Nigel King

• Professor Emeritus at University of Huddersfield

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the long-established approach to death. Among the workers who suffered most from the effects of this new situation are those in death care, who had to take care of the disposal of bodies throughout the pandemic. This study explores the experiences of these professionals to better understand the...

Background and aim: For people with type 1 diabetes, self-management is a necessity. However, self-management can be impeded by aspects of everyday life, which may impact young adults moving to independence. However, it is not yet clear which aspects are most relevant, nor what knowledge gaps remain. Methods: An established scoping review methodol...

Childhood fantasy play and creation of imaginary companions are thought to confer socio‐emotional benefits in children, but little is known about how they relate to socio‐emotional competence in adulthood. A total of 341 adults (81 males) aged 18 and above ( M = 31.47, SD = 12.62) completed an online survey examining their fantasy play as a child,...

The repertory grid technique (often abbreviated as grid or repgrid) is a person-centered data collection method. It is primarily used in clinical psychology and generates a mix of qualitative and quantitative data. The OpenRepGrid.ic R package presented here is a browser-based software to perform Interpretive Clustering (IC) for such data. IC is a...

This study explored how people thought and talked about death/dying during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings presented here are based on data collected for a larger study exploring the processes undertaken that allow individuals to actively think and openly talk about death and dying. Ten of the eleven interviews conducted durin...

In response to Jones’s (2022) article, we argue that if we understand personal construct psychology as being less rationalistic and more holistic than is often assumed, important synergies between it and Jungian analytical psychology can be observed. We argue that the two theories can be considered to align with each other on a number of points. Th...

Dyadic interviews, in which two participants are interviewed together, are becoming more popular in qualitative research, but are much less discussed in the methodological literature than individual and group forms. In this article, we consider the nature and value of dyadic interviews, recognizing them as active, relational encounters, shaped by w...

: In this discussion paper, we present a new form of qualitative analysis of repertory grid data that we have called “Interpretive Clustering”. Although numerous existing publications report having performed qualitative analyses of repertory grid data, upon inspection this is usually a content analysis of constructs. In our research, used as an ill...

Purpose In the last decade, there has been growing awareness of wellbeing and its importance, and an increase in the development of activities or programmes aimed at improving wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate what wellbeing programmes were being offered to prisoners in England and Wales and what benefits and other outcomes we...

This paper introduces a novel, temporally sensitive analytical method for qualitative researchers, which is simultaneously timely and necessary given increasing recognition of the fundamental role that time plays in organizational life and scholarship. As a result of this recognition, research designs considering temporality have substantially incr...

This paper presents and illustrates Interpretive Clustering, an innovative and original method of qualitative analysis of Repertory Grid data. Repertory Grids are a popular and flexible method of research, but they have primarily been used to gather data that are analysed quantitatively. Although many researchers have used Grids more qualitatively,...

Temporality, occupation, and relationships are identified as discrete factors that impact quality of life for individuals at the end of life and those around them. However, scholars, practitioners, and educators require insights regarding whether and how interactions between these factors shape this quality of life. This study is framed by an under...

This article is primarily intended for researchers examining hospitality managementwho are unlikely to be familiar with template analysis (TA) as a form of thematicanalysis. It demonstrates the use of TA in a specific setting and how TA contributedto developing a conceptual model and theory of cultural centrism in a hospitalitysetting. The article...

This article examines how client expectations about psychological therapy compare with subjective experiences of undertaking therapy. We interviewed 10 clients who had recently completed therapy about their expectations and experiences, and thematically analysed data in the template style. Three themes are presented ([1]”I didn't know what I was ca...

Introduction: Empathic physician behavior is associated with improved patient outcomes. One way to demonstrate empathy is through nonverbal communication including touch. To date, research on nonverbal communication, and specifically touch, has been relatively limited in medicine, which is surprising given the central role it plays in conveying af...

Maintaining adequate blood supplies requires the recruitment of a significant number of regular donors. However, research examining the first-hand experience of blood donation from the perspective of regular donors is very limited. This study sought to describe the essential features of this experience from the accounts of 10 regular donors, analys...

This paper discusses our use of a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experience of feeling joyful. Semi-structured interviews were used to discuss two contrasting experiences of joy for each participant. Analysis was informed by van Manen’s human science method, facilitated by King’s template analysis. Our findings sugges...

Medicine as embodied practice: Bodily dysfunctions bring patients to their doctors and even diseases of the mind can originate in patients' bodies. Doctors respond by using their own bodies - hands, eyes, ears and sometimes noses - to make diagnoses and treat diseases. Yet, despite the embodied nature of practice, medicine typically treats the bod...

Thematic methods of data analysis are widely used in qualitative organizational research. In this chapter, we will introduce you to Template Analysis (King and Brooks, Template Analysis for Business and Management Students. London: Sage, 2017), a particular style of thematic analysis that has been widely used in organizational and management resear...

Context Peabody's maxim ‘the secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient’ inspired generations of doctors to relate humanely to patients. Since then, phrases such as ‘managed care’ have impersonalised caring. The term ‘patient‐centred’ was introduced to re‐personalise caring. Ironically, however, such terms have been defined by p...

This article reports on findings from a qualitative study into the lived experience of bisexual women in monogamous relationships. Nineteen self-identified bisexual women from across the United Kingdom, who were either in a monogamous relationship or desired to be in one, were explored. Participants completed diaries and took part in telephone inte...

The use of diagrams to stimulate dialogue in research interviews, a technique known as graphic elicitation, has burgeoned since the year 2000. Reviews of the graphic elicitation literature have relied on the inconsistent terminology currently used to index visual methods, and have so far drawn only a partial picture of their use. Individual diagram...

The objective of this review was to scope the literature on nature-based interventions that could be conducted in institutional settings where people reside full-time for care or rehabilitation purposes. Systematic searches were conducted across CINAHL, Medline, Criminal Justice Abstracts, PsycINFO, Scopus, Social Care Online and Cochrane CENTRAL....

This research aims to understand the eroticism of consensual bondage, discipline, dominance & submission and sadism & masochism (BDSM). Eroticism is considered a central feature of most sexual experiences, yet there is limited research that examines erotic components of BDSM as lived by practitioners themselves. By adopting an experiential approach...

In a 2016 issue of QMiP Bulletin (Issue 21), our current Chair, Sarah Riley, highlighted some of the particular issues faced by qualitative psychologists in relation to the Research Excellence Framework (REF). Memorably describing REF as: ‘The Voice and the Spanish Inquisition rolled into one, with a lot more meetings’, the article concludes with a...

This paper will illustrate how the consensual sexual practice of bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism (BDSM) can be interpreted as a form of adult play. Terminology and language used by BDSM practitioners frequently drawn from imagery of play, fun and games and narratives around BDSM-related activities are reflect...

Background Collaborative working between professionals is a key component of integrated care. The academic literature on it largely focuses either on integration between health and social care or on the dynamics of power and identity between doctors and nurses. With the proliferation and extension of nursing roles, there is a need to examine collab...

Touch mediates health professionals’ interactions with patients. Different professionals have reported their practices but what is currently lacking is a well-theorized, interprofessional synthesis. We systematically searched eight databases, identified 41 studies in seven professions—nursing (27), medicine (4), physiotherapy (5), osteopathy (1), c...

With a highly pragmatic, yet rigorous and theoretically driven approach, this edited book demonstrates why qualitative research in psychology matters, and how it is applied in real world settings. Employing examples of qualitative research from across the different sub-disciplines of psychology, a range of experts in a broad spread of methods show...

Regular physical activity(PA) is recognised as playing a key role in promoting good health and tackling obesity. In many parts of the world there are concerns that people do not undertake sufficient PA, and that this problem is often worse for certain groups in the population. Low levels of PA amongst South Asian (SA) adults in the United Kingdom c...

Purpose: Knowledge on the meaning of quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury in developing countries is limited. This study aims to explore the meaning and components of quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury in a rural area in Indonesia. Method: Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 individua...

Background: Despite the rising incidence of melanoma, medical students have progressively fewer opportunities to encounter patients with this important condition. Curricula tend to attach the greatest value to intellectual forms of learning. Compared to intellectual learning, however, experiential learning affords students deep insights about a co...

Background: To systematically review the quantitative and qualitative evidence base pertaining to the prevalence, practice of, and treatment response to the diversion of prescribed opiates in the prison setting. Methods: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, ASSIA and Science Direct databases were searched for papers from 1995 to th...

The phenomenological technique of imaginative variation was identified by Husserl (1936/1970) as conducive to elucidating the manner in which phenomena appear to consciousness. In brief, by engaging in the phenomenological reduction and using imaginative variation, phenomenologists are able to describe the experience of consciousness, having steppe...

The phenomenological technique of imaginative variation was identified by Husserl (1936/1970) as conducive to elucidating the manner in which phenomena appear to consciousness. In brief, by engaging in the phenomenological reduction and using imaginative variation, phenomenologists are able to describe the experience of consciousness, having steppe...

We report on a research study in which we introduced undergraduate social work students in England to two methods originating in Personal Construct Theory (PCT) as a way of encouraging in-depth self-reflection. The methods were first piloted with four students and subsequently used with two large classes of second-year students. The students often...

Background: Pre-registration nursing students throughout the United Kingdom (UK) are required to complete a minimum number of theory hours within the course. Anecdotal evidence suggests that students are required to attend campus for approximately fifty percent of the theory hours. The remaining theory hours are often labelled as 'study time' in w...

The term 'phenomenology' is perhaps not well understood by those less involved in qualitative research. It has developed and diversified to encompass a bewildering array of different traditions and methods. This article provides a whistle-stop tour of its history, key figures and applications in psychology. Leading qualitative psychologists then ex...

Aim: To review the literature on selected cancers in order to identify implications for the development of services to support patients experiencing difficulties associated with active and advanced disease.

Aim: To explore the role and identify key responsibilities of the Tissue Viability Nurse (TVN) in the UK. Methods: Mixed methodology using questionnaires distributed via SurveyMonkey and semi-structured interviews. Results: 261 respondents completed the online questionnaire and seven participated in semi-structured interviews. Of the 261 respondent...

Thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative psychology research, and in this article, we present a particular style of thematic analysis known as Template Analysis. We outline the technique and consider its epistemological position, then describe three case studies of research projects which employed Template Analysis to illustrate the diverse...

Most people when asked say they would prefer to die at home. However, 'Death in Usual Place of Residence' (DiUPR) does not give any real insight into the quality and experiences of care received. Additionally, DiUPR involves other family members resident in the home environment and their needs, preferences and experiences also need consideration. T...

In September 2014, QMiP, with support from the British Psychological Society’s Section Initiative Fund, were delighted to host a programme of seminars and workshops delivered by Dr Marco Gemignani. Marco, who is the President of SQIP (the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology – a recently-formed section of the American Psychological Associa...

The community matron (CM) is often the key worker caring for patients with chronic, life-limiting, long-term conditions, but these patients are not always recognised as palliative cases. This study explored the experiences of CMs with regard to advance care planning (ACP) and 'do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation' (DNACPR) decision-making t...

Practice learning thread: Picture this: visual methods for reflecting on experience in undergraduate practice placements Alison Bravington, Campus Working Partner, University of Huddersfield Additional author: Nigel King, Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Centre for Applied Psychological and Health Research, University of Hudders...

Background: Home is the preferred location for most people with an advanced disease and at the end of life. A variety of care professionals work in community settings to provide support to this population. Patients and their spouses, who also care for them (spouse-carers), are rarely accompanied by these sources of support at all times, and have t...

T1D) is amongst the most common form of chronic illness affecting young people in the UK. Self-management is crucial, but managing their T1D is often difficult for young people 2 . The social focus of young people shifts through adolescence from their family to their friends. Peer influences can have an impact across a range of adolescent behaviour...

Pictor is a graphical visual technique with its origins in personal construct psychology and phenomenology. It was developed to explore experiences of collaborative working in health and social care contexts, but may be used in any setting where people with different backgrounds or perspectives need to interact around a specific task or goal. In th...

Personal construct psychology (PCP) has always been better known for its methods than its theory, but many researchers are not aware of the range of qualitative methods offered by a PCP approach. We argue that PCP methods have been overlooked as tools for the qualitative researcher and that they satisfy some key requirements of much qualitative res...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate individuals’ lived experience of camping, and to explore the effects of camping on relationships. Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach (Langdridge, 2007). Guided interviews were carried out with four participants, recalling their most memora...

The Midhurst Macmillan Specialist Palliative Care Service (MMSPCS) is a UK, medical consultant-led, multidisciplinary team aiming to provide round-the-clock advice and care, including specialist interventions, in the home, community hospitals and care homes. Of 389 referrals in 2010/11, about 85% were for cancer, from a population of about 155 000....

Aims: To explore the lived experience of caring and care planning for a child with a life-limiting condition (LLC). Method: Using van Manen's conceptualisation of hermeneutic phenomenology, three focus groups were conducted with 21 paediatric palliative care professionals, and interviews were conducted with 20 parents of children with LLCs. Fin...

The General Practitioner (GP) is an important provider of care for people with advanced disease and at the end of life. The GP, in combination with other members of the primary health care team, occupies a pivotal position in delivering end of life care in the community (Thomas, 2009). However, little is known about how patients and spousal carers...

In this chapter, we introduce the reader to Template Analysis, a method of thematically organising and analysing qualitative data in social science research. We outline the basic principles of the method and describe the main procedural steps involved in undertaking Template Analysis. We then use an example from our own research (the qualitative ev...

Treatment expectations form a fundamental component of the self-regulatory model of health behavior, which defines such cognitions as illness perceptions. Unrealistic and/or unhelpful treatment expectations have been linked to detrimental clinical and work outcomes in those with persistent low back pain. However, research of this nature has rarely...

Social capital has been widely advocated as a way of understanding and building community participation in the interest of health improvement. However, the concept as proposed by Putnam, has been criticised for presenting an overly romanticised account of complex community relations. This paper presents analysis from a qualitative evaluation of a H...

Collaborative working is a crucial part of contemporary health and social care. Researching the experiences of those involved—as professionals, patients, or carers—is challenging, given the complexity of many cases and the taken-for-granted nature of roles and identities in relation to it. In this article we introduce the Pictor technique for explo...

Objectives: Social isolation and stigma are frequently reported by patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis and relationships in the home environment with those close to the patients (their 'significant others') may thus be particularly important. Rather little attention has yet been paid to the beliefs and experiences of '...

Background Previous research has demonstrated that the significant others of individuals with persistent back pain may have important influences on work participation outcomes. The aim of this study was to extend previous research by including individuals who have remained in work despite persistent back pain in addition to those who had become inc...

Work-integrated learning (WIL) provides an opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, competence, and experience, which increase employability and lead to more satisfying careers. Research indicates that WIL results in improved academic- and occupationally-related outcomes. However, there is a paucity of quantitative research examining the psych...

Previous research conducted in the UK has highlighted issues with the educational experiences of care leavers in general and has suggested that life transitions affect care leavers' later experiences. However, the participation and achievement of care leavers in education particularly care leavers' experiences of transitions in education, remains u...

Medical Education 2012: 46: 963–973 Context It is important to know how patients are affected by becoming opportunistically involved in medical student education. In previous studies, researchers rather than patients set the research agenda and expert patients or people well known to teachers were more often involved than ordinary people. Objective...

To outline some of the challenges facing people affected by advanced disease who want to participate in research interviews, and to present Pictor, a method that can help manage some of these challenges. Patients and lay-carers may have many issues that affect their ability to participate in qualitative research interviews. These issues can include...

Explores the method of template analysis in research. Defining codes, hierarchical coding, and parallel coding are discussed. The author illustrates the development, interpretation, and presentation of an analytical template with examples from a case study on managing mental health in primary care. The advantages and disadvantages of this technique...

This article reports findings from a one-year research project funded by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) Psychology Network. The research aimed to explore the use of ‘reality’ television in teaching research ethics to psychology undergraduates and this article reports on those findings that have particular relevance for qualitative research meth...