both satisfied and challenged through my interactions with sport pedagogy research within my degree. My interest in this research grew throughout my time at The University of Queensland and this led to me commencing a doctoral study there.

2. My doctoral thesis is to be completed ‘by publication’, with peer-reviewed papers, such as this one, written throughout the research process. The terms ‘my thesis’ and ‘my publications’ are thus used somewhat interchangeably.

3. An interpretivist assumes that individuals create their own meanings in interactions with the world around them (Riemer, Quartaroli, and Lapan 2012), that is, knowledge is presumed to be provisional and relative (Keegan 2009). This approach emphasises the idea of the existence of multiple realities (Roller and Lavrakas 2015) as ‘each individual is unique and lives in a unique reality’ (Riemer, Quartaroli, and Lapan 2012, 8).

4. Proponents of the paradigm comment on the difficulty in coherently summarising it. This difficulty is attributed to: the number of critical theories; the changing and evolving nature of the tradition; and because too much specificity is counter to the desire of critical theorists to ‘avoid the production of blueprints of socio-political and epistemological beliefs’ (Kincheloe and McLaren 2002, 89). To offer a succinct description: ‘critical theory research tends to emphasise relationships that involve inequities and power’ (Willis 2007, 82).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council under Grant DP140102607; and the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Notes on contributors

Leigh Sperka

Leigh Sperka is a PhD candidate within the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland. Her research is connected to the Australian Research Council ‘Health and Physical Education Without Borders’ project and investigates the impact of external providers on curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment within the health and physical education context.