Special issue: Qualitative research and innovation in speech-language pathology

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this special issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. I have worked for the last two years with a wonderful editorial team from Australia and Ireland: Jemma Skeat, David Azul, Clare Carroll, Rena Lyons, and Ruth Mc Menamin. We have pursued this project because of a passion for qualitative research, excitement derived from our own research experiences, and a belief that such work has potential to offer positive change. In this special issue, we offer you an opportunity to read a collection of fascinating and thought-provoking papers which each capture an aspect of our theme: how qualitative research has enabled and facilitated innovation in the field. We recognise that new ideas and developments arise from different sources and are stimulated by many things: our interactions with our clients, colleagues, and stakeholders; our expanding professional experience; changes in our environment; advances in technology; an evolving evidence base of research; and of course, our imagination. But in this special issue, we celebrate specifically the achievement of innovation through qualitative research – a broad and diverse body of approaches which captures the words and stories of human experience, human interactions, identities, cultures, and meaning-making. In this paradigm, the drive is not to quantify, generalise or seek absolutes, but to explore multiple perspectives, complexity, individual difference, and how phenomena are expressed in their real-world contexts.

This special issue starts with a lead paper, New perspectives, theory, method, and practice: Qualitative research and innovation in speech-language pathology (Hersh et al., 2022), which explains the notion of innovation, its relationship to qualitative research, and its influence on theory, methodology and practice in speech-language pathology (SLP). Three sections then follow: Theoretical Innovations (three papers), Methodology and Method Innovations (four papers), and Practice Innovations (three papers).

In the first section on Theoretical Innovations, Azul and Zimman (2022) take the reader on a personal journey to consider issues of diversity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness. They share their experiences as academics who have pushed boundaries through their theoretical research and their writing, borrowing ideas from beyond the discipline, and challenging readers to shift their thinking. They present the results of a critical discourse analysis of Speech Pathology Australia’s Code of Ethics and then offer opportunities to reconsider intersectionality, diversity, and modes of engagement in the context of work with transgender voice. In the next paper, Professional Socialisation and Professional Fit, Attrill et al. (2022) apply the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave & Wegner, 1991) to explain why SLP students from under-represented backgrounds may find it more difficult to succeed in their placements and negotiate the sociocultural practices and discourses that are tacitly expected by their practice educators. The authors argue that their theory-driven approach invites reflection on how to enable greater professional diversity, and on the nature and identity of a speech-language pathologist. The third paper in this section, by Skeat et al. (2022), explores the curious lack of feminist research in a highly female dominated profession. The authors argue that a stronger presence of feminist methodologies could help the profession understand its clients’ needs, as well as its own gendered discourses and expectations that perpetuate the current lack of gender diversity in the professional workforce.

In the second section, Methodology and Method Innovations, Watermeyer and Neille (2022) draw on their experiences in South Africa to argue for the greater adoption of qualitative research in building understanding of communities and local needs and transforming services in post-colonial contexts. In the next paper in this section, Barnard et al. (2022) use ethnography to explore how speech-language pathologists and nurses share information about their patients’ communication support needs on stroke wards. They note that ethnography has not often been used in SLP research but demonstrate its value in understanding practice in context and in sufficient detail to reveal where improvements could be made to enhance interprofessional communication. The third paper in this section (Mc Menamin et al., 2022) involves a discussion on the relationship between Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) and qualitative research and highlights its use in two research studies involving people with aphasia. The authors argue that PPI constructs partners with lived experiences as having agency, and that such research approaches lead to new ways for speech-language pathologists to respond appropriately to their needs. Lastly, Roper and Skeat (2022) write about how client-driven Participatory Design can promote innovation and positively influence the design, development, and implementation of technology in SLP.

The third section of this special issue, Practice Innovations, showcases three examples of qualitative research and innovation in clinical contexts. Armstrong et al. (2022) describe their use of a range of multimedia resources to promote intercultural communication within the Yolŋu community of northeast Arnhem Land. This paper is a novel and creative account centred around Yolŋu language and cultural constructs and is a lovely example of both participatory action research and co-design. Lyons et al. (2022) consider how innovative qualitative methods and concepts have been used to explore the views of children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs, with the potential to inform new, inclusive ways of working. Finally, Brunner et al. (2022) use a social media garden metaphor to show the importance of cultivating positive, clear messages around communication and swallowing disability. They apply a range of qualitative techniques to encourage creative ways to integrate social media interventions into SLP services.

I hope you enjoy this special issue and the opportunity to reflect on new and renewed concepts, methodologies, and practical implications for the profession. I would like to thank all those people who have contributed to this issue of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology for sharing their journeys, insights and expertise around how qualitative research approaches have the capacity to facilitate innovations. Take the opportunity, with this special issue and a cup of coffee in hand, to consider new ideas, challenge your thinking, and fire your imagination.